SPRINGFIELD – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 54,661 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois firearm deer season between Nov. 22-24.
Comparatively, hunters took 53,348 and 52,354 deer during the first firearm weekends in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Randolph County hunters harvested 1,565 deer, compared to 1,506 in 2023 and 1518 in 2022.
Illinois’ seven-day firearm deer season will conclude Dec. 5-8.
Remaining 2024-2025 deer hunting opportunities in Illinois include:
- Muzzleloader-only deer season Dec. 13-15.
- Late-winter antlerless-only and chronic wasting disease deer seasons in select counties only, Dec. 26-29 and Jan. 17-19.
- Archery deer season continues through Jan. 19. Please note that archery deer hunting is closed Dec. 5-8 in counties open for firearm deer season.
Go online to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ website for more information about deer hunting.
A table of preliminary Illinois firearm deer harvest totals by county for the first weekend of the 2024 season and comparable totals for 2023 and 2022 follows.