ILLINOIS — Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary statewide total of 262 wild turkeys during the 2023 fall firearm turkey season, which is similar to last year’s numbers.

The record harvest was set in 2005 when 1,218 birds were harvested. This year, just over 1,700 regular fall firearm season permits were sold.

Fall turkey season was open in 56 of Illinois’ 102 counties. The top counties for harvest this year were Jo Daviess with 23 birds, and Marion and Williamson counties with 14 turkeys. Preliminary data show just over half of the harvest were female birds.