Section 685.10  Statewide Season for White-Tailed Deer Hunting

a)         Season:  One-half hour before sunrise on Saturday of the State designated Columbus Day Holiday weekend to ½ hour after sunset on the Monday immediately following that weekend.  Shooting hours are ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.  A hunter with an unfilled, valid Youth Deer Permit may also hunt during the first firearm deer season (the 3-day weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) immediately before Thanksgiving), subject to the following restrictions:

1)         Unfilled Youth Deer Permits are not valid for hunting during the first firearm deer season on public land sites that limit the number of hunters during the firearm season via the use of a site permit quota (i.e., only public sites that allow unrestricted access may be hunted);

2)         the hunter must use only firearms allowed in Section 685.30; and

3)         hunters must abide by Section 650.60 when hunting on Department‑owned or -managed sites.

b)         Open Counties:  All counties except Cook, DuPage and Lake Counties, and that portion of Kane County east of State Route 47.

c)         Hunting outside the set season dates is a Class B misdemeanor (see 520 ILCS 5/2.24); and hunting prior to ½ hour before sunrise or after ½ hour after sunset is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum $500 fine and a maximum $5,000 fine, in addition to other statutory penalties (see 520 ILCS 5/2.33(y)).

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 11564, effective June 29, 2020)