801 turkeys harvested in fall season

Hunters in Illinois harvested a statewide total of 801 wild turkeys during the 2022-2023 fall archery turkey season between Oct. 1 and Jan. 15.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, IDNR, reported that the total compared with the statewide fall archery turkey harvest of 683 in 2021-2022.

The 2022-2023 numbers represented the third-highest harvest total on record for the season in Illinois. 

The top five counties for fall archery wild turkey harvest this season were Vermilion with 27 turkeys harvested; Ogle, 24; Clay, 22; Marion, 21; and Randolph, 21.

The 2022-2033 harvest total for Union County was 12 turkeys. That was up from 10 in 2021-2022.

Harvest totals for other area counties included:

Alexander County, seven for 2022-2023, up from four for 2021-2022; Jackson County, seven, down from nine; Johnson County, 12, up from seven.

Massac County, four (the same as the previous year); Pulaski County, three, up from one; Williamson County, 12, up from 11. 

IDNR reported that for 2022-2023, 25,373 permits were sold (excluding landowner permits), compared to 24,768 for the 2021-2022 season. All 102 counties were open for hunting. 

The harvest consisted of 48 percent males and 52 percent hens.