Ridgeline RavenAll states › Illinois
Illinois County Finder
Answer six questions and get Illinois counties ranked by habitat fit, 2026–27 season dates, public land and IDNR harvest reports.
How the Illinois finder works
IDNR reports every checked deer and turkey by county. This tool scores all 102 counties using deer harvest for 2024–25 and 2025–26 (by season, with archery and antlered shares), spring turkey harvest for 2024–2026, USGS land-cover and elevation data, and the share of public land such as state sites and the Shawnee National Forest.
Season fit uses the 2026–2027 Illinois digest: archery, youth, the two firearm seasons, muzzleloader and late-winter deer, spring turkey by zone, fall turkey, upland birds and the North, Central and South waterfowl zones.
Species covered
- White-tailed deer
- Wild turkey
Upland birds (ranked by county)
- Ring-necked pheasant
- Gray (Hungarian) partridge
- Quail
Waterfowl and migratory birds (ranked by county)
- Ducks
- Canada and dark geese
- Snow and Ross's geese
- Mourning dove
- American woodcock
About every species on the species page →
Data sources
- IDNR Illinois Deer Harvest Reports 2024–25 and 2025–26 (county harvest by season and sex)
- IDNR spring turkey summaries 2024–2026 (county harvest)
- https://v3-wp.huntillinois.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/InsertCard.pdf
- USGS PAD-US 3.0 (Fee); NPS parks and monuments excluded
- USGS NLCD 2021 Land Cover (250 m resample)
- USGS 3DEP elevation service
Illinois hunting FAQ
When are Illinois's 2026 firearm deer seasons?
Nov. 20–22 and Dec. 3–6, 2026. Muzzleloader is Dec. 11–13 and youth firearm Oct. 10–12. Archery runs Oct. 1–Jan. 17 but closes during the firearm seasons in counties open to firearm hunting.
Which Illinois counties have the most deer?
Jefferson, Pike, Fulton, Randolph and Adams counties lead IDNR's harvest. Pick white-tailed deer to rank every county.
Are rifles legal for deer in Illinois?
Only single-shot, pistol-caliber rifles (see the digest). Most Illinois firearm deer hunters use shotguns, muzzleloaders or handguns.
Illinois harvest leaders
The counties with the highest average reported harvest for each species. High totals often reflect large areas and many hunters; the tool above also weighs harvest per square mile, hunter success, habitat and access.
White-tailed deer (2024–2025 average)
- Jefferson County: 4,977 per year
- Pike County: 4,640 per year
- Fulton County: 4,261 per year
- Randolph County: 4,200 per year
- Adams County: 4,088 per year
Wild turkey (2024–2026 average)
- Jo Daviess County: 589 per year
- Jefferson County: 462 per year
- Pope County: 393 per year
- Pike County: 388 per year
- Marion County: 376 per year
Ducks (USFWS 10-year average)
- Mason County: 25,343 per year
- Woodford County: 24,540 per year
- Fayette County: 20,905 per year
- Fulton County: 18,553 per year
- Will County: 18,190 per year
Canada and dark geese (USFWS 10-year average)
- Will County: 12,597 per year
- Fulton County: 11,079 per year
- Kane County: 10,269 per year
- McHenry County: 6,030 per year
- Rock Island County: 5,833 per year