Becoming an Illinois Hunter

When I turned 13, my dad signed me up for an in-person hunters safety education course that we took together, despite him having completed it long before. He was a private land deer hunter in Maryland, where we lived, and in Virginia and Pennsylvania, where we had family and friends. I really enjoyed that course, especially the section that covered animal tracks and scat. I think that enjoyment may have accidentally built up his expectations about my interest in hunting that, at the time, reality did not reflect. I’m sure there are plenty of 13-year-old girls out there eager to get up at 4 a.m. and sit in absolute silence and stillness in the cold winter woods. Unfortunately, I was not one of them.

Still, my dad wasn’t quite ready to give up and decided to take me squirrel hunting instead. The squirrel he got on that hunt was the first animal I had seen harvested. When he skinned the squirrel, he took the time to separate and point out each organ for me, so I’d know what each was and what it did. I don’t remember how I felt about it at the time, but given my general curiosity, I suspect I had fun despite being a little grossed out.

Nevertheless, I can’t have loved it that much, as it took me another 17 years to want to go hunting. It feels fitting that aside from a mentored turkey hunt in the Shawnee National Forest in April, my first self-motived forays into hunting as an adult focused on squirrels. Instead of my dad, I spent several hot, buggy mornings this summer and early fall running around the Illinois woods with my husband and my dog. But squirrels aren’t the only things we’ve been able to hunt.

My husband was lucky enough to draw a free dove permit at Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area in early September, although when our time was up and we checked out, only one hunter had harvested one dove at the entire site that day. We were more successful in the private-land Early Season Canada goose hunt we experienced with two of my co-workers at Illinois Learn to Hunt. Two of the harvested geese were banded – one in Ontario, Canada back in 2016 and one in 2020 in Vermilion County.

Since the spring, we’ve also taken full advantage of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Wingshooting Clinics. I was initially a bit hesitant to sign up because it was so far outside of my comfort zone, but I wanted to become more familiar with my shotgun. At my husband’s insistence, I signed up for the introductory course. I had such a good time that I’ve since attended several of their Hunter’s courses, which are not only an excellent deal for being able to access the course and get the personalized instruction but are also a lot of fun. They’ve helped me build up my self-confidence when it comes to pulling the trigger while out hunting, too: from all the practice, I know my own strengths and limitations and have much more confidence in my abilities to ethically harvest an animal.

Most recently, fate led me to what might be my favorite type of hunting I’ve experienced so far: beagling. Meat is one of my main motivations for hunting, but for me, it comes in at number two. My main motivation for getting into hunting is to be able to work with my dog, and the meat it provides is a major bonus. So far, most of the hunting I’ve done hasn’t been something my basset could join me in (although he is a vital member of our squirrel hunting team when the brush is thick, as he’s an excellent recovery specialist), so being able to take him out to run (but not harvest) rabbits with a pack of beagles was a special experience.

Getting started hunting in Illinois has not been easy. Like many new hunters in the state, we struggled with decoding the regulations and finding land access, especially in the northeastern part of the state. It’s possible that without the help of Illinois Learn to Hunt, we would have given up, which would have been a shame.

As rewarding as harvesting my own meat is, getting to spend time out in the woods with my husband and dog is key for me, to saying nothing of some of the cool things I’ve experienced while out there, which range from a little red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) scurrying down a Grundy County path to a flock of killdeer 40-odd strong, from a coyote wandering across a field at dusk to flocks of doves mixing with red-winged blackbirds, and from a bobcat track to getting to hear a pack of beagles on the scent on a cool, misty morning.

I lost my dad just before I turned 16, and while I’m not sure what he’d make of all the species I’ve been learning to hunt, I can guarantee he’d be happy I’m out there, having a good time, and carrying on the hunting tradition in a way that works for me (in hindsight, he may have had better luck getting me involved as a youngster if he’d mentioned it was something I could do with my dogs – parents who want their children to hunt, take note). Can’t promise I’ll ever be interested in deer hunting, though.

To anyone interested in hunting, I encourage you to take the first steps: attend a Learn to Hunt workshop, take your hunters safety education course, or do some research to find a local group that specializes in whatever hunting or trapping niche most interests you. Then go for it.

Hunting is a great way to get outside, learn about the world around you, get some exercise, harvest some meat for the pot and maybe even make some friends (which is no easy task when you’re in your thirties and live outside of your home state). It can also be a great way to spend time with your family and (perhaps more importantly, if you’re dog-obsessed like me) with your dog.

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Lauren Dean is the newest addition to the Illinois Learn to Hunt team. She grew up in Maryland before moving to New Orleans, where she got a BA in Anthropology at Tulane, followed by an MA in History from the University of Missouri – Columbia. After a few years living in Houston, she moved to Illinois, completed her MPS in Wildlife Conservation and Management from Unity Environmental University’s Distance Education Program and joined the Illinois Learn to Hunt program.