Prairie State Wire

Illinois' archery deer season has commenced, and the Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is reminding hunters of important dates, regulations, and safety practices. The statewide archery deer season began on October 1. In counties with a firearm deer season and west of Illinois 47 in Kane County, archery hunting will be available during three periods: October 1 through November 21, November 25 through December 4, and December 9 through January 19.

In counties without a firearm deer season such as Cook, DuPage, Lake, and east of Illinois 47 in Kane County, the archery deer season runs from October 1 to January 19.

During the period from October 1-31 in Champaign, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie, and Piatt counties—designated as a Restricted Archery Zone—only antlered deer may be harvested to help improve the local deer population. An antlered deer is defined as having at least one antler that is three inches or longer.

The IDNR also emphasizes harvest limits for hunters. Statewide regulations permit one deer per archery permit. Hunters are restricted to harvesting no more than two antlered deer annually across all seasons including youth, archery, muzzleloader, and firearm seasons unless otherwise allowed during the special chronic wasting disease (CWD) season. Deer seasons are considered within the same year if their opening dates fall within a twelve-month period starting July 1.

Hunters planning to hunt on public land should review site-specific information on Hunt Illinois since site and species regulations may differ from state or county guidelines.

Safety while using tree stands is also highlighted by IDNR as they are identified as the leading cause of hunting-related accidents and fatalities in Illinois. Hunters are encouraged to seek out online resources for tree stand safety refreshers.

For further details about hunting regulations or to access additional resources such as annual harvest reports from previous years or CWD information, hunters can visit IDNR's website where they can also find the "2024-2025 Illinois Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations."