Second Weekend of Shotgun Deer Season Opens Thursday

The second weekend of shotgun deer hunting in Illinois opens Thursday and will continue through Sunday.

The harvest for the first shotgun weekend was down statewide. Across the state, 50,173 deer were harvested compared to the 58,836 taken during the first weekend last year.

In Effingham County, 597 deer were taken on the first weekend, down from 773 a year ago.

Here are the other area counties and their first weekend totals:

Clay--774, down from 932

Jasper--667, down from 778

Fayette--1,004, down from 1,193

Cumberland--511, down from 563

Shelby--757, down from 837

Hunting hours each day are from one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset.