Hunting, North America
Hunting Illinois Deer
If you would like to hunt trophy whitetails, hunting Illinois deer should be considered. Illinois is well known throughout the whitetail hunting community as the land of the giants, and is always on the short list for top deer hunting destinations.
Hunting Illinois deer:
- Above average trophy quality.
- Our outfitters keep hunting pressure low and quality high. Many of them have a self imposed rule where they only allow themselves to harvest deer no less than 140″.
- Seasons go from the beginning of October to the beginning of December.
- You can hunt from the beginning of October, through the rut, and into December.
- Illinois is a draw state, but the archery tags never sell out, which basically makes it an over-the-counter tag.
- Tags are more expensive than some other states.
- More than 95% of Illinois is privately owned. Only about 900,000 acres are public, and fewer than 10,000 deer are taken on those acres each season. However, the DNR is good about managing what it does have. It even produces public hunting area reports every year. These are excellent tools for planning a potential hunt.
Best Counties to Hunt in Illinois
Based on a compilation of the last few years, the best counties in Illinois for deer hutting are as follows:
- Calhoun County
- Pike County
- Brown County
- Pope County
- Hardin County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Williamson County
- Union
- Schuyler
West-Central Illinois Deer Hunting in the Golden Triangle
Adams, Hancock, and Pike County in West-Central Illinois make up the famed Golden Triangle of Illinois deer hunting. For the trophy of a lifetime, look know further. The whitetail found in Adams, Hancock and Pike county are like nothing you will have ever seen before.
Since Pope & Young (P&Y) records began, archers just in this small corner of the state have recorded well over 1,000 qualifying bucks, with hunters in Pike County alone accounting for almost 600. That puts Pike second only to Wisconsin’s Buffalo County in terms of all-time P&Y whitetails.
Whitetail Hunts Offered by Outdoors International
Are you interested in booking a hunt?
Ask For Pricing or More InformationHere are some other hunts that you might like:
Talk To a Hunting Consultant
Meet An Outfitter
Request Pricing, Availability or More Information
Just fill out the form below, and please be thorough so we can get you exactly the type of hunt you're looking for.
Discover why thousands of hunters have trusted us with their adventures.
LET'S START PLANNING YOUR NEXT TRIP
Be specific so we can find exactly what you're looking for.