Hunters harvested more than 162,000 deer in Illinois

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Knox County hunters contributed 2,497 deer harvested during the 2020-21 season.

The preliminary total for the State of Illinois came in at 162,575, about a six percent increase over the previous year. The total preliminary deer harvest for all seasons compares with a total harvest for all seasons of 153,174 deer in 2019-20.

Illinois Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Rachel Torbert says archery deer hunting numbers were significant.

“Last year, we broke a record for archery season harvest. I believe we broke it by about 17-hundred deer. We broke that record again and this year we broke it by about 7,000 deer so that is a pretty interesting look.”

Of all deer harvested, about 45 percent were does and more than 56 percent were bucks.

Torbert says once numbers are finalized DNR staff will review the trends.

“We still have to go through those numbers and look more specifically at how deer were harvested and where they fall in those metrics. Our staff will continue to look at that and start asking some questions about why we’re seeing these numbers increase and kind of where they’re coming from.”

76,579 deer were taken during firearm season with archery close behind at 75,544 deer harvested.

While not placing near the top, Knox County archery hunters nabbed over 1,111 deer.

Illinois counties with the largest harvests include Pike, Fulton, Jefferson, Adams, Jackson, and Williamson.

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