Harvest drops by more than 3,000: Illinois’ first firearm deer season

SHARE Harvest drops by more than 3,000: Illinois’ first firearm deer season
deercheck11_17_17checksign_e1544034217866.jpg

Deer-check sign for the firearm seasons in Illinois.
Dale Bowman/Sun-Times

As many of us anticipated for many reasons, harvest during Illinois’ first firearm season, Friday through Sunday, dropped. The drop was by more than 3,000 deer from first season in 2016.

Weather was certainly a factor with wind mattering nearly all three days statewide; and rain (and snow in some places) on Friday and Saturday impacted some portions of the state.

A small spike in archery harvest may have mattered, too.

Here is the official word from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:

First Weekend of Firearm Season in Illinois Sees Harvest of 51,365 Deer

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 51,365 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois Firearm Deer Season on Nov. 17-19. Hunters took 54,452 deer during the first firearm weekend in 2016. Illinois’ seven-day Firearm Deer Season will conclude Nov. 30 through Dec. 3. Other deer hunting opportunities in the weeks ahead include: • Muzzleloader-Only Deer Season on Dec. 8-10; • Late-Winter Antlerless-Only and CWD Deer Seasons (first segment) in select counties only on Dec. 28-31, 2017; • Late-Winter Antlerless-Only and CWD Deer Seasons (second segment) in select counties only on Jan. 12-14, 2018; • Archery Deer Season continues through Jan. 14, 2018 (archery is closed Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in counties open for Firearm Deer Season) For details on deer hunting, open counties, and other information, check the IDNR website at https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/DeerHunting.aspx A table of preliminary Illinois firearm deer harvest totals by county for the first weekend of the 2017 season, and comparable totals for 2016, is below.

County

2016

2017

ADAMS

1642

1408

ALEXANDER

283

291

BOND

390

441

BOONE

87

82

BROWN

645

663

BUREAU

704

632

CALHOUN

482

505

CARROLL

529

425

CASS

475

429

CHAMPAIGN

165

133

CHRISTIAN

420

360

CLARK

715

775

CLAY

784

760

CLINTON

457

495

COLES

388

382

CRAWFORD

656

673

CUMBERLAND

494

478

DEKALB

79

67

DEWITT

192

180

DOUGLAS

105

96

EDGAR

387

365

EDWARDS

282

273

EFFINGHAM

589

580

FAYETTE

1050

1008

FORD

72

64

FRANKLIN

807

854

FULTON

1344

1270

GALLATIN

296

282

GREENE

660

641

GRUNDY

214

157

HAMILTON

786

779

HANCOCK

1079

1082

HARDIN

605

646

HENDERSON

372

319

HENRY

404

356

IROQUOIS

326

297

JACKSON

1562

1487

JASPER

675

663

JEFFERSON

1276

1328

JERSEY

444

410

JODAVIESS

1306

1155

JOHNSON

1166

1091

KANE

18

19

KANKAKEE

125

118

KENDALL

67

52

KNOX

820

697

LAKE

5

3

LASALLE

537

431

LAWRENCE

375

394

LEE

359

328

LIVINGSTON

293

246

LOGAN

256

206

MACON

170

150

MACOUPIN

967

945

MADISON

444

493

MARION

1051

1081

MARSHALL

382

424

MASON

305

231

MASSAC

367

282

MCDONOUGH

597

525

MCHENRY

168

151

MCLEAN

363

324

MENARD

238

226

MERCER

605

518

MONROE

704

661

MONTGOMERY

551

509

MORGAN

508

452

MOULTRIE

134

138

OGLE

538

443

PEORIA

639

524

PERRY

814

815

PIATT

75

69

PIKE

1346

1187

POPE

1096

1092

PULASKI

281

221

PUTNAM

213

232

RANDOLPH

1582

1603

RICHLAND

528

481

ROCKISLAND

552

455

SALINE

618

618

SANGAMON

385

391

SCHUYLER

901

871

SCOTT

264

196

SHELBY

782

733

STARK

136

135

STCLAIR

480

477

STEPHENSON

597

417

TAZEWELL

351

333

UNION

1060

977

VERMILION

392

330

WABASH

131

123

WARREN

382

328

WASHINGTON

672

695

WAYNE

1035

977

WHITE

547

497

WHITESIDE

390

393

WILL

168

153

WILLIAMSON

1060

1048

WINNEBAGO

217

161

WOODFORD

417

404

TOTAL

54452

51365

The Latest
Antoine Perteet, 33, targeted victims on the dating app Grindr, according to Chicago police.
Glass-facade buildings can disorient birds in flight. The city is expected to update and revise rules for new developments and rehabbed buildings next month. But bird groups say the proposed guidelines need to be mandatory.
The man was shot in the left eye area in the 5700 block of South Christiana Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side.
Most women who seek abortions are women of color, especially Black women. Restricting access to mifepristone, as a case now before the Supreme Court seeks to do, would worsen racial health disparities.
The Bears have spent months studying the draft. They’ll spend the next one plotting what could happen.