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Illinois game meat processors by IDNR region
71 game processors across 47 counties and all five IDNR regions; type a town or county to narrow the cards.
Photo: DaPuglet (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Illinois meat rules in short form
Tag first, then move
Attach the temporary harvest tag immediately; antlered deer: attach both tags if head/antlers will be separated.
Report by 10 p.m.
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.
Check stations in 18 counties
Successful first and second firearm season hunters must take the deer whole or field-dressed to a designated check station the same day, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; if not recovered in time, check in at 8 a.m. the next morning.
No wasted meat
Must make a reasonable effort to retrieve and include killed or crippled limited species in the bag; may not wantonly waste the usable meat (breast of a bird; hind ham and front shoulders of a mammal) or dump carcasses on a right-of-way or property without permission.
Another hunter's deer
May not possess game or furbearers over the daily or possession limit; each hunter must keep a separate bag; wildlife of another person must be tagged with name, address, species count and date unless in a home.
Donating venison
23 listings here take part in Hunters Feeding Illinois, which turns donated deer into ground venison for food pantries; call ahead to confirm there is room.
Sources: 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 16; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 18; 2026-27 Digest, PDF page 8; Hunters Feeding Illinois list. Checked: rows compared with the source on November 13, 2026.
Illinois game processors, map view
Only game processors with a findable address are pinned, 47 in all. The list also holds 24 with no street address to pin.
Illinois game processors sorted by IDNR region
Northwest region: 14
Carroll County (4)
Northeast region: 4
East Central region: 13
Clark County (3)
West Central region: 22
Clinton County (3)
South region: 18
IDNR licenses no wild game processors and posts no list of them, so these come from the Hunters Feeding Illinois participant list, IDNR CWD sampling vendors and page one of the Yellow Pages meat-processing results for each town searched. 23 are custom shops or lockers whose listing never mentions deer or game and carry a call-first tag, and 23 take part in Hunters Feeding Illinois. Not individually verified. Checked November 13, 2026.
Illinois game processors: common questions
Are any Illinois counties blank for game processors?
The sources placed nothing in 55 counties, so plan the drive before the hunt.
Do the Illinois game processors dots show exact addresses?
Pins go only where an address resolved, which was 47 times. Rows left unpinned: 24.
Must I check my Illinois deer at a station before taking it to a processor?
Successful first and second firearm season hunters must take the deer whole or field-dressed to a designated check station the same day, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; if not recovered in time, check in at 8 a.m. the next morning. That rule covers 18 counties during the first two firearm seasons.
Is there an official IDNR roster of game processors?
No list was found. The 71 businesses here come from Hunters Feeding Illinois, CWD sampling vendors and Yellow Pages; 33 name deer or game outright and 23 are custom shops or lockers to call before arriving with a deer.
How many rows are in the Illinois game processors list?
The directory holds 71 rows, and 47 counties are represented (November 13, 2026).
How soon must an Illinois deer be reported?
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.
Which of the five IDNR regions leads on game processors?
Across the regions, West Central region holds 22, South region holds 18, Northwest region holds 14, East Central region holds 13 and Northeast region holds 4.
Which Illinois counties carry the longest game processors lists?
Carroll County tops the table with 4, then Shelby County with 4 and Clark County with 3.
Who supplied the names in the Illinois game processors list?
IDNR licenses no wild game processors and posts no list of them, so these come from the Hunters Feeding Illinois participant list, IDNR CWD sampling vendors and page one of the Yellow Pages meat-processing results for each town searched. 23 are custom shops or lockers whose listing never mentions deer or game and carry a call-first tag, and 23 take part in Hunters Feeding Illinois. Not individually verified. Checked November 13, 2026.
Next stops from the game processors
Other photos on this page: USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain); YellowstoneNPS (Public domain); USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0); Cindy Sue Causey (CC BY 2.0).