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Illinois hunters bagged more than 54,000 deer during the opening weekend of firearm deer season

The total is slightly up from the 53,348 deer caught during 2023's opening weekend.

Credit: AP

FILE - In a Nov. 17, 2011 photo, a mature white-tailed deer buck stands in a suburban neighborhood in Moreland Hills, Ohio. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

ILLINOIS, USA — Illinois hunters bagged more than 54,000 deer during the first weekend of firearm deer hunting season, according to the Illinois DNR.

Between Friday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 24, hunters harvested a total of 54,661 deer. That's a slight increase from the 53,348 deer hunted in 2023's opening weekend and the 52,354 deer from 2022's opening weekend.

You can check out the opening weekend totals from counties around the Quad Cities, as well as how they compare to recent years, below.

Rock Island County

2024 - 480
2023 - 526
2022 - 408

Mercer County

2024 - 542
2023 - 600
2022 -509

Whiteside County

2024 - 391
2023 - 402
2022 - 335

Carroll County

2024 - 387
2023 - 389
2022 - 331

Henry Country

2024 - 300
2023 - 321
2022 - 275

Warren County

2024 - 352
2023 - 337
2022 - 290

Knox County

2024 - 715
2023 - 821
2022 - 737

Bureau County

2024 - 628
2023 - 695
2022 - 609