Totals for First Weekend of Firearm Deer Hunting Season

Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 53,348 deer during the first weekend of the firearm deer season November 17-19. That's about 1,000 more deer than were taken during the first weekend in 2022.

Here are the numbers for area counties during the first weekend:

Clay--1,007, up from 889 in 2022

Cumberland--511, down from 542

Effingham--696, up from 653

Fayette--1,166, down from 1,184

Jasper--784, down from 794

Shelby--895, up from 883 in 2022.

Today marked the start of the second weekend of firearm season, which runs through Sunday.