Welcome to Illinois Learn to Hunt!

Lottery and Season Reminders

*Remaining county-specific Firearm and Muzzleloader permits after the Lottery 3 Drawing will be available for sale over the counter (OTC) at License Vendors beginning October 21, 2025, on a first-come, first-served basis. Permits will be sold until quotas are exhausted, or until the close of the respective deer season, whichever occurs first. Persons may purchase one or more permits during this period, subject to availability.  Special Hunt Area (SHA) permits are only available via the lottery process and are not sold OTC. 

News and Reports

Our Latest Content

LtH Webinar: How to Apply for the Illinois Firearm/Muzzleloader Deer Lottery

In this webinar we go through the step by step process on how to apply for the IL Firearm & Muzzleloader Deer Permit/Tag Lottery. We also look at some free resources to help you find and narrow down your public land hunting opportunities.

Hunting Illinois Podcast: Ep.57 | Mentored IL Turkey Hunt in the Shawnee National Forest

In this episode we go over our trip to the Shawnee National Forest as we tried to get some Hunt Camp winners on some birds for the first time this spring. Hear how we adjusted to the weather conditions and came so close to bringing home a big southern IL tom.

New Learn to Hunt Wild Turkey Page Live!

Want to learn how to tell the difference between a tom and hen wild turkey? Interested in wild turkey ecology? Not sure how to apply for a turkey permit in Illinois? Need guidance on how to scout for, hunt, and process a turkey? Want a downloadable equipment checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything, or a handy reference packet all about turkey hunting to take out in the field? We’ve got you covered!

Who are we and what do we do?

The Illinois Learn to Hunt provides FREE education and training workshops to teach ADULT participants how to hunt deer, turkey, squirrels, pheasants, ducks, geese and other game. Be sure to check out our upcoming events calendar and get registered for a free event!