Illinois first deer hunting weekend yields 59,000 deer

Illinois hunters had a banner weekend. (iStock)

Illinois deer hunters started the fall’s firearm season with a bang, napping nearly 59,000 deer in a single weekend.

The state’s deer hunting season this year is running in two sets: Nov. 16-18 and Nov. 29-Dec. 2.

In the first, hunters pulled in 58,836 deer, which according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources represented a 14 percent increase over the first weekend of the season last year, which totaled 51,450.

Illinois deer hunters will be given another opportunity to nab a buck in the weekend of Dec. 7-9, when muzzleloader-only season opens.

Archery season will continue through January 20, 2019.