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Illinois Whitetail Seasons
These dates represent the “general” season dates. Check the individual hunting unit regulations for the most accurate season dates and regulations.
Archery
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Oct. 1 through the 1st Sunday after Jan. 13. Closed during firearm deer season except in Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Kane counties.
Firearm
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Rifle · Youth hunters
The Saturday, Sunday, and Monday that includes the 2nd Monday of October.
Firearm Season First
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Rifle
The Friday, Saturday and Sunday immediately before Thanksgiving.
Firearm Season Second
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Rifle
The 1st four-day weekend (Thursday-Sunday) after Thanksgiving.
Muzzleloader
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The 3rd three-day weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) following Thanksgiving. Also allowed during the 2nd firearm deer season.
Late Winter /special Cwd Season First Segment
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Rifle
The 1st Thursday-Sunday after Dec. 25. Antlerless only or special CWD season.
Late Winter /special Cwd Season Second Segment
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Rifle
The 1st Friday-Sunday after Jan. 11. Antlerless only or special CWD season.
Archery Season October -only Period Select Counties
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Only antlered deer may be harvested during the 1-31 October period of archery season in counties specified by IDNR at dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deerhunting. After October 31, archery regulations are the same as the rest of the state. This restriction is to grow deer populations to their appropriate county goals.
Archery Season Counties With Firearm
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First segment. Counties with a firearm season and west of Route 47 in Kane County. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. No hunter may harvest more than two antlered deer during a year, including the youth, archery, muzzleloader and firearm seasons except as allowed during the special CWD season.
Archery Season Cook Dupage Lake Kane East
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Cook, DuPage, Lake and Kane (east of Route 47) Counties. Continuous season with no breaks. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. No hunter may harvest more than two antlered deer during a year.
Firearm
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Rifle · Youth hunters
Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. No hunter may harvest more than two antlered deer during a year, including the youth season.
Firearm Season First
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Rifle
Legal equipment includes shotguns with slugs (10-20 gauge), single shot centerfire rifles, centerfire revolvers/handguns .30 cal or larger with 4 inch barrel minimum. Hunters with valid unfilled Firearm Deer Permit may use archery equipment on private land only. All counties open except Cook, DuPage, Lake, and portion of Kane County east of State Route 47.
Firearm Season First Segment
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Rifle
Legal weapons: Shotgun, Muzzleloader, Handgun and Single Shot Centerfire Rifle. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. No hunter may harvest more than two antlered deer during a year.
Archery Season Counties With Firearm Season Segment 2
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Second segment. Counties with a firearm season and west of Route 47 in Kane County. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
Firearm Season Second
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Rifle
Legal equipment includes shotguns with slugs (10-20 gauge), single shot centerfire rifles, centerfire revolvers/handguns .30 cal or larger with 4 inch barrel minimum. Hunters with valid unfilled Firearm Deer Permit may use archery equipment on private land only. All counties open except Cook, DuPage, Lake, and portion of Kane County east of State Route 47.
Firearm Season Second Segment
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Rifle
Legal weapons: Shotgun, Muzzleloader, Handgun and Single Shot Centerfire Rifle. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. No hunter may harvest more than two antlered deer during a year.
Muzzleloader
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Muzzleloading rifles must be at least .45 caliber with barrel at least 16 inches. Only blackpowder or blackpowder substitutes allowed. A hunter with a Muzzleloading Rifle Deer Permit may also hunt during the second firearm deer season using only a legal muzzleloading rifle. All counties open except Cook, DuPage, Lake, and portion of Kane County east of State Route 47.
Archery Season Counties With Firearm Season Segment 3
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Third segment. Counties with a firearm season and west of Route 47 in Kane County. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
Muzzleloader
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Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. No hunter may harvest more than two antlered deer during a year.
Late Winter Season First Segment
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Rifle
Legal weapons: Shotgun, Muzzleloader, Handgun and Single Shot Centerfire Rifle. Counties open during this season will be posted online in October. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
Late Winter/cwd Special Hunt Area First Period
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Special Hunt Area lottery required. Limit 1 Special Hunt Area application.
Special Cwd Season First Segment
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Antlered deer limit does not apply to this season. See Special CWD Deer Hunting section for open counties. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
Late Winter Season Second Segment
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Rifle
Legal weapons: Shotgun, Muzzleloader, Handgun and Single Shot Centerfire Rifle. Counties open during this season will be posted online in October. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
Late Winter/cwd Special Hunt Area Second Period
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Special Hunt Area lottery required. Limit 1 Special Hunt Area application.
Special Cwd Season Second Segment
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Antlered deer limit does not apply to this season. See Special CWD Deer Hunting section for open counties. Hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
Hunting
Dates vary by unit
Youth hunters
Only hunters who have not reached their 18th birthday before the first day of the hunt may participate. Valid statewide except Cook, DuPage, Lake counties, and portion of Kane County east of State Route 47. Legal firearms limited to shotguns, single shot centerfire rifles and muzzleloading rifles. Unfilled Youth Permits are also valid for other firearm seasons. Hunters using Apprentice Hunter License or Youth Hunting and Trapping License must be accompanied by a non-hunting, validly-licensed adult age 21+. All other youth hunters must be accompanied by a non-hunting supervisor (parent, guardian or responsible adult). A nonresident supervisor must have a valid Illinois hunting license.
Late Winter
Dates vary by unit
Season dates and open counties for 2025/2026 will be available around 1 Oct at dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deerhunting. During 2024/2025, 27 counties were open. Held concurrently with CWD deer season but different regulations may apply. All harvest reported electronically via phone or online registration.
Special Cwd Hunting
Dates vary by unit
Open in Adams, Boone, Bureau, Carroll, DeKalb, Ford, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kankakee, Kendall, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, McHenry, Ogle, Peoria, Putnam, Stephenson, Will, Winnebago counties, and the portion of Kane County west of State Route 47. Hunters must have an unfilled deer permit valid for the previous firearm, youth or muzzleloader deer season and valid for one of the open counties; or a valid Special CWD Deer Permit. Deer harvested during the special CWD season are not subject to the antlered deer harvest limit restrictions imposed during the firearm, muzzleloader, youth and archery deer hunting seasons. All harvest reported electronically via phone or online registration. Information and map available around 1 Oct at dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deerhunting.
Illinois Whitetail Licenses
Resident Licenses
| License | Availability | Eligibility | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Archery Single Antlerless-Only Permit - Resident | — | — | $17.50 |
| Deer Archery Single Either-Sex Permit - Resident | OTC | — | $15.00 |
Illinois residents only. Available by paper application only. | |||
| Deer Combination Archery Permit - Resident | OTC | — | $25.00 |
Includes 1 either-sex and 1 antlerless permit. Available at vendors only. | |||
| Deer Firearm Antlerless-Only Permit - Resident | Draw | — | $17.50 |
Available via lottery, online, at vendors, and by paper application. | |||
| Deer Firearm Either-Sex Permit - Resident | Draw | — | $25.00 |
Available via lottery, online, at vendors, and by paper application. | |||
| Deer Landowner Combination Archery Permit - Resident | OTC | Landowner | $0.00 |
Includes 1 either-sex and 1 antlerless permit. Landowners and resident tenants (of commercial agricultural leases) must have at least 39.5 acres of land to qualify. Permits are only valid on the owned/leased land. See 17 IL Adm. Rule 528 at dnr.illinois.gov/adrules. Available by paper application. | |||
| Deer Landowner Combination Firearm Permit - Resident | OTC | Landowner | $0.00 |
Includes 1 either-sex and 1 antlerless permit. Landowners and resident tenants (of commercial agricultural leases) must have at least 39.5 acres of land to qualify. Permits are only valid on the owned/leased land. See 17 IL Adm. Rule 528 at dnr.illinois.gov/adrules. | |||
| Deer Late Winter Firearm County-specific Antlerless-Only Permit - Resident | — | — | $17.50 |
Illinois residents only. Open counties to be publicly announced; see dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deerhunting. | |||
| Deer Late Winter Firearm Special Hunt Area Antlerless-Only Permit - Resident | Draw | — | $17.50 |
Illinois residents only. Available via lottery and online. Open counties to be publicly announced; see dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deerhunting. | |||
| Deer Muzzleloader Antlerless-Only Permit - Resident | Draw | — | $17.50 |
Available via lottery, online, at vendors, and by paper application. | |||
| Deer Muzzleloader Either-Sex Permit - Resident | Draw | — | $25.00 |
Available via lottery, online, at vendors, and by paper application. | |||
| Deer Youth Firearm Either-Sex Permit - Resident | OTC | Youth hunters | $10.00 |
Available at vendors. | |||
| Special CWD Season County-specific Antlerless-Only Permit - Resident | OTC | — | $5.00 |
See SPECIAL CWD DEER HUNTING section for open counties. Available at vendors. | |||
| Special CWD Season Special Hunt Area Antlerless-Only Permit - Resident | Draw | — | $17.50 |
Illinois residents only. Available via lottery and online. See SPECIAL CWD DEER HUNTING section for open counties. | |||
Nonresident Licenses
| License | Availability | Eligibility | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Archery Single Antlerless-Only Permit - Nonresident (Discounted) | — | — | $25.00 |
Nonresident applicants must possess an archery ES permit to be eligible for the discounted ($25) single AO permit. | |||
| Deer Archery Single Antlerless-Only Permit - Nonresident (Full Price) | — | — | $100.00 |
Full price nonresident antlerless-only archery permit without ES permit prerequisite. | |||
| Deer Combination Archery Permit - Nonresident | OTC | — | $410.00 |
Includes 1 either-sex and 1 antlerless permit. Nonresidents may obtain permits online from 6/1 until 6/30, after which permits are only available over-the-counter at vendors. | |||
| Deer Combination Archery Permit - Nonresident Youth | OTC | Youth hunters | $25.00 |
Nonresident youth (<18 yrs.) may purchase a resident Combination Archery Permit for $25. Includes 1 either-sex and 1 antlerless permit. | |||
| Deer Firearm Antlerless-Only Permit - Nonresident (Discounted) | Draw | — | $25.00 |
Nonresident applicants must possess an ES permit to be eligible for the discounted ($25) AO permit. | |||
| Deer Firearm Antlerless-Only Permit - Nonresident (Vendor) | OTC | — | $100.00 |
The nonresident $100 permit is only available at license vendors. Does not require an ES permit. | |||
| Deer Firearm Either-Sex Permit - Nonresident | Draw | — | $300.00 |
Available via lottery, online, at vendors, and by paper application. | |||
| Deer Landowner Combination Archery Permit - Nonresident | OTC | Landowner | $210.00 |
Includes 1 either-sex and 1 antlerless permit. Landowners and resident tenants (of commercial agricultural leases) must have at least 39.5 acres of land to qualify. Permits are only valid on the owned/leased land. See 17 IL Adm. Rule 528 at dnr.illinois.gov/adrules. Available by paper application. | |||
| Deer Landowner Combination Firearm Permit - Nonresident | OTC | Landowner | $175.00 |
Includes 1 either-sex and 1 antlerless permit. Landowners and resident tenants (of commercial agricultural leases) must have at least 39.5 acres of land to qualify. Permits are only valid on the owned/leased land. See 17 IL Adm. Rule 528 at dnr.illinois.gov/adrules. | |||
| Deer Muzzleloader Antlerless-Only Permit - Nonresident (Discounted) | Draw | — | $25.00 |
Nonresident applicants must possess an ES permit to be eligible for the discounted ($25) AO permit. | |||
| Deer Muzzleloader Antlerless-Only Permit - Nonresident (Vendor) | OTC | — | $100.00 |
The nonresident $100 permit is only available at license vendors. Does not require an ES permit. | |||
| Deer Muzzleloader Either-Sex Permit - Nonresident | Draw | — | $300.00 |
Available via lottery, online, at vendors, and by paper application. | |||
| Deer Youth Firearm Either-Sex Permit - Nonresident | OTC | Youth hunters | $10.00 |
Available at vendors. | |||
| Nonresident Antlerless-Only Archery Deer Permit (without prior combination/landowner permit) | OTC | — | $100.00 |
$100 fee for nonresidents without a prior Nonresident Combination Archery Deer Permit or Nonresident Landowner Archery Deer Permit. No limit on number of single antlerless-only permits. | |||
| Nonresident Antlerless-Only Archery Deer Permit (with prior combination/landowner permit) | OTC | — | $25.00 |
$25 fee for nonresidents who have previously obtained either a Nonresident Combination Archery Deer Permit or a Nonresident Landowner Archery Deer Permit. No limit on number of single antlerless-only permits. | |||
| Special CWD Season County-specific Antlerless-Only Permit - Nonresident | OTC | — | $5.00 |
See SPECIAL CWD DEER HUNTING section for open counties. Available at vendors. | |||
