Illinois Firearm Deer First-Season Harvest Totals Over 72,000 Deer

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today reported that hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 72,111 deer during the opening weekend of the 2012 Illinois Firearm Deer Season, Nov. 16-18.  The second portion of the firearm season will be Nov. 29-Dec. 2.

The preliminary harvest total of 72,111 for the first three days of the 2012 firearm season compares with the first weekend harvest of 66,501 deer during the 2011 deer season.  The top county harvest total last weekend was in Pike with 2,108 deer, followed by Fulton (2,048), Adams (1,938), Jo Daviess (1,877) and Randolph (1,665).  For the entire seven-day firearm season in 2011, hunters harvested 98,820 deer.  The preliminary first-season figures reported for each county include those deer taken on special hunt areas within that county as well as on private land.

“Hunters enjoyed near perfect conditions during our first firearm weekend,” said Paul Shelton, IDNR Forest Wildlife Program Manager.  “Temperatures were cool, winds were calm, crops were out of the fields, and rutting activity was ongoing.  We hope hunters enjoyed their time in the field.”

Approximately 60 percent of the deer taken during the first weekend of firearm hunting were bucks, compared with 61 percent bucks taken during the first weekend of the firearm season in 2011. 

The IDNR has issued more than 334,000 firearm deer hunting permits so far for the 2012 season.  For information on remaining permits, check the IDNR website at this link:  www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deer. Remaining firearm deer hunting opportunities in Illinois include the second segment of the firearm season on Nov. 29-Dec. 2, the three-day Muzzleloader-only Deer Season on Dec. 7-9, and the seven-day split Late-Winter Firearm Antlerless-only Deer Season and Special CWD Deer Season on Dec. 27-30, 2012 and Jan. 18-20,2013.  Hunters are reminded that 10 fewer counties will be open for the Late-Winter season in 2012-13 (see map):
http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Documents/LateWinterDeerSeasonMap.pdf.

For more information on Illinois deer hunting regulations, check the IDNR web site at this link:
www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deer

The table below provides preliminary county harvest totals for the first segment of the 2012 firearm season and comparable figures for the first season in 2011.

County 2011 2012
Adams 1784 1938
Alexander 326 304
Bond 551 545
Boone 95 96
Brown 846 992
Bureau 905 1014
Calhoun 713 668
Carroll 708 835
Cass 445 580
Champaign 195 239
Christian 510 472
Clark 871 951
Clay 938 909
Clinton 583 580
Coles 530 502
Crawford 749 831
Cumberland 663 701
DeKalb 131 143
DeWitt 288 299
Douglas 176 145
Edgar 513 605
Edwards 248 314
Effingham 745 728
Fayette 1322 1284
Ford 85 96
Franklin 852 907
Fulton 1775 2048
Gallatin 365 331
Greene 917 991
Grundy 298 322
Hamilton 748 841
Hancock 1412 1515
Hardin 780 790
Henderson 423 485
Henry 532 592
Iroquois 481 549
Jackson 1476 1621
Jasper 819 852
Jefferson 1496 1540
Jersey 554 677
Jo Daviess 1664 1877
Johnson 1267 1309
Kane 28 36
Kankakee 147 170
Kendall 55 56
Knox 1022 1146
Lake 6 9
LaSalle 812 887
Lawrence 351 432
Lee 509 565
Livingston 394 468
Logan 305 358
Macon 227 229
Macoupin 1184 1366
Madison 606 686
Marion 1218 1319
Marshall 561 597
Mason 443 438
Massac 390 463
McDonough 698 736
McHenry 214 287
McLean 483 602
Menard 272 345
Mercer 671 755
Monroe 661 794
Montgomery 834 773
Morgan 650 658
Moultrie 227 226
Ogle 740 796
Peoria 1051 1093
Perry 822 956
Piatt 125 135
Pike 1917 2108
Pope 1360 1212
Pulaski 433 439
Putnam 324 389
Randolph 1406 1665
Richland 524 532
Rock Island 638 690
Saline 688 690
Sangamon 524 644
Schuyler 1120 1225
Scott 357 352
Shelby 1002 940
St. Clair 651 691
Stark 206 247
Stephenson 687 797
Tazewell 488 619
Union 1163 1319
Vermilion 628 627
Wabash 171 216
Warren 435 559
Washington 754 803
Wayne 1238 1188
White 606 602
Whiteside 512 648
Will 225 260
Williamson 1103 1145
Winnebago 306 379
Woodford 550 726
Total 66501 72111