SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois hunters took nearly 59,000 deer during the first weekend of this fall's firearm deer season.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says that harvest represented a 14 percent increase over the first weekend of the season last year. That weekend's harvest totaled 51,450.
The state's seven-day firearm deer season concludes Nov. 29 through Dec. 2.
The Illinois DNR notes that there are other deer-hunting opportunities coming up.
Muzzleloader-only deer season is Dec. 7 to 9.
Late-winter antlerless-only deer season and CWD deer season in counties where chronic wasting disease has been found in deer runs Dec. 27-30 and Jan. 18-20, 2019.
Archery deer season continues through Jan. 20, 2019. But archery season shuts down Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 in counties where there is firearm hunting.
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