{"id":27888,"date":"2026-01-03T21:04:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T03:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/?page_id=27888"},"modified":"2026-01-03T22:23:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T04:23:49","slug":"southern-illinois-deer-season-nears-its-final-weeks","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/southern-illinois-deer-season-nears-its-final-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Illinois Deer Season Nears Its Final Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"fonts-plugin-block \" style=\"font-family: Lato;font-weight: normal;font-size: 20px;text-align: center\"><strong>Illinois Deer Season Nears Its Final Weeks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fonts-plugin-block \" style=\"font-family: Lato;font-weight: normal;font-size: 14px\"><em>GraniteCityGossip.com January 3, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"905\" data-id=\"27896\" src=\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4Rei-copy-2025-Edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27896\" srcset=\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4Rei-copy-2025-Edited.jpg 640w, https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4Rei-copy-2025-Edited-212x300.jpg 212w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 85vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" data-id=\"27892\" src=\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/deer-season-2025-Edited-identity-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/deer-season-2025-Edited-identity-1.jpg 960w, https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/deer-season-2025-Edited-identity-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/deer-season-2025-Edited-identity-1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"fonts-plugin-block \" style=\"font-family: Lato;font-weight: normal\">As the 2025\u20132026 deer hunting season winds down across Southern Illinois, hunters are taking stock of another memorable year in the woods. With archery season running through January 18, 2026 and firearm, muzzleloader, and late\u2011winter seasons now beginning to wrap up, the region has seen a steady mix of seasoned hunters, first\u2011timers, and family traditions continuing strong.<br><br>This year\u2019s conditions across the Metro East and deep Southern counties offered a little bit of everything from crisp November mornings, mild December stretches, and the kind of unpredictable Midwest weather that keeps hunters on their toes. Reports from the field suggest a healthy whitetail population, with many hunters noting strong rut activity and solid movement throughout the late fall.<br><br><strong>Share Your Season with the Community<\/strong>.<br><br>Now that the season is drawing to a close, we\u2019d love to hear from Southern Illinois hunters themselves. Whether you harvested a trophy buck, filled the freezer with a doe, or simply enjoyed quiet time in the timber, your stories matter. <br><br>These moments \u2014 big or small \u2014 are part of what makes deer season such a cherished tradition in our region. Hunters are encouraged to post their comments, photos, and reflections from this year\u2019s hunt.<br><br>Your images and stories help celebrate the season, inspire new hunters, and keep our outdoor heritage alive.<br><br><strong>Until Next Season.<\/strong><br><br>As we look ahead to the 2026\u20132027 cycle, one thing remains certain: Southern Illinois continues to be one of the Midwest\u2019s most rewarding places to chase whitetails. Thank you to everyone who hunted safely, ethically, and with respect for the land.<br><br>Let\u2019s close out this season by sharing the memories that made it special.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-27888","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27888"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27902,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27888\/revisions\/27902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}