Illinois Deer Hunting, County by County

All 102 Illinois counties ranked by the FDR Deer Herd Index — a 0–100 score built from IDNR public harvest records, habitat, herd quality, momentum, and three trophy record books deduplicated so every buck counts once. Click any county for the full free report: 20-year harvest trend, record-book breakdown, public land, and season dates.

Other states: Missouri · Wisconsin

Rank	County	FDR Index	Tier	Record bucks	Huntable %
#1	Edgar	80.5	A - Elite	136	14.7%
#2	Vermilion	79.2	A - Elite	142	15.4%
#3	Logan	73.9	A - Elite	63	8.9%
#4	Piatt	71.2	A - Elite	35	6.7%
#5	Iroquois	70.2	A - Elite	84	7.5%
#6	Menard	70.1	A - Elite	68	20.9%
#7	Hancock	67.8	B - Strong	157	29.6%
#8	Crawford	67.2	B - Strong	88	32.4%
#9	McLean	66.9	B - Strong	113	7.4%
#10	Macoupin	66.3	B - Strong	195	30.2%
#11	Champaign	66.1	B - Strong	57	5.7%
#12	Clark	64.6	B - Strong	237	34.0%
#13	Coles	63.8	B - Strong	109	19.1%
#14	Morgan	63.5	B - Strong	103	22.6%
#15	Hamilton	63.1	B - Strong	71	35.6%
#16	Warren	62.3	B - Strong	67	16.2%
#17	Schuyler	62.1	B - Strong	239	51.6%
#18	Lawrence	61.4	B - Strong	67	25.8%
#19	Cass	61.3	B - Strong	135	31.9%
#20	Macon	60.2	B - Strong	70	9.5%
#21	De Witt	60	B - Strong	45	13.2%
#22	Shelby	60	B - Strong	107	22.9%
#23	Henderson	59.8	B - Strong	72	27.1%
#24	Livingston	59.6	B - Strong	68	5.4%
#25	Ford	59.3	B - Strong	8	4.7%
#26	Pike	59.2	B - Strong	779	41.0%
#27	Woodford	59	B - Strong	81	18.0%
#28	Brown	58.9	B - Strong	238	56.6%
#29	Sangamon	58.5	B - Strong	111	16.5%
#30	Washington	58.4	B - Strong	67	23.3%
#31	Fulton	58.4	B - Strong	391	43.4%
#32	Richland	58.3	B - Strong	73	25.1%
#33	Moultrie	58	B - Strong	29	13.0%
#34	Mercer	57.6	B - Strong	91	23.5%
#35	Bureau	57.2	B - Strong	110	15.4%
#36	Christian	57.1	B - Strong	65	11.7%
#37	Stark	57	B - Strong	28	10.4%
#38	Jasper	56.9	B - Strong	106	26.1%
#39	McDonough	56.9	B - Strong	144	24.6%
#40	Putnam	56.9	B - Strong	35	29.5%
#41	Douglas	56.7	B - Strong	24	7.3%
#42	Cumberland	56.5	B - Strong	46	30.1%
#43	Clay	56.1	B - Strong	47	33.2%
#44	Marion	56.1	B - Strong	88	41.7%
#45	Perry	55.9	B - Strong	83	41.1%
#46	Wabash	55.6	B - Strong	30	20.1%
#47	Knox	54.6	C - Above Average	189	28.2%
#48	Montgomery	54.1	C - Above Average	96	22.0%
#49	Adams	54	C - Above Average	296	37.5%
#50	Marshall	53.5	C - Above Average	70	19.8%
#51	Jersey	53.3	C - Above Average	111	43.1%
#52	Randolph	52.7	C - Above Average	118	42.0%
#53	Edwards	52.6	C - Above Average	48	27.9%
#54	Scott	52.5	C - Above Average	41	29.9%
#55	Wayne	52.4	C - Above Average	70	31.7%
#56	Lee	51.3	C - Above Average	77	11.2%
#57	Mason	51	C - Above Average	58	19.7%
#58	Tazewell	50.4	C - Above Average	109	18.5%
#59	Greene	50	C - Above Average	111	33.1%
#60	Fayette	49.9	C - Above Average	110	36.2%
#61	Gallatin	49.7	C - Above Average	52	30.6%
#62	LaSalle	48.7	C - Above Average	228	13.4%
#63	Kankakee	48.6	C - Above Average	75	11.4%
#64	Henry	47.2	C - Above Average	69	13.6%
#65	Effingham	46.8	C - Above Average	47	31.3%
#66	Grundy	46.5	C - Above Average	93	15.9%
#67	Jefferson	46	C - Above Average	90	47.4%
#68	Will	45.7	C - Above Average	318	21.9%
#69	Calhoun	44.7	C - Above Average	162	63.8%
#70	Monroe	44.6	C - Above Average	42	36.6%
#71	Clinton	43.6	C - Above Average	43	22.8%
#72	Bond	40.8	C - Above Average	59	30.9%
#73	Stephenson	40.5	C - Above Average	121	20.8%
#74	Boone	40.5	C - Above Average	35	16.1%
#75	Ogle	40.2	C - Above Average	144	19.2%
#76	White	39.8	D - Average	87	25.4%
#77	Franklin	39.6	D - Average	59	41.2%
#78	Saline	39	D - Average	48	45.7%
#79	DeKalb	38.7	D - Average	57	7.4%
#80	Cook	38.6	D - Average	76	12.2%
#81	Kane	38.4	D - Average	145	18.8%
#82	Madison	38.1	D - Average	95	27.6%
#83	Winnebago	37.8	D - Average	140	25.0%
#84	Peoria	37.6	D - Average	247	32.3%
#85	DuPage	37.2	D - Average	42	13.4%
#86	St. Clair	37.2	D - Average	60	26.4%
#87	Carroll	37	D - Average	119	27.7%
#88	Whiteside	36.7	D - Average	45	15.7%
#89	Jo Daviess	36.3	D - Average	312	54.7%
#90	McHenry	33.5	D - Average	305	30.7%
#91	Kendall	32.1	D - Average	33	12.7%
#92	Lake	31	D - Average	271	29.8%
#93	Massac	30.7	D - Average	34	52.2%
#94	Williamson	30.3	D - Average	57	62.6%
#95	Rock Island	29	D - Average	95	33.0%
#96	Pulaski	25.2	D - Average	29	45.7%
#97	Union	24.3	E - Below Average	65	74.0%
#98	Jackson	23.9	E - Below Average	84	56.5%
#99	Alexander	23.9	E - Below Average	32	53.7%
#100	Pope	20.6	E - Below Average	96	86.1%
#101	Johnson	20.2	E - Below Average	56	80.0%
#102	Hardin	19	E - Below Average	25	85.0%

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best deer hunting county in Illinois?

Edgar County ranks #1 of 102 Illinois counties on the FDR Deer Herd Index at 80.5 of 100 (A - Elite), followed by Vermilion County (79.2) and Logan County (73.9). Rankings are built from IDNR public harvest records, habitat, herd quality, momentum, and deduplicated record-book history.

Which Illinois county has produced the most record-book bucks?

Pike County leads with 779 record-book whitetails across the major record books, deduplicated so each buck counts once.

What is the FDR Deer Herd Index?

A 0–100 county score built from public records: IDNR harvest data, habitat, herd quality, momentum, and trophy history deduplicated across the major whitetail record books. Every county is measured the same way before it is ranked, and the full methodology is published on the FDR Index page.