Deer hunters from Lawrence and surrounding counties are reminded to focus on safety as the 2018 Illinois Firearm deer season opens this weekend. The seven-day firearm season begins this Friday, the 16th and runs through Sunday, the 18th. A second round of firearm deer hunting will be held Thursday, the 29th through Sunday, December 2nd. Firearm deer hunting weekends are the states most popular hunting season. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Law Enforcement reports there were 19 hunting incidents last year, three of which were fatal. Ten of those incidents involved hunters falling from elevated tree stands or falling while climbing into or out of tree stands. Legal hunting hours for the firearm deer season are one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset