Young man lives magical moment in Illinois’ first firearm deer season, which had low harvest

Deer hunting is an impractical pursuit of magical moments.

Scott Brejcha of Naperville had one, and it wasn’t his deer. His 12-year-old son, Griffin, shot his first buck in Stephenson County during Illinois’ first firearm deer season, which ended Sunday and had a very low harvest (breakdown at bottom).

‘‘It was a magical moment for [him and me], 70 yards,’’ Brejcha emailed. ‘‘Picture-perfect shot [with a] 20-gauge slug gun. Very proud dad!’’

It was a 10-point.

‘‘I still have the happy shivers for him,’’ Brejcha emailed. ‘‘I, to this day, have not landed a buck of this size in my life. As you can imagine, it was a glorious moment for him . . . but me too!’’

Illinois had mixed weather for the three-day season. Northern areas had high, blue skies for the opener Friday, but other areas were damper.

‘‘Have not seen any bucks chasing does,’’ Ken Jahnke emailed Saturday from Clark County. ‘‘Nice weather, but pouring rain today. Deer are hardly moving at all. Have heard very few shots since yesterday. At least all the crops are finally out down here.’’

From Edwards County, Gary Bloom emailed that it was wet. He also sent a photo of Addison Hortin, a young man from Decatur who shot a 10-point Saturday.

From Ogle County, Bob Coine emailed Friday: ‘‘Opening day can be summed up as bucks, bucks and more bucks. Saw only one doe and many bucks, all in slow-motion cruising. . . . All of us had a great day watching and passing deer.’’

Here is the breakdown of harvest from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:

County 2018 2019
ADAMS 1647 1437
ALEXANDER 353 311
BOND 583 500
BOONE 110 71
BROWN 757 604
BUREAU 749 622
CALHOUN 618 494
CARROLL 511 432
CASS 489 380
CHAMPAIGN 152 133
CHRISTIAN 475 372
CLARK 873 694
CLAY 932 774
CLINTON 591 453
COLES 492 417
CRAWFORD 834 562
CUMBERLAND 563 511
DEKALB 87 80
DEWITT 244 206
DOUGLAS 115 88
EDGAR 413 346
EDWARDS 290 219
EFFINGHAM 773 597
FAYETTE 1193 1004
FORD 75 73
FRANKLIN 961 853
FULTON 1329 1243
GALLATIN 286 249
GREENE 700 632
GRUNDY 187 194
HAMILTON 836 717
HANCOCK 1132 1032
HARDIN 690 602
HENDERSON 315 264
HENRY 346 254
IROQUOIS 342 339
JACKSON 1717 1422
JASPER 778 667
JEFFERSON 1334 1251
JERSEY 474 401
JODAVIESS 1312 1005
JOHNSON 1205 1026
KANE 19 18
KANKAKEE 144 132
KENDALL 60 53
KNOX 862 704
LAKE 0 5
LASALLE 555 469
LAWRENCE 468 348
LEE 380 311
LIVINGSTON 325 275
LOGAN 281 251
MACON 152 149
MACOUPIN 1300 1025
MADISON 618 442
MARION 1234 995
MARSHALL 460 402
MASON 309 235
MASSAC 286 261
MCDONOUGH 607 461
MCHENRY 199 170
MCLEAN 405 347
MENARD 269 236
MERCER 618 521
MONROE 828 699
MONTGOMERY 613 540
MORGAN 518 401
MOULTRIE 179 156
OGLE 569 436
PEORIA 589 571
PERRY 1000 882
PIATT 85 83
PIKE 1361 1174
POPE 1176 1064
PULASKI 207 209
PUTNAM 254 250
RANDOLPH 1637 1553
RICHLAND 525 431
ROCK ISLAND 560 415
SALINE 666 602
SANGAMON 419 329
SCHUYLER 1005 800
SCOTT 214 197
SHELBY 837 757
STARK 132 94
ST. CLAIR 552 478
STEPHENSON 459 365
TAZEWELL 352 339
UNION 981 913
VERMILION 335 323
WABASH 149 105
WARREN 347 303
WASHINGTON 737 640
WAYNE 1022 943
WHITE 527 456
WHITESIDE 466 373
WILL 209 160
WILLIAMSON 1256 1220
WINNEBAGO 267 173
WOODFORD 389 398
Total 58836 50173