Hunting instructor looks forward to seeing uptake of centerfire rifles in Illinois

By Zeta Cross, The Center Square | December 26, 2023
In this April 9, 2013 photo, a white tailed deer moves through the Shawnee National Forest near Belknap, Ill. | AP Photo/Seth Perlman

For the first time in modern Illinois history, deer hunters were allowed to use single-shot centerfire rifles in 2023 during deer firearm season. Hunting instructor Dan Stephens, a recruiter with Illinois Learn to Hunt, said that preteen hunters and folks with shoulder issues are two groups who are prime buyers for the now-legal-for-hunting centerfire rifles.…

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Adams County ranks third, Pike County fifth in deer harvest totals for 2023 firearm season

By Muddy River Sports | December 13, 2023
| pexels.com

SPRINGFIELD – Hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 76,232 deer during the seven-day 2023 Illinois firearm deer season that concluded Dec. 3. Comparatively, hunters harvested 76,854 deer during the 2022 firearm season. Hunters in Adams County harvested 2,151 deer, with 1,840 harvested in Pike County. Of the 100 counties reporting, Randolph County finished…

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Illinois deer harvest numbers decline during 2021 season

By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor | January 1, 2022

QUINCY — With the deer hunting season in Illinois heading into its final weeks, harvest totals remain significantly lower than previous seasons. The archery deer season will run through January 16 and the late-winter antlerless-only and Chronic Wasting Disease seasons in designated counties will have three more days — January 14-16. The seven-day firearms season,…

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