Illinois Youth Turkey Hunters Harvest Preliminary Record

Looks like the youngsters this year did really well during the youth turkey season. Below you'll find preliminary harvest report from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Here is a link to the PDF which is easier to compare counties and last year harvest numbers - https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/news/Documents/IDNR-YouthTurkeyHarvest2017.pdf

2017 Illinois Youth Turkey Season Preliminary Record Harvest Totaled 1,541 Birds

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Youth turkey hunters harvested a preliminary record total of 1,541 birds during the 2017 Illinois Youth Turkey Season. The dates for this year’s season were March 25-26 and April 1-2. This was the first year two youth turkey hunting weekends were open for the entire state. Previously, there was one weekend dedicated for the north zone and one for the south. In 2016, a total of 1,058 turkeys were harvested, combining both seasons and zones. The previous youth season record harvest was in 2012, when 1,300 birds were taken. This year, a total of 5,601 youth turkey permits were issued, including 106 permits for special hunt areas. Last year, 4,761 permits were issued, including 113 for special hunt areas.

Much of the state received rain during one or both days of the first weekend. However, it didn’t seem to slow down the young hunters, as they harvested 776 birds over those two days. Weather was more favorable overall for the second weekend, and 765 birds were taken.

The table below shows Illinois Youth Turkey Season preliminary harvest figures for both the north and south zones by county, with numbers from 2016 and 2017.

North Zone Year
County 2016 2017
Adams 32 35
Boone 7 7
Brown 24 24
Bureau 7 9
Calhoun 20 23
Carroll 5 7
Cass 17 21
Champaign 1 6
Christian 1 1
Clark 12 11
Coles 4 6
Cumberland 5 7
DeKalb 1
DeWitt 5 8
Edgar 7 3
Ford 1
Fulton 31 42
Greene 19 13
Grundy 3 4
Hancock 9 20
Henderson 5 14
Henry 4 5
Iroquois 1 10
Jersey 15 23
JoDaviess 30 29
Kankakee 1 4
Kendall 1
Knox 19 29
LaSalle 1 5
Lee 6 18
Livingston 1
Logan 1 7
Macon 1 4
Macoupin 31 28
Marshall 5 5
Mason 12 15
McDonough 8 13
McHenry 4 11
McLean 4 6
Menard 8 11
Mercer 12 17
Montgomery 20 31
Morgan 12 18
Moultrie 2 2
Ogle 25 23
Peoria 8 11
Pike 39 52
Putnam 2 1
Rock Island 7 12
Sangamon 11 10
Schuyler 18 27
Scott 6 8
Shelby 8 13
Stark 1
Stephenson 12 15
Tazewell 11 6
Vermilion 7 11
Warren 4 7
Whiteside 12 15
Will 2 2
Winnebago 11 13
Woodford 11 6
North Total 606 788

South Zone Year
County 2016 2017
Alexander 7 14
Bond 18 22
Clay 15 24
Clinton 7 13
Crawford 6 16
Edwards 5 9
Effingham 6 15
Fayette 28 50
Franklin 12 16
Gallatin 12 12
Hamilton 22 34
Hardin 4 9
Jackson 21 40
Jasper 8 11
Jefferson 31 46
Johnson 13 19
Lawrence 5 13
Madison 21 19
Marion 27 41
Massac 9 14
Monroe 10 15
Perry 10 29
Pope 6 17
Pulaski 7 8
Randolph 23 40
Richland 10 8
Saline 12 24
St. Clair 11 11
Union 24 41
Wabash 1 6
Washington 8 22
Wayne 16 30
White 11 28
Williamson 26 37
South Total 452 753

Grand Total 1058 1541

https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/news/Documents/IDNR-YouthTurkeyHarvest2017.pdf