Hunting Seasons and Dates

When Can I Hunt in Illinois?

Illinois offers a fairly straightforward hunting season structure, making it easy to find dates for deer, turkey, and other game you may be targeting this year.

The information in this guide reflects the latest updates from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). As new season details are released, we’ll continue to update this resource.

While this guide is a great starting point, we recommend checking official IDNR resources to confirm the most up-to-date season dates before finalizing your hunting plans.

Deer

• Archery: October 1 – November 20, 2025, November 24 – December 3, 2025, and December 8, 2025 – January 18, 2026.
• Archery (Cook, DuPage, Lake and Kane [east of route 47] Counties): Octobr 1, 2025 – January 18, 2026
• Youth Firearm Deer: October 11 – 13, 2025
• Firearm:
  • First Season: November 21 – 23, 2025
  • Second Season: December 4 – 7, 2025
• Muzzleloader: December 12 – 14, 2025
• Special CWD Deer: January 1 – 4, 2026 and January 16 – 18, 2026
• Late Winter (Antlerless Only): January 1 – 4, 2026 and January 16 – 18, 2026

Turkey

Spring

• Youth: March 29 – 30 and April 5 – 6, 2025
• Shotgun and Archery:
  • Segment 1: April 14 – 18, 2025 (North), April 7 – 11, 2025 (South)
  • Segment 2: April 19 – 24, 2025 (North), April 12 – 17 (South)
  • Segment 3: April 25 – 30, 2025 (North), April 18 – 23, 2025 (South)
  • Segment 4: May 1 – 7, 2025 (North), April 24 – 30, 2025 (South)
  • Segment 5: May 8 – 15, 2025 (North), May 1 – 8, 2025 (South)

Fall

• Shotgun: October 18 – 26, 2025
• Archery: October 1, 2025 – January 18, 2026

Upland and Small Game

• Dove: September 1 – November 14, 2025 and December 26 – January 2025
• Squirrel: August 1, 2025 – February 15, 2026
• Woodcock: October 18 – December 1, 2025
• Crow: October 28 – February 28, 2025
• Pheasant (Males Only):
  • North Zone: November 1, 2025 – January 8, 2026
  • South Zone: November 1, 2025 – January 15, 2026
• Quail: Same as Pheasant
• Hungarian Partridge: Same as Quail and Pheasant
• Rabbit: November 1, 2025 – February 15, 2026

Waterfowl

• Early Teal (All Zones): September 6 – 14, 2025
• Rail (All Zones): September 6 – November 14, 2025
• Snipe (All Zones): September 6 – December 21, 2025
• Canada Geese (Early Season, All Zones):September 1 – 15, 2025
• Canada Geese:
  • North Zone: October 18, 2025 – January 15, 2026
  • Central Zone: October 25 – November 2, 2025 and November 12, 2025 – January 31, 2026
  • South Central Zone: November 15, 2025 – January 31, 2026
  • South Zone: November 29 – January 31, 2026
• Duck:
  • North Zone: October 18 – December 16, 2025
  • Central Zone: October 25 – December 23, 2025
  • South Central Zone: November 15 – January 13, 2025
  • South Zone: November 29, 2025 – January 27, 2026
• Merganser: Same as Duck
• Coot: Same as Duck
• Scaup:
  • North Zone: October 18 – December 1, 2025 and December 2 – 16, 2025
  • Central Zone: October 25 – December 8, 2025 and December 9 – 23, 2025
  • South Central Zone: November 15, 2025 – January 13, 2026 and December 30, 2025 – January 13, 2026
  • South Zone: November 30, 2025 – January 27, 2026 and January 13 – 27, 2026
• Light Geese:
  • North Zone: October 18, 2025 – January 15, 2026
  • Central Zone: October 25, 2025 – January 31, 2026
  • South Central Zone: November 15, 2025 – January 31, 2026
  • South Zone: November 29, 2025 – January 31, 2026 (South)
• Conservation Order (Light Geese):
  • North Zone: January 16 – April 30, 2026
  • Central, South Central, and South Zones: February 1 – April 30, 2026
• Brant: Same as Light Geese
• White-Fronted Geese:
  • North Zone: October 20, 2025 – January 15, 2026
  • Central Zone: November 5, 2025 – January 31, 2026
  • South Central Zone: November 15, 2025 – January 31, 2026
  • South Zone: November 29, 2025 – January 31, 2026 (South)
• Youth Waterfowl:
  • North Zone: October 11 – 12, 2025
  • Central Zone: October 18 – 19, 2025
  • South Central Zone: November 8 – 9, 2025
  • South Zone: November 15 – 16, 2025

Coyote

• Hunting: Year-round
• Trapping: November 10, 2025 – February 15, 2026

For more details about season dates for trapping furbearers, visit the Hunt Illinois web page.