Illinois bowhunters are slightly ahead of last year’s pace for harvesting deer.
And harvest numbers indicate the building, as the female/male harvest split is nearly dead even in recent days.
Here’s the word from forest wildlife program manager Paul Shelton:
Through Sunday, October 30, Illinois archery deer hunters harvested a preliminary total of 23,585 deer, compared to 22,873 during the same period last year. Composition of the harvest by gender has been 64% female/36% male to date, but during Saturday-Sunday of the last weekend was 51% female/49% male. This shift in harvest sex ratios will continue as rutting activity increases. Top five counties to date are Pike (1034), Fulton (656), Jefferson (546), Peoria (490), and Vermilion (490).
