April 25, 2024
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First weekend firearm deer hunting total announced

Totals up in La Salle, Woodford, Marshall counties

By Shaw Local News Network
A pair of white-tailed deer stroll through the snowy woods Monday, April 18, 2022, at Shabbona Lake State Park after a spring snow fell in the late night hours of Easter Sunday into Monday morning.

Hunters in Illinois tallied a preliminary total of 52,354 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois firearm deer season. (Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com/Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com)

First weekend firearm deer hunting totals from Nov. 18-20 are up in La Salle, Woodford and Marshall counties from 2021.

Totals were down in Bureau, Putnam and Livingston counties.

There were 609 deer taken in Bureau County (down three from 2021), 434 in Woodford County (up 37 from 2021), 427 in La Salle County (up 18 from 2021), 412 in Marshall County (up 19 from 2021), 268 in Livingston County (down 44 from 2021) and 228 in Putnam County (down eight from 2021).

Hunters in Illinois tallied a preliminary total of 52,354 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois firearm deer season.

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.