The Deer Harvest for 2018 during firearm deer hunting season was up for the area and the state. For the state, the preliminary total is that 80,896 deer were taken by hunters during the 7 day Illinois Firearm Deer Season that concluded on Sunday. That was just over last year’s 2 season total of 80,117. Ed Cross with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources says the weather played a factor.
As for the area, Fayette County saw a second season harvest of 395, which led to an overall total harvest in 2018 of 1588–which is up from 1545 in 2017. Bond County saw a second season harvest of 148, which led to an overall total harvest in 2018 of 731–which is up from 663 last year.