Winnebago Deer Harvest Total Up More Than 20% From 2011

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today reported that hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 72,111 deer during the opening weekend of the 2012 Illinois Firearm Deer Season, Nov. 16-18.  The second portion of the firearm season will be Nov. 29-Dec. 2.

379 deer were killed this year compared to 306 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 include the second segment of the firearm season on Nov. 29-Dec. 2, the three-day Muzzleloader-only Deer Season on Dec. 7-9, and the seven-day split Late-Winter Firearm Antlerless-only Deer Season and Special CWD Deer Season on Dec. 27-30, 2012 and Jan. 18-20,2013.  

Hunters are reminded that 10 fewer counties will be open for the Late-Winter season in 2012-13 (see map):
http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Documents/LateWinterDeerSeasonMap.pdf.

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