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.

In DeWitt County, 261 deer were harvested compared to 220 from 2022 and 2023. 

Piatt County harvested 100 deer. That is up from 89 in 2022 and 84 in 2023.

Logan County harvested 252 deer. That is up from 193 in 2022 and 215 in 2023.

Hunters in McLean County harvested 407 deer while Macon County harvested 156 and Champaign County harvested 165 deer. 

Illinois seven-day firearm deer season will conclude Dec. 5-8.

Remaining deer hunting opportunities in Illinois include muzzleloader-only deer season Dec. 13-15, ate-winter antlerless-only and chronic wasting disease deer seasons in select counties only, Dec. 26-29 and Jan. 17-19, and archery deer season continues through Jan. 19. 

Archery deer hunting is closed Dec. 5-8 in counties open for firearm deer season.