Overall deer harvest was slightly in Illinois during the 2019-20 seasons, largely because of higher archery harvest.deer hunting.

File photo of a sign for a deer check station. Credit: Dale Bowman — File photo of a deer check sign during firearm deer season in Illinois.

When all seasons were combined for Illinois deer hunting, overall harvest was up slightly, just under one percent. The driver in that increase came from a higher archery harvest, up by more than 6,000 to 67,696 deer.

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

Illinois Deer Hunting Seasons Preliminary Harvest Totals 153,048 Deer SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 153,048 deer during all 2019-20 archery and firearm seasons, which concluded Jan. 19, 2020. The total preliminary deer harvest for all seasons compares with a total harvest for all seasons of 151,709 deer in 2018-19. During the 2019-20 deer seasons, hunters took 45 percent does and 55 percent males. Archery: Archery deer hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 67,696 deer during the season which began Oct. 1, 2019 and concluded Jan. 19, 2020. That compares with the harvest of 61,096 deer during the 2018-19 archery season. Youth: Youth deer hunters harvested a preliminary total of 3,775 deer during the three-day Illinois Youth Deer Season Oct. 12-14, 2019, compared to 1,660 in 2018. Traditional Firearm Season: Hunters took a preliminary total of 75,349 deer during the Illinois Firearm Deer Season Nov. 22-24, 2019 and Dec. 5-8, 2019, compared with 80,957 deer taken during the 2018 firearm season. Muzzleloader: Hunters using muzzleloading rifles harvested a preliminary total of 3,061 deer during the Muzzleloader-Only Deer Season Dec. 13-15, 2019, compared with harvest of 3,900 in the 2018 muzzleloader season. Late-Winter Seasons: The 2019-20 Late-Winter Antlerless-Only and Special CWD deer seasons concluded Jan. 19, 2020, with a combined preliminary harvest total for both seasons of 3,167 deer, compared with a harvest of 4,096 deer taken during those seasons in 2018-19. Season dates for the seven-day Late-Winter and CWD seasons were Dec. 26-30, 2019 and Jan. 17-19, 2020. There were 15 northern Illinois counties open to the Special CWD Season, which is used to assist in slowing the spread of chronic wasting disease in the Illinois deer herd. There were 20 counties open for the Late-Winter Antlerless Season in 2019-20. Counties that are at or below their individual deer population 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 2019-20, and final 2018-19 harvest results for comparison.

2019-2020 Preliminary Deer Harvest
County Archery Youth Firearm Muzzleloader LW-CWD Total

Adams 1491 126 2174 80 0 3871
Alexander 232 24 443 24 0 723
Bond 420 26 708 13 0 1167
Boone 145 4 146 2 21 318
Brown 877 62 970 39 171 2119
Bureau 719 30 962 44 0 1755
Calhoun 891 56 848 42 0 1837
Carroll 598 16 640 20 75 1349
Cass 666 25 597 28 0 1316
Champaign 393 17 206 19 0 635
Christian 546 29 563 27 0 1165
Clark 845 37 1036 59 0 1977
Clay 652 61 1095 29 90 1927
Clinton 564 33 630 22 0 1249
Coles 768 20 620 22 0 1430
Cook 145 0 0 0 0 145
Crawford 904 48 885 29 133 1999
Cumberland 583 42 770 31 0 1426
DeKalb 179 3 114 8 23 327
DeWitt 525 21 333 24 0 903
Douglas 180 9 136 9 0 334
DuPage 42 0 0 0 0 42
Edgar 489 20 530 28 0 1067
Edwards 308 22 365 19 0 714
Effingham 619 75 888 28 75 1685
Fayette 1081 58 1513 52 0 2704
Ford 59 5 106 5 0 175
Franklin 1239 42 1345 65 0 2691
Fulton 1747 100 1899 69 209 4024
Gallatin 314 10 399 14 0 737
Greene 913 66 1042 51 0 2072
Grundy 356 9 287 11 39 702
Hamilton 875 63 1041 40 147 2166
Hancock 902 71 1654 81 0 2708
Hardin 492 20 857 44 0 1413
Henderson 312 23 406 17 48 806
Henry 537 27 407 21 0 992
Iroquois 427 25 493 28 0 973
Jackson 1266 93 2099 74 0 3532
Jasper 733 58 1028 37 0 1856
Jefferson 1716 102 1888 99 0 3805
Jersey 638 41 627 21 0 1327
JoDaviess 1128 62 1464 37 316 3007
Johnson 784 54 1382 44 0 2264
Kane 327 1 20 2 6 356
Kankakee 305 10 216 11 34 576
Kendall 196 5 82 6 18 307
Knox 1006 38 1084 45 85 2258
Lake 291 0 5 - 0 296
LaSalle 719 25 683 25 114 1566
Lawrence 558 27 576 30 0 1191
Lee 436 25 448 21 39 969
Livingston 236 12 380 5 37 670
Logan 447 31 359 19 0 856
Macon 495 23 221 30 0 769
Macoupin 1236 80 1557 53 113 3039
Madison 987 47 632 26 36 1728
Marion 1186 76 1467 41 173 2943
Marshall 393 25 571 19 0 1008
Mason 497 26 355 15 0 893
Massac 401 14 434 16 0 865
McDonough 577 43 713 39 56 1428
McHenry 584 2 243 5 42 876
McLean 539 23 522 28 0 1112
Menard 442 23 359 20 0 844
Mercer 538 43 788 26 70 1465
Monroe 473 45 948 20 58 1544
Montgomery 841 49 799 22 0 1711
Morgan 678 30 632 20 0 1360
Moultrie 400 17 236 8 0 661
Ogle 637 27 612 18 119 1413
Peoria 968 37 848 28 0 1881
Perry 1005 67 1318 58 291 2739
Piatt 260 9 116 9 0 394
Pike 2152 174 1925 136 0 4387
Pope 938 35 1430 67 0 2470
Pulaski 299 22 279 10 0 610
Putnam 297 9 337 12 50 705
Randolph 1288 172 2253 73 0 3786
Richland 536 28 685 24 0 1273
Rock Island 682 29 602 22 41 1376
Saline 655 49 878 38 130 1750
Sangamon 935 29 524 27 0 1515
Schuyler 1075 72 1310 55 0 2512
Scott 298 16 317 13 0 644
Shelby 1004 53 1115 45 82 2299
St. Clair 746 39 635 17 0 1437
Stark 144 8 147 10 0 309
Stephenson 531 17 597 12 109 1266
Tazewell 677 28 494 18 0 1217
Union 943 54 1272 51 0 2320
Vermilion 943 21 509 37 0 1510
Wabash 225 9 147 8 0 389
Warren 281 10 464 13 0 768
Washington 623 43 908 32 0 1606
Wayne 1092 61 1415 50 0 2618
White 575 37 756 50 0 1418
Whiteside 493 28 559 13 0 1093
Will 732 14 247 14 50 1057
Williamson 1399 36 1857 60 0 3352
Winnebago 480 8 264 11 67 830
Woodford 695 59 603 22 0 1379

Total 67696 3775 75349 3061 3167 153048

* * *

218-2019 Final Deer Harvest
County Archery Youth Firearm Muzzleloader LW-CWD Total

Adams 1398 78 2339 132 0 3947
Alexander 193 6 505 25 0 729
Bond 397 10 733 20 0 1160
Boone 125 3 140 2 27 297
Brown 938 30 1070 76 210 2324
Bureau 689 23 1082 70 0 1864
Calhoun 776 21 853 60 0 1710
Carroll 546 13 684 25 107 1375
Cass 643 11 693 48 0 1395
Champaign 375 6 209 11 0 601
Christian 529 9 610 26 0 1174
Clark 875 20 1187 62 0 2144
Clay 562 22 1219 28 119 1950
Clinton 473 9 745 22 0 1249
Coles 681 9 658 28 0 1376
Cook 143 0 0 0 0 143
Crawford 894 15 1106 23 117 2155
Cumberland 482 19 778 29 0 1308
DeKalb 160 0 120 5 21 306
DeWitt 547 4 376 41 0 968
Douglas 187 1 153 3 0 344
DuPage 29 0 0 0 0 29
Edgar 452 6 565 34 0 1057
Edwards 239 2 425 20 0 686
Effingham 489 27 988 37 0 1541
Fayette 887 20 1587 64 0 2558
Ford 50 1 110 11 0 172
Franklin 1093 16 1409 64 0 2582
Fulton 1576 53 1900 99 350 3978
Gallatin 257 5 421 21 0 704
Greene 843 24 1029 69 0 1965
Grundy 332 5 270 20 75 702
Hamilton 689 13 1149 40 136 2027
Hancock 854 41 1716 109 0 2720
Hardin 425 5 887 46 0 1363
Henderson 251 11 445 32 60 799
Henry 498 20 484 30 0 1032
Iroquois 383 7 466 33 0 889
Jackson 1155 36 2440 79 0 3710
Jasper 659 29 1015 50 0 1753
Jefferson 1490 57 1906 97 0 3550
Jersey 538 14 671 33 0 1256
JoDaviess 1090 47 1690 71 442 3340
Johnson 666 20 1562 54 0 2302
Kane 330 0 30 0 5 365
Kankakee 318 4 199 17 61 599
Kendall 165 1 87 8 32 293
Knox 928 18 1119 66 162 2293
Lake 309 0 1 0 0 310
LaSalle 743 15 749 31 162 1700
Lawrence 442 3 644 39 0 1128
Lee 400 10 519 33 50 1012
Livingston 219 6 387 13 57 682
Logan 341 9 385 25 0 760
Macon 474 9 238 16 0 737
Macoupin 1014 26 1703 55 162 2960
Madison 901 12 779 24 80 1796
Marion 968 27 1627 68 143 2833
Marshall 335 13 603 30 0 981
Mason 412 8 434 34 0 888
Massac 334 9 456 14 0 813
McDonough 583 19 844 44 105 1595
McHenry 562 1 275 15 62 915
McLean 529 12 543 18 63 1165
Menard 388 14 371 29 0 802
Mercer 520 38 852 49 87 1546
Monroe 384 13 1019 23 94 1533
Montgomery 733 19 800 29 0 1581
Morgan 581 12 747 31 0 1371
Moultrie 361 6 227 10 0 604
Ogle 626 19 737 30 170 1582
Peoria 839 17 860 39 0 1755
Perry 871 24 1351 61 278 2585
Piatt 182 1 119 6 0 308
Pike 2135 83 2056 168 0 4442
Pope 862 16 1440 51 0 2369
Pulaski 231 6 281 13 0 531
Putnam 252 5 343 25 49 674
Randolph 1104 76 2275 132 0 3587
Richland 429 7 694 18 0 1148
Rock Island 716 18 791 47 87 1659
Saline 570 17 945 41 99 1672
Sangamon 903 14 560 50 0 1527
Schuyler 1000 43 1506 81 0 2630
Scott 255 6 329 11 0 601
Shelby 832 26 1131 44 120 2153
St. Clair 679 14 718 17 0 1428
Stark 121 2 176 10 0 309
Stephenson 461 7 602 20 162 1252
Tazewell 619 16 483 25 0 1143
Union 870 33 1406 63 0 2372
Vermilion 886 9 488 40 0 1423
Wabash 183 1 199 14 0 397
Warren 271 5 478 31 0 785
Washington 528 15 1019 32 0 1594
Wayne 852 25 1485 56 0 2418
White 492 8 775 50 0 1325
Whiteside 488 6 635 28 0 1157
Will 801 7 276 21 50 1155
Williamson 1174 25 1854 56 0 3109
Winnebago 462 7 370 13 92 944
Woodford 570 30 542 37 0 1179

Total 61096 1660 80957 3900 4096 151709

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Illinois deer hunting: Overall harvest up slightly in the 2019-20 seasons

A higher harvest during Illinois’ archery season drove a slight increase in overall deer harvest in the 2019-20 seasons.