Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 51,409 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois firearm deer season between Nov. 21 and 23.

Comparatively, hunters took 54,661 and 53,348 deer during the first firearm weekends in 2024 and 2023, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said in a news release.

Illinois’ seven-day firearm deer season will conclude Dec. 4 to 7. Youth hunters with an unfilled, valid youth deer permit may hunt with the permit during the upcoming firearm deer season, the IDNR said.

This is the first year that unfilled youth permits are valid for both segments of firearm season.

Other deer-hunting opportunities in the weeks ahead include:

• muzzleloader-only deer season from Dec. 12 to 14
• late-winter antlerless-only and chronic wasting disease deer seasons in select counties only from Jan. 1 to 4 and Jan. 16 to 18
• archery deer season, which continues through Jan. 18; note that archery deer hunting is closed Dec. 4 to 7 in counties open for firearm deer season.

Visit the Illinois Department of Natural Resources online for more details about deer hunting.