
Illinois bowhunters harvested more than half of their deer with crossbows last season for the first time.
That continues a steady upward trend since general use of crossbows was legalized in 2017. In the 2021-22 season, 51.5 percent of deer harvest by bowhunters was with a crossbow while compound bows accounted for 47.4 and traditional (long or recurve bows) 1.1.