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			Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 144,150 Deer 
			during 2016-17 seasons Deer hunting wrapped up on Jan. 15
 
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            [January 27, 2017]  
              SPRINGFIELD - Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary 
			total of 144,150 deer during all 2016-17 seasons, which concluded 
			Jan. 15. The total preliminary deer harvest for all seasons compares 
			with a total harvest for all seasons of 155,229 in 2015-16.  | 
        
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				 During this year’s deer seasons, hunters took 44 percent does 
				and 56 percent males. 
 A breakdown of Illinois deer hunting seasons is as follows:
 
 Archery: Archery deer hunters in Illinois took a preliminary 
				total of 53,479 deer during the season which began on Oct. 1, 
				2016 and concluded on Jan. 15, 2017. That compares with the 
				harvest of 56,767 during the 2015-16 archery season.
 
 Youth: Young deer hunters harvested 3,259 deer during the 2016 
				Illinois Youth Deer Season conducted on Oct. 8-10, 2016, 
				compared with 2,850 deer harvested during the 2015 youth hunt.
 
 Traditional Firearm Season: Hunters took a preliminary total of 
				79,429 deer during the 2016 Illinois Firearm Deer Season on Nov. 
				18-20 and Dec. 1-4, 2016, compared with 86,847 deer taken during 
				the 2015 firearm season.
 
              
                
				 
              
				Muzzleloader: Hunters using muzzleloading rifles harvested 3,297 
				deer during the 2016 Muzzleloader-Only Deer Season on Dec. 9-11, 
				2016, compared with 2,403 in 2015. 
 Late-Winter Seasons: The 2016-17 Late-Winter Antlerless Only and 
				Special CWD deer seasons concluded on Jan. 15, with a combined 
				preliminary harvest total for both seasons of 4,686 deer, 
				compared with a harvest of 6,362 deer taken during those seasons 
				in 2015-16. Season dates for the Late-Winter and CWD seasons 
				were Dec. 29, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 13-15, 2017.
 
              
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				There were 14 northern Illinois counties open to the Special CWD 
				Season in 2016-17, the same counties that were open for the 
				2015-16 seasons. The Special CWD season is used to assist in 
				slowing the spread of chronic wasting disease in the Illinois 
				deer herd.
			 
              
There were 24 counties open for the Late-Winter Antlerless Season in 2016-17. 
Four counties open previously for the late-winter season were closed for 2016-17 
because they had reached deer population goals, while one county was added to 
the late-winter hunt. Counties that are at or below their individual goal for 
two consecutive years may be removed from the late-winter season.
 The tables below provide a county-by-county summary of preliminary deer harvest 
results for 2016-17 and harvest results for 2015-16.
 
			[Illinois Department of Natural 
			Resources] 
			
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