Deer hunting wrapped up on Jan. 15

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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.

2016-2017 Preliminary Deer Harvest

County

Archery

Youth

Firearm

Muzzleloader

LW/CWD

Total

Adams

1202

89

2358

105

-

3754

Alexander

166

12

421

28

-

627

Bond

328

28

571

14

-

941

Boone

117

1

121

2

37

278

Brown

821

59

967

57

231

2135

Bureau

634

29

998

64

-

1725

Calhoun

634

53

792

46

-

1525

Carroll

541

26

747

26

103

1443

Cass

530

21

683

27

-

1261

Champaign

295

15

228

15

-

553

Christian

425

42

608

26

-

1101

Clark

756

43

998

51

156

2004

Clay

518

37

1089

31

79

1754

Clinton

315

15

626

7

-

963

Coles

527

17

549

19

-

1112

Cook

108

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-

-

-

-

108

Crawford

779

30

950

27

96

1882

Cumberland

363

32

708

24

-

1127

DeKalb

177

6

139

2

29

353

DeWitt

429

17

335

15

-

796

Douglas

133

6

138

7

-

284

Dupage

35

-

-

-

-

35

Edgar

370

27

566

19

86

1068

Edwards

209

18

412

17

-

656

Effingham

422

39

806

26

-

1293

Fayette

654

63

1501

43

-

2261

Ford

43

5

124

4

-

176

Franklin

966

51

1265

60

-

2342

Fulton

1492

86

2010

92

334

4014

Gallatin

254

19

468

22

-

763

Greene

652

51

1055

40

-

1798

Grundy

295

6

300

13

72

686

Hamilton

632

37

 

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