He can’t run, but they couldn’t hide. Randy Lewis’ motorized wheelchair took him to one of the dozen disabled deer-hunting blinds at Jubilee College State Park, and it took him only about half an hour past sunrise to drop a deer in its hoof prints.
On the first day of the first shotgun deer hunt at Jubilee, Lewis killed the first deer, setting in motion a long-awaited opportunity at the 3,200-acre park. With deer multiplying like rabbits, all park vegetation is threatened, including newly planted trees, and animals are in danger of starvation unless the herd is thinned.
After three years of planning, after pacifying neighbors and after establishing a permit system, the new hunt made its debut for disabled hunters like Lewis and 50 able-bodied hunters during Illinois’ first shotgun season in late November.
“I got it at 50 yards,” Lewis said of the doe. “It was my first gun kill.”
Lewis, 45, hunted squirrel and rabbits as a youth but was paralyzed in a creek swimming accident when he broke his neck at 15. In recent years he became a proficient archery hunter and, living in nearby Peoria, Lewis became a park regular for various activities.
It was difficult to tell who was happier among Lewis, his relatives and park personnel that he scored first. Supt. Tom Hintz said Lewis is popular with the staff.
“I really admire him,” Hintz said. “That’s what made my day.”
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has been a leader in providing disabled hunting and fishing activities. Hintz said he was proud to add to the list but that getting to this moment was arduous.
The byproduct is a new shotgun deer hunt, but sporting considerations are not at the root of the change.
“This has been three years in the making,” Hintz said. “We can’t plant our prairie. We can’t plant any decorative vegetation at the office. [The deer] eat down to the nubs. We had three years of meetings with public input. Politicians were involved. This is a deer-reduction program.”
Hintz made it sound as if deer have taken over the park.
“They have,” he insisted.
A century ago, biologists were concerned about the future of deer in the United States.
But now deer are so plentiful, insurance companies in states like Illinois warn motorists about the thousands upon thousands of deer-vehicle accidents, and the annual hunting harvest continues to rise.
Illinois authorizes archery, shotgun, handgun and muzzleloader hunting seasons.
In 2002 the deer harvest was 159,858 animals. In 2004 it was a record 190,456. Last year 189,526 deer were taken.
In the American hunting world, Illinois has gained a reputation as a state where hunters can kill big bucks. Pike County, with out-of-state deer hunters paying thousands of dollars for lodging, meals and guides, has become a major destination. Hintz said in recent years Jubilee has attracted bow hunters from Alabama, Mississippi, Vermont and Pennsylvania.
Yet even with record harvests and an influx of fresh hunters, deer continue to proliferate. IDNR requires out-of-state hunters in search of bucks to buy doe tags as well.
The rule for the Jubilee hunt was simple: A hunter had to take a doe first and then could buy another tag to chase a buck.
“There are way too many deer,” site biologist Michelle Simone said. “It’s dramatic out there. Sixty percent of the woody stems are browsed by deer. You don’t want it to be more than 20 percent. It’s quite an impact on the forest.”
Jubilee officials don’t know exactly how many deer roam the park, but an aerial survey showed the density is 115 per square mile, too many for the herd’s long-term health. Hunters were allowed to install tree stands a day before the hunt so they could enter the park in darkness opening day and climb to their perches before the sun rose. The park was closed to all other activities for the three hunting days, and Hintz once had to shoo a runner off a road.
Lewis was the first to arrive outside the gates at 3:30 a.m.–ahead even of Hintz–driving his customized van and hauling his brother Ron and 9-year-old nephew Jonathan.
“I like to avoid the crowd,” he said.
Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark as the 6:19 a.m. shooting time approached. A few hours later, hunter Jeremy Etnyre, a 34-year-old school principal from Dunlap, checked out without a deer but with cold hands.
“I was excited they were going to open up,” Etnyre said of the hunt. “I made plans early. There were some standing by the signs where we parked.”
No deer was safe from Tony Applegren, 45, of Bartonville. He was the Daniel Boone of the bunch, a meat provider who could supply his entire community. Applegren bagged his first doe on the first day of the hunt. On the second day, Applegren shot a doe half an hour into shooting time.
Sitting about 20 feet up in a tree stand, Applegren had a vantage point facing a narrow draw and watched a handful of deer funnel through.
“They were running right after another,” he said.
Applegren fired and put down the biggest one. He butchered it and reported the kill, then went back into the field. A little later, the magic spot paid off again with a doe Applegren will turn into steaks, chops, roast and jerky. By noon Applegren had a fourth deer–the deer kept running past the same place–and his hands and clothing were caked with dried blood.
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Four deer? For some hunters that’s a career, not a season.
“That’s enough,” Applegren said.
Jubilee College State Park is hemmed in by homes, and Hintz said IDNR tried to calm neighbors by extending the usual 100-yard shooting buffer zone to 300 yards in some places. The smoothness of the hunt was helped by so many of the hunters being archery regulars, he said.
But after all the groundwork, Hintz did not know what to expect when he threw open the gates on opening day. He worried there would be a standby line extending miles to Interstate Highway 74, excited hunters waiting to race in when permitted hunters finished.
“I was expecting 150 standby guys,” Hintz said. “I expected to be overwhelmed.”
That did not happen. There were no long lines. Some standbys made it in, but some permit hunters left early. Hunters sounded good-humored, even philosophical about being forced to ignore giant bucks before taking a doe.
Taylor Parkhurst, 17, of Peoria, climbed into a frosted-over tree stand on the second morning, but before three does popped out of the woods (he shot one) a 9-point buck did a couple of laps around him.
“He walked right under my tree stand,” Parkhurst said.
But Parkhurst was thankful for the state park hunt. Otherwise, he did not know where to shoot a deer.
“I don’t have land to hunt on for shotgun,” Parkhurst said.
Hintz was grateful too. If he was at the warehouse checkout station when hunters–who took 56 deer over the three days–left with deer lying dead in their pickup truck beds, he told them.
“Well, guys, thanks for getting rid of some of those does,” Hintz said.
Lewis is accomplished at that task. This was the third straight season he has taken a deer. The other two–last year and earlier this fall–were harvested with a crossbow. He appreciates Jubilee’s opportunities.
“It’s hard finding a place to get to,” Lewis said. “Nobody (private landowners) wants you. Most people don’t want disabled hunters on their property. They’re afraid you’re going to get hurt and sue them.”
That is why state-supported hunts are so important, Lewis’ brother said.
“I think it’s pretty good that they do something for the handicapped,” Ron Lewis said of the warmth shown to disabled hunters at Jubilee.
The accident that destroyed Lewis’ ability to walk also weakened his arms. He can use his hands, but not with full mobility. Able-bodied companions who have seen him shoot marvel at his skill.
Jerry Belch of Peoria, who joined Lewis in the field three hunts ago, said it was minutes from the end of the hunting day, with darkness closing in, when Lewis sighted a doe at about 80 yards.
“Twang!” Belch said. “It did two flops in the field and it was done.”
Lewis’ choice of weapons for shotgun season was a single-shot Harrison and Richardson .20-gauge.
He wanted to line up each shot perfectly, or he wouldn’t take it.
What Lewis did to enhance his chances was spend almost every bit of the hunting day–ending at 4:34 p.m.–in his blind.
“This is some of the best deer country there is,” Lewis said. “I don’t care if it’s a doe or a buck. But don’t get me wrong. I’d love a trophy buck.”
Then hunters will really see some jubilation at Jubilee.
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