Knox County hunters had another successful deer hunting season but didn’t get as many deer as they did the season before.
According to data released by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, hunters in the county bagged 2,258 head of deer in the most recent hunting season. That number is down from 2,293 the season before.
Around the state, hunters saw an increase in the number of deer harvested compared to last year says IDNR spokesperson Rachel Torbert.
“Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 153,048 deer during the 2019-2020 archery and firearm seasons. Compared with 151,709 deer in 2018-2019.”
Torbert adds that hunters had great weather to get out and enjoy the season.
“Those numbers were up just a little bit — not a big amount. And we had a great hunting season in general. The weather has been really mild so hunters really had a great opportunity this year to get, enjoy the outdoors, and enjoy deer hunting.”
In the area, Fulton and Peoria Counties saw an increase over last year while most other counties’ harvest numbers were lower.
Stark County, however, saw 309 deer harvested this season which is flat with their numbers last year.
Fulton County hunters were the most successful of those in the immediate vicinity. They harvested 4,024 deer.
