Preliminary Numbers Show Record Deer Harvest in Illinois

(Undated) – The State of Illinois is releasing preliminary totals for the 2024-2025 archery and firearm deer seasons. According to the report, hunters in Illinois harvested nearly 171,000 deer for 2024-2025 compared with a total harvest of 160,313 deer for all seasons in 2023-2024. That is up more ten-thousand deer from last year. The early numbers show that hunters took 46.27% females and 53.72% males. Archery deer hunters took a preliminary total of 73,598 deer during the season. Firearm season hunters took a preliminary total of 82,496 deer during the firearm season. Muzzleloader hunters harvested a preliminary total of 2,832 deer during the muzzleloader-only season December 13th to 15th. Final harvest totals by season and county can be found in the annual deer harvest report, which will be published later this spring. Both the archery and firearms season concluded on January 19th.