Around here our deer population is way down! Has been dropping for over 10 years! About 3 years ago we had the EHD here bad that hit a lot of the state. That fall I was at the local body shop and I asked him if it had affected the car/deer accidents. His reply was that they had seen a decrease every year for 5 years or so! Pretty good indication of your deer herd. Gary
The article i read was from information the DNR gave... I'll post the article here shortly, but they say the herd is increasing all over MI, even with the 3 bad winters recently. The UP is down but recovering. Southern lower MI herd is increasing at a faster rate
BY JULIE MACK Michigan's deer harvest has been on a generally downward trend since the 1990s. But the state still had the nation's second-largest deer harvest in 2016-17, according to a survey by Outdoor Life magazine. Texas ranked first, with hunters taking 722,044 deer, compared to 341,288 deer in Michigan, Outdoor Life said. Also in the top five: Pennsylvania (333,254), Wisconsin (316,774) and Georgia (316,463). Texas has an estimated 4.3 million deer, while Michigan has about 1.75 million. Michigan's 2017 deer season is already under way, with archers out since Oct. 1 and several special hunts already held, including one foryouths and hunters with disabilities. But the most popular event -- the 16-day regular firearm season -- begins next week on Nov. 15. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says it's anticipating a 2017 harvest equal to or "slightly" exceeding last year's numbers, which were the highest since 2013. The southern Lower Peninsula has the state's largest deer population because of its "high-quality" habitat -- i.e, "abundant food and cover in the form of agricultural crops and scattered swamps and woodlots," says the DNR's 2017 deer hunting forecast. Another factor: Harsh winters in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 hit deer hard in northern Michigan, especially the Upper Peninsula, and the deer population is still recovering. The good news for hunters, according to the DNR, is the deer population is "steadily increasing" in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula. As for the Upper Pennisula, "though overall deer numbers are still lower than many hunters like to see, some areas have begun to recover from previous harsh winters nicely," the DNR says.
In Michigan, you're allowed to buy a license for 2 years before you need to take hunter's safety, regardless of your age. But you have to have a mentor for those 2 years. If you're under 18, you have to have a mentor also, regardless of how many years you've been hunting
Yep, The first sentence says it all!Shoot my wife can't even hit them with her car and she trys hard! 20 years ago my Dad started counting the deer he saw on opening day. The first year it was just short of 100. Granted some of them may have been duplicates that were making a loop and appearing a few hours later. Every year it got less to the last year he hunted he saw 5! Another thing is we do not have the hunters that we used to have. I can remember when opening day it sounded like an army out there with all the shots out there. I believe another factor is the loss of the fence rows on the farm land, all the 10-15 acre fields have had them taken out and are now one big field. That all said yes we may have a large herd compared to some states but we are down. I probably haven't seen or heard a pheasant for over a year! In 1952 my Dad was 25 out of 27 on Pheasants(while he was on crutches)!! Fox may be coming back a little,and we are overrun with turkeys,coyotes and racoons. Gary
How many deer get killed on highways of socialist states? Take your kids hunting. Give the meat from the infants tags to people you personally know. I had a rifle when I was five, but I wasn't raised limp write either. The gov will spend every dime you give them and demand more. Nothing new here. Are there any freedom loving young people out there? Good heavens, do some of us not even let kids split and haul firewood anymore? No wonder I can't find a young man to do the work I do.
Isn't it great when people from the concrete jungle 500 miles away can dictate what lives in your backyard?
And that right there is why we have the annual deportation march across the Mackinac bridge at the end of each summer! If you check the picture closely, you can even see some of the local hunters (orange vests) volunteering to keep the "illegals" moving and ensure there are no stragglers!
Hahahaaaa. You are a hardcore yooper. I spend a lot of time up there, but I've never heard of the Deportation March lol. That's funny chit
Still trying to get the funding to build that dang wall to the U.P.'s southern border too! But then, cheese does go pretty good with pasties, no?
My take is a little different on this issue then many here. Ohio enacted a similar law a few years ago. No minimum age and a hunter at any age can buy an apprentice license and hunt with a licensed adult for up to three years. After that they need to take and pass a hunter safety course. The idea of this is to introduce new hunters into the sport. To allow parents to decide when their child is ready to hunt. It’s not about handing a child a gun and saying “hey go have fun”. There is no one better then a parent to decide when a child is ready. Some may be ready to learn at 5 and others at 12. My children both have hunted with me and we purchased apprentice licenses for them. One decided hunting was not what she wanted to do and the other absolutely loves it. Personally I’m a big fan of the freedom to choose when my child can participate. And this is all directly under my wing and with me personally guiding and helping them through every step. This doesn’t apply just to gun hunting but also to crossbow hunting. My girls at the age of 4 and 5 had the understanding and knowledge to safely shoot a crossbow with the aid of a small tripod. I cocked the bow and can hand it to them, they know how to load a bolt, aim, safely and accurately shoot at a target or deer. This system allows new people to be introduced and decide if they want to pursue it further. And it is done under supervision. It’s not just for signing people up to see what sticks. Now like anything there will always be people that take advantage of a system. The infant licenses are possibly that. But look at how easy that info was to find, do you think that the DNR doesn’t know exactly who bought that license and will check to see if a tag is filled? Of course they will, and since there’s no way an infant can shoot a deer it’s a red flag. Wisconsin isn’t a party hunt state so only the tag holder can fill it. Any person responsible for that child will be held accountable. Personally I’m all for this law, it’s gives us the freedom that we already should have. And the responsibility that comes with it.
The "stupid" needing fixing is the fact that you have to pay for the right. aren't we all created equal, don't we all enjoy the same rights and benefits, land of the free, home of the brave? nope, only if you pay for it. pay those red coats now and you can legally eat... they took your cow and you're complaining about the milk... (not you personally Dennis, but the metaphorical "you") thats my "from the other side of the mountain" point of view... But if a 1yo has a SWEET tack driver and knows how to use it? ehh, I could probably go both ways on this one edit - and no, you cannot fix stupid...
We have a youth hunt here that no special permit is required and it is only one weekend, A few years back we had a new guy in our camp and he had a three year old that he took to his stand. we usually have a workday on that weekend so I was there. he brought in this nice eight point buck. now this weekend is the one before opening of gun season. I don't like that it is but I don't make the rules, anyway he brings in this buck to gut and skin at our cleaning station. now everyone knows he killed the buck. I was being nice to the kid and said congrats, I noticed one rifle on the four wheeler he came in on. I said Wow what a hole what did you shoot him with, the kid didn't have a clue. got no answer. I did notice it was a 300 Winchester magnum. I told the guy privatly, dude you really expect us to believe that boy shot that gun. His words are who are you anyway. I said I am vice president of this club and you are hunting illegally. he said I couldn't prove it. I told him to clean the deer and get it outta camp. he never came back. guess he was scared I was gonna turn him in. The youth hunt here gets abused severely cause it's the weekend before gun season and creeps use it to get an advantage of hunting before it opens. I'm all for the youth getting a season on their own but it's just sad people abuse it.
I agree on that, always going to be people that abuse the system. Unfortunately those people will never obey any laws
