Area hunters were in the fields early this morning as the Firearm Deer season began. The 7-day hunt will go for 3 days this weekend as it ends on Sunday. The 2nd Phase begins November 29th through December 2nd.
Hunters in Illinois harvested 98,820 deer last year. So far, there have been around 334,000 permits issued to hunters in the state.
The legal hunting hours for the firearm deer season is one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
There are several area parks that firearm deer hunters are required to register all deer that are killed. The list includes:
**Ogle County: Castle Rock State Park in Oregon
**DeKalb County: Shabbona Lake State Park
**Winnebago County: Rock Cut State Park in Loves Park
**Boone County: Boone County Fairgrounds in Belvidere
**Stephenson County: Stphenson County Fairgrounds in Freeport
Biologists will also be present at the locations to take chronic wasting disease samples. The testing is voluntary for the hunters.
