Deer hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 99,419 deer during the seven-day firearm deer hunting season on Nov. 20-22 and Dec. 3-6. The preliminary harvest total compares with 105,595 deer taken by hunters during the 2008 firearm season.

The preliminary second-season (Dec. 3-6) harvest total was 33,293, compared with the 33,701 deer taken by hunters during the second segment of the season in 2008. This year