Illinois deer harvest lowest in recent years: Drops to 144,150

Illinois deer hunters checked or reported the lowest harvest during the 2016-17 seasons since the peak in 2005.
Credit: Dale Bowman

Illinois deer harvest in all 2016-17 seasons dropped to the lowest since the harvest peak in 2005. And you can’t blame the weather.

All seasons harvest for the 2016-17 seasons was 144,150 deer, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday. That was down seven percent from 155,229 in 2015-16. Peak harvest came in 2005 with 201,209.

Harvest in firearms seasons dropped to 79,429 from 86,847 deer; archery to 53,479 from 56,767; late-winter antlerless and special CWD seasons to 4,686 from 6,362.

Only harvest by youth hunters (3,259 vs 2,850) and muzzleloader (3,297 vs 2,403) increased.

Here is the breakdown from the IDNR:

Hunters in Illinois Harvested a Preliminary Total of 144,150 Deer During 2016-17 Seasons Deer hunting wrapped up on Jan. 15 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.

The county-by-county summary:

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	–	–	–	–	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	1166	39	145	2019
Hancock	720	50	1638	76	–	2484
Hardin	397	16	889	44	–	1346
Henderson	254	11	521	25	72	883
Henry	431	17	592	20	–	1060
Iroquois	351	11	516	32	–	910
Jackson	998	98	2243	68	–	3407
Jasper	483	48	969	29	–	1529
Jefferson	1231	93	1875	84	–	3283
Jersey	460	34	669	16	–	1179
JoDaviess	972	74	1862	84	500	3492
Johnson	631	39	1639	45	–	2354
Kane	264	–	30	1	7	302
Kankakee	282	10	204	13	54	563
Kendall	163	6	101	5	25	300
Knox	857	37	1196	52	162	2304
Lake	273	–	5	–	–	278
LaSalle	689	25	753	34	149	1650
Lawrence	476	11	583	37	–	1107
Lee	410	20	510	33	71	1044
Livingston	191	14	423	16	36	680
Logan	247	25	357	19	–	648
Macon	411	17	251	25	–	704
Macoupin	853	68	1400	49	–	2370
Madison	729	26	622	33	46	1456
Marion	869	67	1452	51	138	2577
Marshall	333	27	552	26	–	938
Mason	312	19	438	15	–	784
Massac	338	12	587	23	–	960
McDonough	501	28	848	37	99	1513
McHenry	528	7	294	10	99	938
McLean	460	20	516	25	69	1090
Menard	319	12	368	31	–	730
Mercer	415	33	866	31	145	1490
Monroe	345	31	921	22	99	1418
Montgomery	574	47	769	19	–	1409
Morgan	512	29	774	22	–	1337
Moultrie	253	23	201	9	–	486
Ogle	690	29	791	41	240	1791
Peoria	805	39	961	37	–	1842
Perry	807	48	1210	40	261	2366
Piatt	129	7	111	6	–	253
Pike	2063	129	2109	158	–	4459
Pope	828	34	1429	48	–	2339
Pulaski	219	20	414	18	–	671
Putnam	236	14	335	19	48	652
Randolph	1006	130	2287	88	–	3511
Richland	384	32	723	29	–	1168
Rock Island	653	27	782	39	100	1601
Saline	457	41	898	37	–	1433
Sangamon	675	28	586	40	–	1329
Schuyler	850	79	1293	50	213	2485
Scott	201	16	384	12	–	613
Shelby	648	34	1085	36	93	1896
Stark	110	4	194	9	–	317
St. Clair	530	32	661	13	–	1236
Stephenson	474	14	853	17	160	1518
Tazewell	478	25	515	14	–	1032
Union	750	61	1557	63	–	2431
Vermilion	745	25	581	46	97	1494
Wabash	206	21	209	19	–	455
Warren	247	12	558	29	–	846
Washington	463	40	948	35	–	1486
Wayne	835	67	1574	46	–	2522
White	508	42	831	37	169	1587
Whiteside	481	18	574	31	–	1104
Will	728	5	244	31	60	1068
Williamson	985	59	1681	45	–	2770
Winnebago	459	10	324	13	106	912
Woodford	475	32	594	22	–	1123
Total	53479	3259	79429	3297	4686	144150

2015-2016 Preliminary Deer Harvest
County	Archery	Youth	Firearm	Muzzleloader	LW/CWD	Total
Adams	1207	90	2398	67	–	3762
Alexander	224	11	554	12	–	801
Bond	349	15	677	12	–	1053
Boone	147	3	127	2	36	315
Brown	756	51	1089	47	317	2260
Bureau	627	22	1129	46	–	1824
Calhoun	740	43	956	44	–	1783
Carroll	564	18	782	31	136	1531
Cass	605	23	759	20	–	1407
Champaign	306	12	217	11	–	546
Christian	465	19	612	16	–	1112
Clark	704	31	1070	47	174	2026
Clay	491	40	1096	26	130	1783
Clinton	340	22	616	10	–	988
Coles	533	15	564	21	–	1133
Cook	131	–	–	–	–	131
Crawford	796	34	964	22	165	1981
Cumberland	391	17	724	17	–	1149
DeKalb	149	2	127	4	34	316
DeWitt	487	17	389	17	–	910
Douglas	158	4	151	3	–	316
DuPage	37	–	–	–	–	37
Edgar	406	23	637	13	75	1154
Edwards	234	13	462	13	63	785
Effingham	411	29	872	15	–	1327
Fayette	641	52	1661	35	–	2389
Ford	49	3	136	4	–	192
Franklin	1050	58	1350	35	–	2493
Fulton	1622	70	2166	61	459	4378
Gallatin	347	29	518	15	–	909
Greene	661	32	1187	26	–	1906
Grundy	343	4	360	8	96	811
Hamilton	591	46	1181	28	186	2032
Hancock	692	49	1816	79	–	2636
Hardin	438	26	1000	33	–	1497
Henderson	282	10	560	11	115	978
Henry	464	18	748	18	–	1248
Iroquois	383	15	557	23	–	978
Jackson	1083	76	2368	48	–	3575
Jasper	496	44	944	37	–	1521
Jefferson	1264	91	2114	56	–	3525
Jersey	488	27	663	13	–	1191
JoDaviess	1083	48	2133	46	522	3832
Johnson	670	61	1736	42	–	2509
Kane	324	–	30	–	24	378
Kankakee	275	5	195	9	62	546
Kendall	194	4	85	4	31	318
Knox	948	34	1332	31	190	2535
Lake	461	–	4	–	–	465
LaSalle	722	19	844	12	189	1786
Lawrence	486	14	655	16	–	1171
Lee	449	16	623	17	79	1184
Livingston	244	13	427	12	54	750
Logan	272	29	427	15	–	743
Macon	469	14	262	16	–	761
Macoupin	917	55	1545	45	–	2562
Madison	857	34	736	8	82	1717
Marion	897	70	1552	32	185	2736
Marshall	338	19	611	6	64	1038
Mason	344	19	491	12	–	866
Massac	369	14	671	24	–	1078
McDonough	448	24	836	28	149	1485
McHenry	599	2	321	11	106	1039
McLean	462	17	607	21	62	1169
Menard	334	7	398	13	–	752
Mercer	519	24	900	25	137	1605
Monroe	312	22	958	11	70	1373
Montgomery	602	52	924	20	–	1598
Morgan	508	34	792	17	–	1351
Moultrie	312	13	218	8	–	551
Ogle	740	28	937	19	237	1961
Peoria	875	28	1106	30	–	2039
Perry	804	48	1345	50	–	2247
Piatt	124	4	98	5	–	231
Pike	2144	130	2213	117	473	5077
Pope	829	38	1626	43	–	2536
Pulaski	218	16	534	25	–	793
Putnam	266	5	399	5	73	748
Randolph	972	106	2339	53	–	3470
Richland	384	23	750	13	–	1170
Rock Island	715	19	818	23	143	1718
Saline	527	24	953	20	183	1707
Sangamon	726	25	726	33	–	1510
Schuyler	857	49	1416	48	344	2714
Scott	212	8	448	11	–	679
Shelby	675	34	1161	26	113	2009
Stark	110	5	226	9	–	350
St. Clair	605	29	755	17	–	1406
Stephenson	490	8	826	11	218	1553
Tazewell	561	18	555	11	–	1145
Union	793	56	1952	62	–	2863
Vermilion	821	32	649	23	120	1645
Wabash	211	11	250	7	–	479
Warren	279	8	604	18	–	909
Washington	479	27	1001	19	–	1526
Wayne	888	62	1608	46	–	2604
White	588	28	852	29	250	1747
Whiteside	477	13	729	14	–	1233
Will	754	9	321	16	81	1181
Williamson	1095	50	1955	27	–	3127
Winnebago	485	9	382	10	135	1021
Woodford	496	33	699	16	–	1244
Total	56767	2850	86847	2403	6362	155229

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