Illinois hunters harvested slightly more deer during the first part of Illinois’ firearm deer season, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 22-24, than during the first part of the 2023 firearm deer season.
Here is the quick summary from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:
SPRINGFIELD – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 54,661 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois firearm deer season between Nov. 22-24. Comparatively, hunters took 53,348 and 52,354 deer during the first firearm weekends in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
If I had to make a guess why the slight uptick, I would guess decent enough weather conditions and, possibly, the rise in the use of rifles during the firearm deer season.
The second part of firearm season is Dec. 5-8.
The county-by-county breakdown of the preliminary harvest during the first part of firearm deer seasons and comparable totals for 2023 and 2022 may be found at