If only because the weather was too nice all three days, I’m a little surprised that preliminary harvest figures for the first part of Illinois’ firearm deer season are up slightly from last year.
I don’t remember a first part of firearm season that was so nice for all three days as it was this year. I also wondered if certain single-shot rifles being allowed would make a difference. Not sure if a change of less than 1,000 means anything significant statistically.
The Illinois Department of Nature Resources broke down the harvest of the first part this way:
SPRINGFIELD – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 53,348 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois firearm deer season between Nov. 17-19. Comparatively, hunters took 52,354 deer during the first firearm weekend in 2022.
The second part of Illinois’ firearm deer season is Thursday, Nov. 30, to Sunday, Dec. 3.
Click here for the complete press release from the IDNR, including a table breaking down harvest by count.
