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Deer harvest in 1st weekend of Illinois firearm season totals over 72,000

Increase of more than 5,000 over last year's first weekend

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[November 27, 2012]  SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources reported last week that hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 72,111 deer during the Nov. 16-18 opening weekend of the firearm deer season in Illinois. The second portion of the firearm season will be Nov. 29-Dec. 2.

The top county harvest total last weekend was in Pike with 2,108 deer, followed by Fulton, 2,048; Adams, 1,938; Jo Daviess, 1,877; and Randolph, 1,665. The preliminary first-season figures reported for each county include those deer taken on special hunt areas within that county as well as on private land.

The preliminary harvest total of 72,111 for the first three days of the 2012 firearm season compares with the first weekend harvest of 66,501 deer during the 2011 deer season. For the entire seven-day firearm season last year, hunters harvested 98,820 deer.

"Hunters enjoyed near-perfect conditions during our first firearm weekend," said Paul Shelton, manager of the IDNR forest wildlife program. "Temperatures were cool, winds were calm, crops were out of the fields, and rutting activity was ongoing. We hope hunters enjoyed their time in the field."

Approximately 60 percent of the deer taken during the first weekend of firearm hunting were bucks, compared with 61 percent bucks taken during the first weekend of the firearm season in 2011.

The IDNR has issued more than 334,000 firearm deer hunting permits so far for the 2012 season. For information on remaining permits, check the IDNR website at this link: www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deer.

Remaining firearm deer hunting opportunities in Illinois are the second segment of the firearm season, Nov. 29-Dec. 2; the three-day muzzleloader-only deer season, Dec. 7-9; and the seven-day split late-winter firearm antlerless-only deer season and special CWD deer season, Dec. 27-30 and Jan. 18-20. Hunters are reminded that 10 fewer counties will be open for the late-winter season in 2012-13 (see map).

For more information on Illinois deer hunting regulations, check the IDNR website at this link: www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deer.

The table below provides preliminary county harvest totals for the first segment of the 2012 firearm season and comparable figures for the first season in 2011.

County

2011

2012

Adams

1,784

1,938

Alexander

326

304

Bond

551

545

Boone

95

96

Brown

846

992

Bureau

905

1,014

Calhoun

713

668

Carroll

708

835

Cass

445

580

Champaign

195

239

Christian

510

472

Clark

871

951

Clay

938

909

Clinton

583

580

Coles

530

502

Crawford

749

831

Cumberland

663

701

DeKalb

131

143

DeWitt

288

299

Douglas

176

145

Edgar

513

605

Edwards

248

314

Effingham

745

728

Fayette

1,322

1,284

Ford

85

96

Franklin

852

907

Fulton

1,775

2,048

Gallatin

365

331

Greene

917

991

Grundy

298

322

Hamilton

748

841

Hancock

1,412

1,515

Hardin

780

790

Henderson

423

485

Henry

532

592

[to top of second column]

 

County

2011

2012

Iroquois

481

549

Jackson

1,476

1,621

Jasper

819

852

Jefferson

1,496

1,540

Jersey

554

677

Jo Daviess

1,664

1,877

Johnson

1,267

1,309

Kane

28

36

Kankakee

147

170

Kendall

55

56

Knox

1,022

1,146

Lake

6

9

LaSalle

812

887

Lawrence

351

432

Lee

509

565

Livingston

394

468

Logan

305

358

Macon

227

229

Macoupin

1,184

1,366

Madison

606

686

Marion

1,218

1,319

Marshall

561

597

Mason

443

438

Massac

390

463

McDonough

698

736

McHenry

214

287

McLean

483

602

Menard

272

345

Mercer

671

755

Monroe

661

794

Montgomery

834

773

Morgan

650

658

Moultrie

227

226

Ogle

740

796

Peoria

1,051

1,093

Perry

822

956

Piatt

125

135

Pike

1,917

2,108

Pope

1,360

1,212

Pulaski

433

439

Putnam

324

389

Randolph

1,406

1,665

Richland

524

532

Rock Island

638

690

Saline

688

690

Sangamon

524

644

Schuyler

1,120

1,225

Scott

357

352

Shelby

1,002

940

St. Clair

651

691

Stark

206

247

Stephenson

687

797

Tazewell

488

619

Union

1,163

1,319

Vermilion

628

627

Wabash

171

216

Warren

435

559

Washington

754

803

Wayne

1,238

1,188

White

606

602

Whiteside

512

648

Will

225

260

Williamson

1,103

1,145

Winnebago

306

379

Woodford

550

726

Total

66,501

72,111

[Text from Illinois Department of Natural Resources file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]

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