Hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 81,225 deer during the seven-day 2025 Illinois firearm deer season that concluded Dec. 7. Comparatively, hunters harvested 82,496 deer during the 2024 firearm season.

The preliminary harvest for the second weekend of the firearm season, Dec. 4-7, was 29,816 compared with 27,835 deer harvested during the same period in 2024. The preliminary harvest for the first weekend of this year’s firearm season, Nov. 21-23, was 51,409 deer.

Remaining 2025-2026 deer hunting opportunities in Illinois include:

• Late-winter antlerless-only and chronic wasting disease (CWD) season, in designated counties only, Jan. 1-4 and Jan. 16-18.

• Archery deer season continues through Jan. 18.

More information about deer hunting in Illinois can be found online. A table of some preliminary 2025 firearm deer season totals by county is listed below, with 2024 totals for comparison.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is celebrating 100 years of conservation service in 2025, having been established on July 1, 1925, as the Illinois Department of Conservation to oversee fish and game, forestry, public works, and lakes.

Today, IDNR manages about 400 sites across Illinois, including state parks, historic sites, wildlife areas, the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, and the Illinois State Museum, while handling Lake Michigan water allocation, conservation police, mines and minerals, oil and gas, and various licenses and permits.