Illinois deer hunting seasons preliminary harvest totals 153,048

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (January 28, 2020) – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 153,048 deer during all 2019-20 archery and firearm seasons, which concluded Jan. 19, 2020. The total preliminary deer harvest for all seasons compares with a total harvest for all seasons of 151,709 deer in 2018-19.

During the 2019-20 deer seasons, hunters took 45 percent does and 55 percent males.

Archery:  Archery deer hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 67,696 deer during the season which began Oct. 1, 2019 and concluded Jan. 19, 2020. That compares with the harvest of 61,096 deer during the 2018-19 archery season.

Youth:  Youth deer hunters harvested a preliminary total of 3,775 deer during the three-day Illinois Youth Deer Season Oct. 12-14, 2019, compared to 1,660 in 2018.

Traditional Firearm Season:  Hunters took a preliminary total of 75,349 deer during the Illinois Firearm Deer Season Nov. 22-24, 2019 and Dec. 5-8, 2019, compared with 80,957 deer taken during the 2018 firearm season.

Muzzleloader:  Hunters using muzzleloading rifles harvested a preliminary total of 3,061 deer during the Muzzleloader-Only Deer Season Dec. 13-15, 2019, compared with harvest of 3,900 in the 2018 muzzleloader season.

Late-Winter Seasons:  The 2019-20 Late-Winter Antlerless-Only and Special CWD deer seasons concluded Jan. 19, 2020, with a combined preliminary harvest total for both seasons of 3,167 deer, compared with a harvest of 4,096 deer taken during those seasons in 2018-19. Season dates for the seven-day Late-Winter and CWD seasons were Dec. 26-30, 2019 and Jan. 17-19, 2020.

There were 15 northern Illinois counties open to the Special CWD Season, which is used to assist in slowing the spread of chronic wasting disease in the Illinois deer herd.

There were 20 counties open for the Late-Winter Antlerless Season in 2019-20. Counties that are at or below their individual deer population 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 2019-20, and final 2018-19 harvest results for comparison.