Illinois — where you can actually hunt
Illinois sells tags over the counter — there's no draw. So the question is where: which counties have public land you can walk onto and hunt. And “public land” isn't one thing — a national park or a refuge is closed or permit-only, so we count only what's truly open, and show the rest honestly. Pick your species below.
What “huntable” means here
National forest, BLM, and state game lands / WMAs are open to hunting (state wildlife-agency lands are managed forit); state forests generally are. National & state parks and military land are closed; wildlife refuges are permit-only — those are excluded from the number.
By huntable public land
Most huntable counties first
Ranked by open public land — state game lands / WMAs and national forest are the open categories that push a county up. The mix shows what kind; deer harvest (Illinois DNR reported deer kill) shows where the animals are.
| County | Huntable | Land mix | Deer harvest | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pope | 40% | National Forest 38.8% · State Game Lands / WMA 1.2% | 2,070 | |
| Alexander | 25.4% | National Forest 17.3% · State Game Lands / WMA 8.2% | 602 | |
| Hardin | 25% | National Forest 24.6% | 902 | |
| Union | 20.2% | National Forest 14% · State Game Lands / WMA 6.1% | 2,109 | |
| Johnson | 17.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 8.9% · National Forest 8.3% | 2,000 | |
| Jackson | 16.4% | National Forest 13.2% · State Game Lands / WMA 3.2% | 3,340 | |
| Cass | 9.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 9.9% | 1,475 | |
| Calhoun | 8% | State Game Lands / WMA 8% | 1,696 | |
| Saline | 8% | National Forest 5.9% · State Game Lands / WMA 2.1% | 1,814 | |
| Perry | 6.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.8% | 2,993 | |
| Jersey | 6.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.2% | 1,533 | |
| Gallatin | 5.6% | National Forest 5.5% | 734 | |
| Will | 5.4% | National Forest 3.3% · State Game Lands / WMA 2.1% | 1,063 | |
| Jefferson | 5.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 5.2% | 5,120 | |
| Massac | 5% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.2% · National Forest 1.8% | 734 | |
| Mason | 4.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.4% | 1,071 | |
| Jo Daviess | 4.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.4% | 2,696 | |
| De Witt | 4.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.1% | 1,001 | |
| Lake | 3.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.8% | 332 | |
| Randolph | 3.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.4% | 4,148 | |
| Putnam | 3.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.3% | 763 | |
| Jasper | 3.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.1% | 2,478 | |
| Moultrie | 2.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.9% | 900 | |
| Adams | 2.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.7% | 4,249 | |
| Fayette | 2.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.6% | 4,025 | |
| Fulton | 2.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.6% | 4,267 | |
| Grundy | 2.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.5% | 796 | |
| Henderson | 2.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.5% | 1,063 | |
| Marshall | 2.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.4% | 1,167 | |
| Brown | 2.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.4% | 2,183 | |
| Pulaski | 2.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.3% | 588 | |
| Peoria | 2.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.3% | 2,141 | |
| St. Clair | 2.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.3% | 1,928 | |
| Woodford | 2.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.1% | 1,722 | |
| LaSalle | 2% | State Game Lands / WMA 2% | 1,561 | |
| Tazewell | 1.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.9% | 1,548 | |
| Franklin | 1.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.8% | 2,638 | |
| Hamilton | 1.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.8% | 2,671 | |
| Lawrence | 1.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.6% | 1,404 | |
| Carroll | 1.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.5% | 1,282 | |
| Madison | 1.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.5% | 2,051 | |
| Monroe | 1.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.4% | 1,995 | |
| Vermilion | 1.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.4% | 1,938 | |
| Kankakee | 1.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.3% | 746 | |
| Whiteside | 1.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.2% | 1,496 | |
| Marion | 1.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.2% | 3,885 | |
| Knox | 1.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.1% | 2,327 | |
| Pike | 1.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.1% | 4,724 | |
| Bureau | 1.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.1% | 1,848 | |
| Ogle | 1.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.1% | 1,620 | |
| McHenry | 1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1% | 1,139 | |
| Winnebago | 1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1% | 997 | |
| Clinton | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 1,748 | |
| Lee | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 1,404 | |
| Shelby | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 2,769 | |
| Christian | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 1,244 | |
| Montgomery | 0.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.8% | 2,228 | |
| Crawford | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 2,426 | |
| Coles | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 1,671 | |
| Kendall | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 273 | |
| Wayne | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 3,288 | |
| Schuyler | 0.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.6% | 2,784 | |
| Henry | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | 1,233 | |
| DeKalb | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | — | |
| McDonough | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | 1,607 | |
| Wabash | 0.4% | — | 624 | |
| Washington | 0.4% | — | 2,439 | |
| Menard | 0.4% | — | 891 | |
| Iroquois | 0.4% | — | 1,323 | |
| Cook | 0.3% | — | 149 | |
| Rock Island | 0.3% | — | 1,618 | |
| Effingham | 0.3% | — | 2,180 | |
| Hancock | 0.3% | — | 3,185 | |
| Piatt | 0.3% | — | 450 | |
| McLean | 0.3% | — | 1,396 | |
| Logan | 0.3% | — | 855 | |
| Clark | 0.3% | — | 2,186 | |
| Douglas | 0.3% | — | 467 | |
| Richland | 0.3% | — | 1,415 | |
| Morgan | 0.2% | — | 1,483 | |
| Williamson | 0.2% | — | 3,400 | |
| Sangamon | 0.2% | — | 1,743 | |
| Stephenson | 0.2% | — | 1,133 | |
| Macon | 0.2% | — | 699 | |
| Ford | 0.2% | — | 227 | |
| Macoupin | 0.2% | — | 3,533 | |
| Boone | 0.1% | — | 413 | |
| DuPage | 0.1% | — | 29 | |
| Stark | 0.1% | — | 395 | |
| Kane | 0.1% | — | 428 | |
| Edgar | 0.1% | — | 1,248 | |
| Clay | 0.1% | — | 2,752 | |
| Warren | 0% | — | 954 | |
| Scott | 0% | — | 707 | |
| Edwards | 0% | — | 854 | |
| Livingston | 0% | — | 775 | |
| Cumberland | 0% | — | 1,543 | |
| Mercer | 0% | — | 1,716 | |
| Bond | 0% | — | 1,490 | |
| Champaign | 0% | — | 678 | |
| Greene | 0% | — | 2,177 | |
| White | 0% | — | 1,790 |
huntablePct = state WMAs + national forest as a share of the county (Illinois DNR GIS + PAD-US, EPSG:5070); deer = Illinois DNR reported deer harvest by county. Turkey = IDNR spring turkey harvest, per-county regular-season Total (2025), summing to the report's regular-season total (13,520); the full statewide headline of 18,189 adds youth and Property-Only/landowner permits not broken out by county. Gallatin-Hardin and Marshall-Putnam are reported as combined rows (left blank per county); Cook and DuPage have no open spring season. National & state parks, military land, and permit-only refuges are computed but shown as the “mix,” not counted huntable; confirm the specific tract with the state agency.
Illinois — best of, ranked