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Read from the 2026-27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest, IDNR harvest reports and Hunt Illinois fact sheets
Illinois Hunting
265 public hunting places from the Rock River hills to the Cache River bottoms, a page for each of the 102 counties and 258 base towns, all 72 season rows, the county-by-county deer permit counts and all 64 IDNR license and permit rows. Every date, fee and acre count below comes from IDNR or a federal land manager, last read on November 13, 2026. The photo shows fall color on the forested Shawnee Hills in the far south of the state.
Photo: Forest Service, Eastern Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Illinois counties, zones and seasons
72 season rows, 28 counties with confirmed CWD, 25 with a special CWD season and 31 with a late-winter antlerless hunt make up the layers a county page folds together. Cook, DuPage and Lake counties and the eastern part of Kane County are closed to firearm deer, and Cook and DuPage are also closed to spring turkey.
| Season tool | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Season dates | 72 dated rows |
| Deer permits by county | 99 firearm counties |
| CWD zones and rules | 28 confirmed counties |
| Late-winter seasons | 31 late-winter counties |
| Spring turkey zones | North 66, South 34 |
| Waterfowl zones | North, Central, South |
| Upland zones | North and South line |
| Furbearer seasons | Furbearer dates |
| Permit lotteries | Three lotteries |
| Game | Limit in the Digest |
|---|---|
| Deer | No hunter may take more than two antlered deer per year across youth, archery, muzzleloader and firearm seasons (Special CWD season exempt); one deer per permit. |
| Turkey | One tom, jake or bearded hen per permit. |
| Ducks | 6 ducks daily, 18 possession (possession is 3x the daily limit by species and sex) |
| Canada goose | 5 daily, 15 possession. |
| Pheasant | 2 daily, 6 possession. |
| Quail | 8 daily, 20 possession. |
| Squirrel | 5 daily, 10 possession. |
| Dove | 15 daily, 45 possession. |
Illinois has no hunting units or management zones for big game. Firearm deer permits, the late-winter hunt, the chronic wasting disease rules and spring turkey are all decided by county, so a hunter starts from the county page, which shows the permit counts left after the third lottery, the turkey zone, the CWD status and the nearest public ground. Ducks, geese and upland birds are the exception: those zones follow roads, and the Digest gives no county list for them.
Waterfowl and upland zone lines are printed as road descriptions only; this guide never places a county inside one. Sources: 2026-27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 19; 17 Ill. Adm. Code (LII mirror, unofficial); 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 31; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 39. Checked: each figure matched to its Digest page on November 13, 2026.
Illinois land pins, Rock River to Cairo
261 places carry a map point, from Illinois Beach State Park on Lake Michigan to the Shawnee National Forest. The biggest tracts, 10,000 acres and up, show as larger dots.
Illinois hunting land by manager
The Hunt Illinois fact sheets and federal land managers cover 265 places: 65 state fish and wildlife areas, 67 state parks and recreation areas, 35 habitat areas, 43 natural areas and preserves, 13 national wildlife refuges, the Shawnee National Forest with two ranger districts, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and two Corps lake projects. Most of the larger state sites need a windshield card, a reservation or a lottery permit, so check the place page before you go.
| Land hub | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Fish and wildlife areas | 65 fish and wildlife areas |
| State parks | 67 state parks and recreation areas |
| Habitat areas | 35 habitat areas |
| Natural areas | 43 natural areas and preserves |
| Wildlife refuges | 13 national refuges |
| Federal land | Shawnee forest, Midewin, Corps lakes |
| Access programs | Controlled pheasant and access programs |
| Land map | 261 pins |
A further 155 places on the IDNR lists are not open to the public for hunting and never appear here as open ground; the public land hub names each one with the reason.
Tile acres are the figure on each land record; no GIS public-land acreage by county exists in the data, so the county pages count places instead. Sources: 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 27; Hunt Illinois. Checked: each figure matched to its Digest page on November 13, 2026.
The latest Illinois harvest at a glance
IDNR counted 174,006 deer in the 2025-26 seasons, 81,316 of them in the two firearm seasons and 73,785 by archery, up from 171,322 the year before. The 2026 spring turkey summary prints 18,502 birds in the regular segments and 20,821 with the youth hunt.
Deer years name the season that opened in that year, so 2025 means the 2025-26 seasons; turkey figures are the regular segments printed in the summary. Sources: IDNR deer harvest report; IDNR spring turkey summary; CWD annual report, fiscal year 2026. Checked: each figure matched to its Digest page on November 13, 2026.
Illinois seasons running this week
The tally covers every one of the 72 IDNR season rows. Squirrel and the furbearer rows run longest, and the waterfowl rows count each zone on its own, so a single duck season shows as three open lines once the South Zone opens on November 14.
Open on November 13, 2026: 28 species, 39 rows
| Game | Rows open | First close | Last close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada goose | 2 | Jan 26, 2027 | Jan 31, 2027 |
| Hungarian partridge | 2 | Jan 8, 2027 | Jan 15, 2027 |
| Badger | 2 | Feb 15, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 |
| Bobcat | 2 | Feb 15, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 |
| Bobwhite quail | 2 | Jan 8, 2027 | Jan 15, 2027 |
| Ducks, mergansers and coots | 2 | Dec 27, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 |
| Light geese | 2 | Jan 26, 2027 | Jan 31, 2027 |
| Ring-necked pheasant | 2 | Jan 8, 2027 | Jan 15, 2027 |
| Ducks, mergansers and coots | 2 | Dec 27, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 |
| White-fronted goose | 2 | Jan 26, 2027 | Jan 31, 2027 |
| White-tailed deer | 2 | Jan 17, 2027 | Jan 17, 2027 |
| Wilson's snipe | 1 | Dec 20, 2026 | Dec 20, 2026 |
| Beaver | 1 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Brant | 1 | Jan 31, 2027 | Jan 31, 2027 |
| American crow | 1 | Feb 28, 2027 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Youth waterfowl days | 1 | Jan 30, 2027 | Jan 30, 2027 |
| Mourning and white-winged dove | 1 | Jan 9, 2027 | Jan 9, 2027 |
| Opossum | 1 | Feb 15, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 |
| Eastern cottontail and swamp rabbit | 1 | Feb 15, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 |
| Raccoon | 1 | Feb 15, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 |
| Raccoon | 1 | Feb 15, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 |
| Rails | 1 | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
| Red fox | 1 | Feb 15, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 |
| River otter | 1 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Gray and fox squirrel | 1 | Feb 15, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 |
| Wild turkey | 1 | Jan 17, 2027 | Jan 17, 2027 |
| Woodchuck | 1 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| American woodcock | 1 | Nov 30, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 |
Next Illinois openers
| Game | Season | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada goose | Regular season | Nov 14, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | |
| Ducks, mergansers and coots | Regular duck season | Nov 14, 2026 | Jan 24, 2027 | |
| Light geese | Regular season | Nov 14, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | |
| Ducks, mergansers and coots | Scaup | Nov 14, 2026 | Jan 24, 2027 | |
| White-fronted goose | Regular season | Nov 14, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | |
| White-tailed deer | Firearm – first season | Nov 20, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Firearm – second season | Dec 3, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Muzzleloader | Dec 11, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Special CWD | Dec 31, 2026 | Jan 17, 2027 | |
| Light geese | Conservation Order | Jan 27, 2027 | Apr 30, 2027 |
Zone rows for ducks, geese and upland birds count as open without telling you which side of the road line you hunt; the species pages list each zone. Sources: 2026-27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest. Checked: each figure matched to its Digest page on November 13, 2026.
Five IDNR regions and 102 county guides
IDNR groups its public hunting sites into the Northwest, Northeast, East Central, West Central and South regions, and the biologist districts cut across them. The South holds the Shawnee hills and the Ohio and Wabash bottoms, while the Northeast is the Chicago region with the fewest counties but the most people.
Northwest region
Boone · Bureau · Carroll · DeKalb · Fulton · Henderson · Henry · Jo Daviess · Knox · LaSalle · Lee · Marshall · McDonough · Mercer · Ogle · Peoria · Putnam · Rock Island · Stark · Stephenson · Tazewell · Warren · Whiteside · Winnebago · Woodford
East Central region
Champaign · Clark · Coles · Cumberland · DeWitt · Douglas · Edgar · Ford · Iroquois · Livingston · Macon · McLean · Moultrie · Piatt · Shelby · Vermilion
IDNR headquarters is at One Natural Resources Way in Springfield, (217) 782-6302. Wildlife biologists work from 20 district areas read off the IDNR Wildlife Districts Map, and every county page names its district and biologist.
Each county sits under the IDNR fact-sheet region that lists it; 11 counties are on no list and take the region most of their neighbours share. Sources: IDNR contact page; IDNR wildlife biologist page. Checked: each figure matched to its Digest page on November 13, 2026.
Illinois game you can hunt, and some you cannot
White-tailed deer and wild turkey by permit, pheasant, quail and Hungarian partridge from November 7, squirrel from August 1, ducks and geese in three zones, doves from September 1 and a long furbearer list that runs from raccoon to river otter. 5 pages (Gray fox, Hawks, eagles and owls and Black bear, gray wolf, mountain lion and others) cover animals that are closed or protected.
Bobwhite quail · Hungarian partridge · Rabbit · Gray and fox squirrel · Chukar partridge · Woodchuck · American woodcock · American crow · Mergansers · American coot · Youth waterfowl days · Teal · Light geese · White-fronted goose · Brant · Rails · Wilson's snipe · Raccoon · Opossum · Red fox · Coyote · Striped skunk · Bobcat · Badger · Mink · Muskrat · Weasel · Beaver · River otter · Gray fox · Hawks, eagles and owls · Black bear wolf lion · Trumpeter swan · Non game wildlife
Illinois rules worth knowing first
License and stamp first
A resident hunting license is $12.00 in the Digest ($12.50 with the vendor fee), a nonresident one $57.00, and the State Habitat Stamp adds $5.00.
Three lotteries, then the counter
County deer permits go through Lottery 1 (residents only), Lottery 2 and Lottery 3, and leftovers sell over the counter from October 20, 2026.
Orange in firearm seasons
A solid blaze orange or blaze pink cap/hat and an upper outer garment displaying at least 400 square inches of solid blaze orange or blaze pink must be worn to hunt deer during all firearm deer seasons in counties open for firearm deer seasons.
No bait, no feeding
Deer and turkey may not be hunted over bait or salt, and feeding rules apply on public land. The Digest wording is on the laws page.
Half an hour before sunrise
Deer hours run from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, and spring turkey stops at 1 p.m.; every county gets its own times.
CWD in 28 counties
CWD confirmed in 28 Illinois counties; 3,412 positives November 2003-June 2026 (annual report Table 1).
Hunter safety by birth year
Anyone born on or after January 1, 1980 must complete hunter safety education (certificate of competency) or show a prior-year Illinois hunting license issued by Illinois or another state before buying a hunting license.
Sundays
The sources we read state no Sunday rule, so this guide makes no claim either way; check the Digest and the site you plan to hunt.
Sources: 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 5; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 19; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 17; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 18; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 14; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 20. Checked: each figure matched to its Digest page on November 13, 2026.
Illinois hunting events and help
From November 13, 2026 the Illinois calendar holds 56 hunting events, banquets for conservation groups above all, plus 120 dated shooting matches. Processors, taxidermists, outfitters, stores and IDNR sites add up to 964 directory rows.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 14, 2026 | Harrisburg 3rd Annual Dinner · banquet | Harrisburg, Saline County |
| Nov 14, 2026 | IDNR Hunter Education class, Essex · class | Essex, Will County |
| Nov 14, 2026 | Macon County/Moweaqua Ducks Unlimited Cash Bash!!! · banquet | Stonington, Christian County |
| Nov 14, 2026 | Youth Clinic & IL Youth Pheasant Hunt at Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area · youth hunt | Whittington, Franklin County |
| Dec 10, 2026 | Windy City Bingo & Christmas Party · banquet | River Grove, Cook County |
| Dec 12, 2026 | Williamson County Dinner – 50th Anniversary · banquet | Marion, Williamson County |
| Dec 13, 2026 | Kane County Sportsman’s Show · expo | St. Charles, Kane County |
| Dec 28, 2026 | IDNR Hunter Education class, Edwardsville · class | Edwardsville, Madison County |
Game processors
71 butchers and lockers, so phone first about a field-dressed deer.
Taxidermists
123 shops, many of them also CWD sampling vendors.
Outfitters and preserves
234 rows, most from IDNR license lists.
Gun and bow shops
496 stores, local shops listed ahead of the chains.
IDNR sites
40 sites, from Springfield headquarters to deer head drop-offs.
Shooting ranges
230 ranges on file, 33 of them on IDNR ground.
Illinois hunting questions
Can I buy an Illinois deer permit without the lottery?
Yes, once the lotteries are over. County permits left after Lottery 3 go on sale over the counter from October 20, 2026, and archery, youth, late-winter and Special CWD permits have their own sales; the permit lotteries page lists every window.
Are Illinois deer seasons written county by county?
The permits are. IDNR sells firearm and muzzleloader permits by county in three lotteries, and 99 counties have firearm deer seasons; the season dates themselves are statewide, with Cook, DuPage and Lake counties and part of Kane County closed to firearm deer.
Does Illinois say anything about Sunday hunting?
The sources we read state no Sunday rule, so nothing is claimed here either way.
When is the Illinois firearm deer season in 2026?
The first firearm season runs November 20 to 22 and the second December 3 to 6, 2026, in counties open to firearm deer hunting; muzzleloader is December 11 to 13 and the youth weekend October 10 to 12.
What does an Illinois resident hunting license cost in 2026-27?
$12.00 in the Digest, or $12.50 in the IDNR fee table, which adds a vendor fee; the State Habitat Stamp is $5.00 more. Nonresidents pay $57.00.
Is baiting legal for Illinois deer or turkey?
You cannot legally feed deer at any time and/or take deer by the use or aid of bait or baiting of any kind. Store-bought deer baits and attractants are illegal at any time except for licensed captive cervid owners feeding captive animals. An area is considered baited during the presence of and for 10 consecutive days following removal of the bait. Standing-crop manipulation, food plots, normal agricultural practices and scent-only products not capable of ingestion are not baiting. You cannot legally harvest wild turkeys by the use or aid of bait or baiting of any kind; an area is baited during the presence of and for 10 consecutive days following removal of the bait.
Where do Illinois hunters report a harvested deer?
Report deer by phone (1-866-452-4325) or online (exploremoreil.com/wildlife/harvest) by 10 p.m. on the day of harvest (or immediately the next day if not retrieved by 10 p.m.). In the 18 mandatory-check counties, firearm-season deer must be checked at a station.
Has CWD been found in Illinois deer?
CWD confirmed in 28 Illinois counties; 3,412 positives November 2003-June 2026 (annual report Table 1).
What public hunting places get their own page here?
265 records: 65 state fish and wildlife areas, 67 state parks and recreation areas, 35 habitat areas, 43 natural areas and preserves, 13 national wildlife refuges, the Shawnee National Forest with two ranger districts, Midewin and the Corps lake projects. Records with too few sourced facts fold into a nearby page.
Do grown hunters need blaze orange?
A solid blaze orange or blaze pink cap/hat and an upper outer garment displaying at least 400 square inches of solid blaze orange or blaze pink must be worn to hunt deer during all firearm deer seasons in counties open for firearm deer seasons.
Jump to any Illinois section
- Public land265 places
- Land mapEvery pin
- Fish and wildlife areasIDNR managed
- State parksParks, recreation areas
- Habitat areasSmall game ground
- Natural areasPreserves, reserves
- Wildlife refugesFederal refuges
- Federal landForest, prairie, Corps
- Access programsPrivate land
- Counties102 guides
- Base towns258 pages
- Species40 pages
- Season dates72 rows
- Deer permits by countyLeftover counts
- CWD zones and rules28 counties
- Late-winter seasonsAntlerless days
- Spring turkey zonesNorth and South
- Waterfowl zonesDucks and geese
- Upland zonesNorth and South
- Furbearer seasonsTrapping rules
- EventsBanquets, classes
- Shooting rangesClubs and public bays
- Shooting eventsMatches, shoots
- Range gearPacking list
- Hunting servicesFive directories
- License fees64 priced items
- Permit lotteriesDeer and turkey
- Hunting lawsWeapons, methods
- Harvest recordsIDNR harvest data
- Shooting hours102 counties
- Youth and veteransYouth hunts, half price
Plan an Illinois season
Start from a county for its deer permit counts, turkey zone and nearest public land, from a place page for acres, seasons and site rules, or from a town for the closest area, store and range.
Other photos on this page: Forest Service, Eastern Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Kyra Neal (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region) (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Bryan Werner (CC BY 2.0); Dan (CC BY 2.0); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District (CC BY 2.0); Forest Service, USDA (Public Domain Mark 1.0); jjmusgrove (CC BY 2.0); Bryan Werner (CC BY 2.0); David Brossard (CC BY-SA 2.0); xulescu_g (CC BY-SA 2.0); cuatrok77 (CC BY-SA 2.0); NPS Photo (Public domain); CheepShot (CC BY 2.0); Mike Budd (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region) (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Joseph Gage (CC BY-SA 2.0); James Mann (CC BY 2.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain).