Illinois opens its fields and timber to a wide roster of game: white-tailed deer, wild turkey, cottontail and swamp rabbits, fox and gray squirrels, groundhog, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail, Hungarian partridge, mourning and white-winged doves, crow, woodcock, ducks and geese along the Mississippi Flyway, and 14 furbearer species that include coyote, raccoon, bobcat, and river otter. If you’re asking what game animals you can hunt in Illinois, that’s the full menu, but each group carries its own seasons, permits, and legal methods, and a few catch newcomers off guard.
Big Game: Deer and Turkey
White-tailed deer is the state’s marquee species. Illinois law classifies deer as a game mammal and requires separate permits beyond your base hunting license.1Illinois General Assembly. Wildlife Code 520 ILCS 5 There are four main seasons: archery from early October through mid-January, First Firearm (November 20–22, 2026), Second Firearm (December 3–6, 2026), and a Muzzleloader-Only season (December 11–13, 2026).2Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Deer Firearm and Muzzleloader Hunting Information Muzzleloader permit holders can also hunt Second Firearm.
Firearm and muzzleloader permits run through a three-round lottery, with the first round reserved for Illinois residents and later rounds opening to nonresidents.3Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Deer Permit Applications Archery works differently: residents can buy combination archery permits (one either-sex and one antlerless-only) over the counter without a lottery, while nonresidents apply through a June lottery or buy leftovers in August.4Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Deer Archery Hunting Information
Wild turkey is the other big game species. The spring season runs in five segments from April into May, and turkey permits are county-specific, drawn through a three-round lottery between October and February with the first round for residents only.5Illinois Department of Natural Resources. 2026 Spring Turkey Hunting No hunter may hold more than three total spring turkey permits across all sources. Leftover county permits go on sale over the counter in early March. A fall turkey season also exists and uses the landowner permit program for access.6Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Turkey Hunting A Spring Wild Turkey Hunting Permit is required on top of your base hunting license.7Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 17 Section 710.20 – Statewide Turkey Permit Requirements
Small Game Mammals
The Illinois Wildlife Code defines game mammals as cottontail rabbit, swamp rabbit, jack rabbit, fox squirrel, gray squirrel, groundhog, and white-tailed deer.1Illinois General Assembly. Wildlife Code 520 ILCS 5 Set deer aside and you’re looking at rabbits, fox and gray squirrels, and groundhog. These have generous seasons and require only a hunting license and habitat stamp. No additional permit, no lottery. Season dates, bag limits, and legal methods are published each year in the IDNR Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations.
Upland Birds
Illinois has a solid lineup of upland birds, each with its own quirks:
- Ring-necked pheasant, roosters only. Hen pheasants are illegal to harvest or possess except at controlled hunting sites that offer pen-raised birds.8Hunt Illinois. Upland and Small Game
- Bobwhite quail, available in areas with suitable habitat, though populations have declined over the decades.
- Hungarian partridge, in limited numbers and mainly in northern Illinois.
- Mourning and white-winged doves. White-wings count toward your mourning dove daily bag limit.8Hunt Illinois. Upland and Small Game
- Eurasian-collared doves, ringed turtle doves, and pigeons, all year-round with no bag limit. But if you hit your mourning dove daily limit during dove season, you have to stop hunting for the day.8Hunt Illinois. Upland and Small Game
- Crow and woodcock, both with defined seasons. Woodcock are federally regulated as a migratory bird.
One rule trips up dove hunters every year. Dove hunting hours run sunrise to sunset, which is narrower than the half-hour-before-sunrise to half-hour-after-sunset window that covers most other game.9Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code Part 730 – Dove Hunting
Waterfowl and Other Migratory Birds
Illinois sits in the Mississippi Flyway, and the duck and goose hunting shows it. Legal species include mallards, teal, canvasbacks, pintails, Canada geese, and snow geese, along with snipe, coots, and rails. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sets the federal framework and Illinois picks its specific seasons within those limits.10U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations
Waterfowl hunting carries federal obligations beyond anything else on this list. Hunters 16 and older must buy and carry a current Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, the duck stamp, for $25.11U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Federal Duck Stamp All migratory bird hunters must also register each year with the Harvest Information Program (HIP).12eCFR. 50 CFR Part 20 – Migratory Bird Hunting
Lead shot is prohibited for taking waterfowl, coots, and other species included in aggregate bag limits during concurrent seasons. Only approved nontoxic shot (steel, bismuth, tungsten-based composites, and several other formulations containing less than one percent residual lead) may be used or even carried in the field.13eCFR. 50 CFR 20.21 – What Hunting Methods Are Illegal This is one of the most common citations federal wardens write.
Furbearers
Illinois classifies 14 species as furbearers: mink, muskrat, raccoon, striped skunk, weasel, bobcat, opossum, beaver, river otter, badger, red fox, gray fox, and coyote.1Illinois General Assembly. Wildlife Code 520 ILCS 5 Most have defined fall and winter seasons. Two warrant extra attention.
Coyotes can be hunted year-round, with brief closures during firearm deer season in counties open for deer hunting. From November 10 through March 15, there are no time-of-day restrictions, so night hunting is legal in that window.14Hunt Illinois. Furbearer Hunting On IDNR sites, only .22 caliber or smaller rimfire firearms are permitted from sunset to sunrise unless site rules say otherwise.
Gray fox hunting and trapping is closed for the 2025–2026 season after surveys showed a substantial decline in the species’ distribution and abundance over the past decade.15Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Furbearer Hunting and Trapping Governor Pritzker signed the legislative change in June 2025 and emergency rules took effect that July.16Outdoor Illinois Journal. Gray Fox Season Closed in Response to Decline in Population Check with IDNR before planning any future gray fox hunt.
What Every Hunter Needs Before Going Afield
Every hunter needs a valid Illinois hunting license, with limited exceptions for certain youth hunters and resident landowners on their own property.17Hunt Illinois. Licenses/Stamps Anyone using a firearm also needs a Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card from the Illinois State Police.18Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Getting Started – Hunting A resident license costs $12.50; nonresidents pay $57.75 for the year or $35.75 for five days.19Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Hunting Licenses
Hunters 18 and older also need a state habitat stamp to pursue deer, turkey, upland birds, squirrels, rabbits, or furbearers. Disabled veterans and former POWs are exempt. Anyone born on or after January 1, 1980, must complete a hunter safety course before buying a license, though a prior-year hunting license from Illinois or any other state satisfies this.17Hunt Illinois. Licenses/Stamps All U.S. states recognize each other’s hunter education certificates.
Shooting hours for most game run from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. During any firearm deer season, including muzzleloader and youth firearm, you must wear a solid blaze orange or blaze pink cap and an upper outer garment showing at least 400 square inches of blaze orange or pink.20Hunt Illinois. Deer Ground blinds on IDNR land during any firearm deer season must also display 400 square inches of blaze orange or pink visible from all directions.18Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Getting Started – Hunting
Bringing Deer Back From Out of State
If you hunt deer or elk anywhere outside Illinois and plan to bring the harvest home, the state restricts what parts of the carcass can cross the line because of chronic wasting disease. You can transport deboned meat, antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull caps with all brain and muscle tissue removed, hides, and finished taxidermy mounts. Whole carcasses or parts with the head or spinal column attached may enter Illinois only if delivered to a licensed meat processor or taxidermist within 72 hours.21Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code Section 635.30 – Importation of Animal Carcasses and Parts The rule applies regardless of whether CWD has been confirmed in the state you hunted. Debone and clean the skull cap before you leave camp, and you’re clear.