Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 144,150 deer during 2016-17 seasons

Deer hunting wrapped up on Jan. 15

SPRINGFIELD, IL.   Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 144,150 deer during all 2016-17 seasons, which concluded Jan. 15. The total preliminary deer harvest for all seasons compares with a total harvest for all seasons of 155,229 in 2015-16. 

During this year’s deer seasons, hunters took 44 percent does and 56 percent males.  

A breakdown of Illinois deer hunting seasons is as follows: 

Archery:  Archery deer hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 53,479 deer during the season which began on Oct. 1, 2016 and concluded on Jan. 15, 2017.  That compares with the harvest of 56,767 during the 2015-16 archery season. 

Youth:  Young deer hunters harvested 3,259 deer during the 2016 Illinois Youth Deer Season conducted on Oct. 8-10, 2016, compared with 2,850 deer harvested during the 2015 youth hunt.  

Traditional Firearm Season:  Hunters took a preliminary total of 79,429 deer during the 2016 Illinois Firearm Deer Season on Nov. 18-20 and Dec. 1-4, 2016, compared with 86,847 deer taken during the 2015 firearm season. 

Muzzleloader:  Hunters using muzzleloading rifles harvested 3,297 deer during the 2016 Muzzleloader-Only Deer Season on Dec. 9-11, 2016, compared with 2,403 in 2015. 

Late-Winter Seasons:  The 2016-17 Late-Winter Antlerless Only and Special CWD deer seasons concluded on Jan. 15, with a combined preliminary harvest total for both seasons of 4,686 deer, compared with a harvest of 6,362 deer taken during those seasons in 2015-16.  Season dates for the Late-Winter and CWD seasons were Dec. 29, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 13-15, 2017.  
  
There were 14 northern Illinois counties open to the Special CWD Season in 2016-17, the same counties that were open for the 2015-16 seasons.  The Special CWD season is used to assist in slowing the spread of chronic wasting disease in the Illinois deer herd. 

There were 24 counties open for the Late-Winter Antlerless Season in 2016-17.  Four counties open previously for the late-winter season were closed for 2016-17 because they had reached deer population goals, while one county was added to the late-winter hunt. Counties that are at or below their individual goal for two consecutive years may be removed from the late-winter season.

The tables below provide a county-by-county summary of preliminary deer harvest results for 2016-17 and harvest results for 2015-16.

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