GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Last week's opening day of deer season saw warmer weather and not a lot of deer running around because of it.
DNR Deer Specialist Chad Fedewa said not to worry, as they believe harvest numbers will increase as the season continues.
"Once we get to about Thanksgiving, that shifts to hunters start focusing more on antlerless deer, which is what we like to see the focus on, particularly in much of southern Michigan," said Fedewa.
During opening weekend in Sparta, hunters gathered in a parking lot to show off their harvest during the Sparta Brick Haus Brewing Buck Pole.
The DNR has been encouraging hunters this year to target antlerless deer, or does, because of a surging population. Culling the females, according to the DNR, will have the greatest impact when it comes to herd control.
"The last several years, the total harvest has been about 55% antler deer versus 45% antlerless deer," said Fedewa. "We'd like to see that more at a 50 50, or even more antlerless deer than antler deer."
So how are hunters fairing in the woods and cornfields across the state?
Fedewa said harvest during firearms season is currently down 6% this time last year.
The total amount of deer reported during last year's harvest was over 134,000.
"The first three days of firearm season typically account for about 25% of the total harvest of all seasons combined," said Fedewa. "So while we're still relatively early in the season compared to we have over a month of hunting seasons left, we've seen the bulk of the activity has probably already occurred for most hunters."