Most Game and Fish departments across the United States have a bad reputation, via word-of-mouth, for not always having the best ideas in managing wildlife and game animals. While all of us hunters might think we know better than those governing us, there is a sports metaphor that states, “you might know the game, but you aren’t in the huddle.” This simply means you can know a lot about hunting, but you don’t know all of the inner workings and finite details. All this being said, the hunting license we found from 1936 in Illinois is horrific. There is overharvesting, ridiculous hunting techniques, and an easy explanation as to why many birds and game animals are still endangered species today. Thankfully, we have departed ourselves from anything close to this in today’s day and age. So, simply enjoy – while you grimace – at the outright hilarity of this hunting license from 1936.
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Blast from the Past – A Hunting License from 1936
My day job is managing a gun store in central Minnesota where I am privileged to purchase used firearms from customers on a daily basis (which means writing is my hobby; go figure). Recently, I purchased a Lefever Arms Co (manufactured by Ithaca) 16 Gauge side-by-side shotgun. It sounds cool, but it was ugly as all get-out being covered in rust and simply being mistreated for decades. The neatest part about the shotgun was this hunting license I found underneath the buttpad.
The license states a variety of birds and their respective seasons in which they could be harvested in 1936. All of the seasons are generally shorter than what we see nowadays on what I would deem “normal game birds.” The license does not openly state where the boundaries of the Northern, Central, and Southern zones are that it refers to. I’m sure there was a hunting book or manual distributed to the public to know the boundaries. Here is what the backside of the license states because it is difficult to read:
Open Seasons
- Northern Zone
- Squirrels: Sept 1 – Dec 1 [Daily Limit 10]
- Quails: Nov 10 – Dec 10 [Daily Limit 12]
- Rabbits: Nov 10 – Jan 31 [Daily Limit 15]
- Cock Pheasants: Nov 10 – Nov 15 [Daily Limit 2]
- Central Zone
- Squirrels: Aug 1 – Dec 1 [Daily Limit 10]
- Quails: Nov 20 – Dec 20 [Daily Limit 13]
- Rabbits: Nov 10 – Jan 31 [Daily Limit 15]
- Cock Pheasants: Nov 20 – Nov 25 [Daily Limit 2]
- Southern Zone
- Squirrels: July 15 – Dec 1 [Daily Limit 16]
- Quails: Nov 25 – Dec 25 [Daily Limit 12]
- Rabbits: Nov 25 – Jan 31 [Daily Limit 15]
- Cock Pheasants: Nov 25 – Nov 30 [Daily Limit 2]
- Prairie Chicken: CLOSED
- English Sparrows, Crows, Blackbirds, Bluejays, Cooper’s Hawks, Sharp-Shinned Hawks, Goshawks, Duck Hawks, Pigeon Hawks, Great-Horned Owls, Starlings and Cormorants: Jan 1 – Dec 31 [No Limit]
Use of Ferrets, Weasels, Guinea Pigs, and Rats – Prohibited. Land Owner’s Consent to Hunt Required. Use of firearms in taking Muskrats prohibited.
Regulations governing Brants, Coots, Ducks, Geese, Rails, and Snipe will be announced at the time of their issuance by Federal authorities.
Duck hawks – also more commonly referred to as American peregrine falcons – were openly harvested in Illinois in 1936 with NO LIMIT! That is appalling to say the least. Also, they went to town overharvesting all manner of hawks including Great-Horned Owls. Goll damn!
Cock pheasants must have been deemed a “prized bird” because of the low limit of only 2 birds per day and the short season of only 5 days (also, that is an incredibly funny way to describe a male pheasant). Also, its important to remind people who don’t know this – pheasants are actually an invasive species brought to the United States from China. They are not indigenous to North America. Nevertheless, they taste delicious and no one is mad about their proliferation over time.
Overharvesting, Endangered Species, and How Far We have Come
The front of this hunting license is nearly as neat as the back, but with less shock over what can and cannot be harvested. The license to bird hunt is only 75¢ in Illinois in 1936 (plus, 25¢ as a clerk’s fee – so, $1 total). The red stamp is a pseudo ‘seal of certification’ that the hunting license is not fraud, and it is actually crimped or embossed into the license. The license is also valid for 1 year and expires during the middle of the summer (June 30, 1937). That could be considered odd, but since no one is typically hunting in the heat of summer, it is a good “ending place” for the license.
Overall, I was shocked to find this license underneath a Lefever Arms Co side-by-side 16 Gauge. Then, I was shocked again to see that they were overharvesting Great-Horned Owls all willy-nilly like. Its an interesting look into the past and a great reminder that there is always a better way about things (like, don’t be hunting down and overharvesting birds of prey and what not). As always, let us know all of your thoughts about this unique hunting license from 1936 in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
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