GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There are only 22 days left until the opening day of firearm deer season in Michigan, and according to the DNR, there are rule changes to help get more hunters into the woods.
The Department of Natural Resources is focusing on deer management with some of these new rules, which adds an additional firearms season for antlerless deer.
That new season will start on Jan. 2 and will extend through Jan. 12.
Also, for those who want to hunt in the winter, late firearm deer season, which starts on Dec. 16 and ends Jan. 1, will no longer be exclusive to private land. Those on public, or state-owned land, will now be able to hunt as well.
The reason for extended seasons, and a new one, is that there's been a decline of about 200,000 hunters in Michigan over the past twenty years, which has led to an increase in the deer population.
That makes it harder for forests to thrive, puts added pressure on crops like soybeans and corn, and can contribute to the spread of diseases.
"As we see those trends and declining hunter numbers and increase in deer populations, we've tried to enact some new regulations the last several years, and this is a continuation of that to try to create more opportunity, particularly for hunters, to harvest antlerless deer," said primary deer specialist Ched Fedea of the Michigan DNR. "So those are the typically, the female deer, and to manage a deer population, those are the deer you, you want to focus on controlling those numbers."
All deer hunting seasons according to Michigan DNR:
- Liberty hunt: Sept. 14 – 15, 2024
- Early antlerless firearm: Sept. 21 – 22, 2024
- Independence hunt: Oct. 17 – 20, 2024
- Archery:Oct. 1 – Nov. 14 and Dec. 1, 2024 – Jan. 1, 2025
- Extended archery season is extended through Jan. 31, 2025, for select counties: Huron, Kent, Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair (except DMU 174), Tuscola, Washtenaw and Wayne.
- Regular firearm: Nov. 15 – 30, 2024
- Muzzleloading (Zones 1, 2 and 3): Dec. 6 – 15, 2024
- Late antlerless firearm: Dec. 16, 2024 – Jan. 1, 2025 on private and public lands in Lower Peninsula DMUs (excluding 115, 145 and 245).
- A new extended late antlerless firearm season: Jan. 2-12, 2025, in Allegan, Barry, Bay, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Mecosta, Midland, Monroe, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oakland, Ottawa, Saginaw, St. Clair (excluding DMU 174), Shiawassee, Wayne and Washtenaw counties; DMU 311 (Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties); DMU 312 (Branch, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties); and DMU 332 (Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties).