Nearly 100,000 Deer Killed During Illinois Firearm Hunting Season
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- There should be plenty of venison for holiday dinners this season.
As WBBM Newsradio's Dave Dahl reports, the deer population in Illinois has been cut by almost 100,000, following the just-concluded firearm hunting season.
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The seven-day firearm season resulted in a preliminary total of 97,760 deer killed, compared with 98,944 last year, according to Paul Shelton, forest wildlife program manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Shelton says he expected the total harvest to be in the neighborhood of 100,000.
Shelton says rainy weather during part of the first weekend held down the hunt, but there were enough good days for a good season. The seven days of firearm deer season are two long weekends with a 10-day break, including Thanksgiving, separating them.
He said deer hunting in Illinois is so popular that people even come from out of state to get involved.
"Illinois is renowned for the quality of deer that they have," he said. "We do tend to have some fairly stringent regulations about getting permits, and it makes it a little more difficult, I think, for non-residents during the gun season, so the most popular time for non-residents is during our archery season."
Bow-hunting season continues through Jan. 15. This Friday through Sunday is muzzle loader season.
Counting all of the other deer seasons, Shelton estimates the overall total harvest will be as much as 190,000.
