From the Illinois Department of Natural Resouirces:
More than 81,000 deer harvest during Illinois firearm deer season
SPRINGFIELD – Hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 81,225 deer during the seven-day 2025 Illinois firearm deer season that concluded Dec. 7. Comparatively, hunters harvested 82,496 deer during the 2024 firearm season.
The preliminary harvest for the second weekend of the firearm season Dec. 4-7 was 29,816 compared with 27,835 deer harvested during the same period in 2024. The preliminary harvest for the first weekend of this year’s firearm season Nov. 21-23 was 51,409 deer.
Remaining 2025-2026 deer hunting opportunities in Illinois include:
- Late-winter antlerless-only and chronic wasting disease (CWD) season, in designated counties only, Jan. 1-4 and Jan. 16-18.
- Archery deer season continues through Jan. 18.
Information for McHenry County is below:
