The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has announced a preliminary total of 76,579 deer were taken by hunters during the seven-day 2020 Illinois Firearm Deer Season that concluded Sunday, Dec. 6. A final total of 75,417 deer were harvested during the firearm season in 2019, a news release says.
The preliminary harvest for the second segment of the firearm season (Dec. 3-6) was 29,432, compared with 25,176 during the second season in 2019. The preliminary harvest for the first segment of this year’s firearm season (Nov. 20-22) was 47,147 deer.
Remaining 2020-21 deer season hunting opportunities in Illinois in the weeks ahead include:
• Muzzleloader-Only Deer Season, Dec. 11-13;
• Late-Winter Antlerless-Only Deer Season and CWD Deer Season (in designated counties only), Dec. 31, 2020 – Jan. 3, 2021 and Jan. 15-17, 2021; and
• Archery Deer Season, which continues through Jan. 17, 2021.
A map showing the counties open to the Late-Winter and CWD seasons can be found at:
https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/programs/CWD/Documents/Late_Winter_CWD_Map.pdf
For more deer hunting information, visit:
https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/hunting/Pages/DeerHunting.aspx
A table of preliminary Firearm Deer Season harvest totals for 2020 by county, and comparable totals for 2019, is below.
| QC region counties | 2020 1st Season | 2020 2nd Season | 2020 Total | 2019 Total |
| FULTON | 1193 | 720 | 1913 | 1904 |
| HENDERSON | 307 | 146 | 453 | 406 |
| HENRY | 290 | 159 | 449 | 407 |
| JODAVIESS | 1027 | 517 | 1544 | 1455 |
| KNOX | 682 | 454 | 1136 | 1086 |
| MCDONOUGH | 452 | 313 | 765 | 713 |
| MERCER | 532 | 301 | 833 | 789 |
| ROCK ISLAND | 461 | 232 | 693 | 601 |
| WARREN | 292 | 179 | 471 | 465 |
| WHITESIDE | 420 | 186 | 606 | 560 |
| Total (all) | 47147 | 29432 | 76579 | 75417 |