Considering the wind and cold for much of the three days of the first portion of Illinois’ firearm deer season, I am surprised that the harvest was up from last year.
Here’s the word from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:
Hunters harvest more than 52,000 deer during first weekend of Illinois firearm season
SPRINGFIELD – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 52,354 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois firearm deer season Nov. 18-20.
Comparatively, hunters took 48,964 deer during the first firearm weekend in 2021.
Illinois’ seven-day firearm deer season will conclude Dec. 1-4. Other deer hunting opportunities in the weeks ahead include:
• Muzzleloader-only deer season Dec. 9-11
• Late-winter antlerless-only and Chronic Wasting Disease deer seasons (in select counties only) Dec. 29-Jan. 1 and Jan.13-15
• Archery deer season continues through Jan. 15. (Note: archery deer hunting is closed Dec. 1-4 in counties open for firearm deer season.)
For more details about deer hunting, open counties and other information, visit https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/hunting/Pages/DeerHunting.aspx.
A table of preliminary Illinois firearm deer harvest totals by county for the first weekend of the 2022 season, and comparable totals for 2020 and 2021, can be found below.
County 2020 2021 2022
ADAMS 1305 1311 1437
ALEXANDER 257 264 239
BOND 427 478 537
BOONE 79 73 71
BROWN 559 572 655
BUREAU 639 612 609
CALHOUN 360 427 465
CARROLL 355 373 331
CASS 384 386 423
CHAMPAIGN 163 143 137
CHRISTIAN 422 376 403
CLARK 630 692 721
CLAY 735 765 889
CLINTON 474 493 606
COLES 451 466 487
CRAWFORD 561 635 673
CUMBERLAND 544 531 542
DEKALB 78 87 73
DEWITT 223 195 220
DOUGLAS 115 115 120
EDGAR 332 370 424
EDWARDS 227 273 317
EFFINGHAM 614 637 653
FAYETTE 986 1106 1184
FORD 80 81 86
FRANKLIN 749 848 956
FULTON 1202 1154 1249
GALLATIN 235 253 305
GREENE 638 612 634
GRUNDY 151 154 172
HAMILTON 661 729 741
HANCOCK 1056 1001 1128
HARDIN 420 515 548
HENDERSON 308 262 283
HENRY 291 268 275
IROQUOIS 322 282 257
JACKSON 1230 1290 1484
JASPER 693 715 794
JEFFERSON 1087 1228 1249
JERSEY 350 416 425
JO DAVIESS 1029 830 843
JOHNSON 858 866 874
KANE 18 27 18
KANKAKEE 124 140 114
KENDALL 57 47 43
KNOX 686 720 737
LAKE 0 5 5
LASALLE 473 409 427
LAWRENCE 334 366 399
LEE 337 316 314
LIVINGSTON 279 312 268
LOGAN 200 217 193
MACON 157 148 155
MACOUPIN 997 1003 1120
MADISON 384 460 509
MARION 917 998 1186
MARSHALL 408 393 412
MASON 256 258 249
MASSAC 220 238 268
MCDONOUGH 455 488 495
MCHENRY 172 181 129
MCLEAN 412 398 349
MENARD 213 214 215
MERCER 533 538 509
MONROE 670 710 856
MONTGOMERY 523 541 619
MORGAN 378 364 442
MOULTRIE 143146 158
OGLE 442 394 356
PEORIA 545 567 576
PERRY 719 783 969
PIATT 90 83 89
PIKE 1033 987 1129
POPE 888 934 1068
PULASKI 178 190 222
PUTNAM 209 236 228
RANDOLPH 1341 1457 1518
RICHLAND 405 475 487
ROCK ISLAND 462 404 408
SALINE 535 533 628
SANGAMON 330 354 327
SCHUYLER 763 833 904
SCOTT 176 209 190
SHELBY 825 864 883
ST. CLAIR 477 529 576
STARK 126 113 118
STEPHENSON 408 370 342
TAZEWELL 314 339 352
UNION 773 795 812
VERMILION 333 400 369
WABASH 102 118 122
WARREN 294 288 290
WASHINGTON 600 672 771
WAYNE 864 935 1015
WHITE 467 437 553
WHITESIDE 424 348 335
WILL 150 123 134
WILLIAMSON 950 1109 1287
WINNEBAGO 194 167 154
WOODFORD 373 397 434
Total 47416 48964 52354
