Illinois deer harvest report released, crossbow kill freezes for first time
Published: , in Outdoor News
We now know Illinois bowhunters took 71,226 deer last season – a few clicks short of the state record 75,106 taken in 2020-21 but a tick above the 68,625 harvested in 2022-23.
Of greater interest is the fact that two-thirds of antlered deer taken during the 2023-24 archery season had between 7 and 10 points, while 1.3% had 14 points or more. And the hunters? For the first time since 2017 legislation removed restrictions on crossbows, the proportion of Illinois deer harvested with crossbows (53.4%) versus those harvested with compound bows (45.5%) leveled off.
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