Archery harvest stays ahead of last year: Illinois deer hunting

Really big weekend, Illinois bowhunters: Archery harvest stays ahead of 2017-18

By Dale Bowman

A scene earlier in the deer season in Illinois.
Dale Bowman/Sun-Times

Depending whether you’re a bowhunter or gun hunter or both, the update on archery harvest of deer in Illinois is good news or something else.

Of particular note, more than 6,000 deer were harvested by bowhunters over the weekend. That is one signal of the rut being near peak. An even better signal of the rut is that males made up 66 percent of harvest for the seven days through Monday.

Interesting stats considering the first firearm season is early, coming Friday through Sunday.

On another note that fascinates me, crossbows have accounted for 39 percent of the archery harvest so far.

Here is the update from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:

Here’s an update on the Illinois Archery Deer Season from the IDNR Division of Wildlife Resources: ARCHERY DEER SEASON Through Monday, November 12, 2018, Illinois archery deer hunters harvested a preliminary total of 42,654 deer, compared to 41,345 for the same period in 2017. Harvest for the last seven days was 15,255, with 3,040 deer taken on Saturday and 3,231 taken on Sunday. Harvest to date has consisted of 47% does and 53% males (20137:22517), but males comprised 66% of the harvest during the past seven days. Sixty percent of the harvest has been taken using compound bows; 39% by crossbows; and 1% by traditional bows (longbows and recurves). The top five counties for archery deer harvest through November 12 were Pike (1,498), Fulton (1,135), Adams (1,036), Jefferson (948), and JoDaviess (894). County results are included in the attached table.

Preliminary Illinois archery deer harvest through 11/12

County	2017	2018
Adams	946	1036
Alexander	94	132
Bond	268	305
Boone	97	107
Brown	663	711
Bureau	508	516
Calhoun	482	507
Carroll	469	455
Cass	433	465
Champaign	265	251
Christian	348	388
Clark	551	623
Clay	359	390
Clinton	289	351
Coles	485	501
Cook	64	70
Crawford	641	615
Cumberland	326	337
DeKalb	120	123
DeWitt	351	364
Douglas	133	133
Dupage	23	12
Edgar	294	325
Edwards	142	138
Effingham	322	345
Fayette	563	662
Ford	36	36
Franklin	662	673
Fulton	1206	1135
Gallatin	162	147
Greene	592	590
Grundy	221	240
Hamilton	403	419
Hancock	601	635
Hardin	258	274
Henderson	175	179
Henry	351	376
Iroquois	236	262
Jackson	751	732
Jasper	382	468
Jefferson	922	948
Jersey	361	401
JoDaviess	843	894
Johnson	418	445
Kane	201	198
Kankakee	187	229
Kendall	121	106
Knox	674	689
Lake	190	194
LaSalle	509	565
Lawrence	327	295
Lee	305	322
Livingston	170	177
Logan	210	228
Macon	327	287
Macoupin	798	763
Madison	561	627
Marion	658	634
Marshall	234	256
Mason	253	262
Massac	170	176
McDonough	390	429
McHenry	366	389
McLean	369	381
Menard	285	287
Mercer	399	396
Monroe	293	285
Montgomery	439	531
Morgan	429	427
Moultrie	239	241
Ogle	468	489
Peoria	671	618
Perry	526	549
Piatt	119	120
Pike	1528	1498
Pope	560	606
Pulaski	137	123
Putnam	156	179
Randolph	730	752
Richland	289	270
Rock Island	559	529
Saline	327	342
Sangamon	546	620
Schuyler	774	746
Scott	196	167
Shelby	556	621
St. Clair	442	463
Stark	90	100
Stephenson	390	375
Tazewell	389	455
Union	488	532
Vermilion	582	619
Wabash	141	120
Warren	207	210
Washington	363	359
Wayne	614	503
White	300	251
Whiteside	364	365
Will	451	516
Williamson	720	713
Winnebago	360	365
Woodford	382	389
Total	41345	42654

Next Up In News

Netflix looks to curb password sharing, considers ads

Aiming to predict COVID, future pandemics better, CDC opens infectious diseases forecasting center

Joliet farmers wrangle cows thrown from semitrailer after crash on Interstate 80

1 killed, 3 wounded in shootings Tuesday in Chicago

Obama relatives sue Milwaukee school alleging racial bias

Unmasked transit: Pritzker ends mask mandates in public transportation, airports