Michigan Deer Hunting ?

[tradgreenhorn]

Any body else not seeing deer.  I have been hunting hard since oct. 20th had very little activity. Since the gun hunters went at it have only seen two very small does. Not going out tonight. What has happened to our deer heard. I have been hunting the same 120 acres since 1996,and beging last year the number of deer sitings have been way down. Looks like tag soup again this year.  

[maineac]

Not being from Michigan, but having lived through several post bad winter kill years here I know how hard it can be on the herd and hunting. I would imagine last winter was HARD on your herd.  Hopefully it will come back fairly quickly with the amount of agriculture you have.

[bogeyrider63]

Combination of ehd a couple of years ago, tough winter last year. And liberal anterless tags for quite a few years. Deer numbers are down for sure.

[Ray Lyon]

I'm in northern MI and the two areas I hunt I've got trail camera's out.  Everything has been nocturnal the last couple of weeks.  On one camera I've had 5 different bucks and 3 different does, one with two fawns and one with a single.  On my parents farm, I've got 4 different bucks, one group of two does with two fawns, one doe with a single fawn and a single fawn.  I think once the moon phase rolls around and we get a few more days away from muzzleloading season which ended here last Sunday and we'll see some daytime activity.

[Brad Arnett]

Private vs public is a big one too. I live in northeast mi and hunt national forest. My buck pics are still all nocturnal. I have on spot that 2 big 8's and a big 10 made it through gun season but they aren't around in the daylight. In 63 sits I've had 5 bucks in bow range. 4 I could have shot but they weren't legal with our APR's....which is a whole other subject. All these early/late antlerless seasons, and the number of tags they give out doesn't help any, in my not so humble opinion.  

In just 4 sits at my mom and dads farm in southern mi I seen 3 bucks all 2.5yo or better but couldn't close the deal on them. ALso seen a couple small bucks too there.

I'm not ready to hang it up yet, but I'm getting burnt out......and ready to get the beagles out for some rabbit hunting.

[Chain2]

About the same here. Public land in the acorns all activity at night. I did shoot a buck with a rifle but it's been real slow.
 I live north and I'm pretty sick of the bumbling herd management. Down state has the most deer but we get the bulk of the hunters. The private land down suffers less because of the controlled access. With the youth hunts and everything else , it's wholesale slaughter around me. I gun hunted on private land w/ APR and saw a noticeable difference there.

[Pine]

I have seen 6 deer all season . only one buck with a small rack . Been very disappointing .

[DennyK]

This has been one of the better years for me in the last few. At least seeing deer. But unfortunatly a sprained elbow is gonna keep me sidelined for the rest of this season barring a miracle. Can't begin to draw a 30# bow yet. Good news is I can get out and do some scouting.

[ChuckC]

I didn't get to hunt my place in da UP this year, but the trail cams showed activity.  I did notice very little buck activity at all until mid October and then they all started hanging out.  I saw 8 different ( we drew out the antlers to compare) antlered bucks, ranging from maybe 1" spikes to two that were actually decent for the area.  None were huge by any stretch.   And I missed it all.

ChuckC

[Bobby Urban]

Strange season for me as well but not bad in any way.  I saw way more bucks than does - like 3:1 or better from the stand and more big bucks than ever in my lifetime.  Watched 4 PnY or darn near one night for hours in the daylight out in the bean field in front of me and at least 6 confirmed different 125"-150" bucks on the small 40 acres I hunt along with many, many rag horns from 4-8pts.  That said, I never shot a deer in the bow season.  Been a long time since I have not shot 3 or more but I just did not want to drop the string with all the nice bucks around and the only real opportunity was a 125ish wide 8 that walked straight at me, right under my stand and out of my life.  Never had a shot even though I watched him for 10 minutes through my stand  

Just hunting and put a big smile on my face.  On a good note I still have been getting some of the big boys on cams post the gun season.

[riverrat 2]

The deer are gone. Very low herd numbers. Many reasons have already been listed above. I don't know if the DNR has what it is going to take to get things healthy again in the next few years. Thank God for turkey season. rat'

[T Folts]

It has been slow for me also, I did have good chances in OCT and most of Nov but now it has slowed up a lot. I have the last two weeks of the year off so I'm hoping to put a doe in the freezer.

[aim small...release]

same here hunted VERY hard with only 2 shot opportunities all season a young 3 and 4pt and this is a area where weve been practiceing QDM for. almost 5 years

[ripforce56]

I hunt 640 acres of state land that borders 2 privates leases havn't seen any does this year at all, since last winter deer sign has been minimal! since October I have seen one small spike with maybe w 2in antlers! That is it for the whole season! As stated winter kill, coyotes, wolves, youth hunts, tribal permits (5 per person) unlimited landowner tags for years, plus hunters shooting everything that walks its no wonder the numbers are down. Plus habitat management up here is non exsistant the woods are way over mature, not much  food to sustain much anything! Lots of squirrels though I think that is what I am going to hunt from now on and forget about the deer!

[Vesty]

I, too, have had a much slower season. I've had only one shot opportunity and got busted. I have three trail cams out on my 30acres and most deer movement has been nocturnal for the past two weeks. I have seen a few bucks on my camera that made it through the firearm season so I am thankful for that. I'll probably be able to get out a couple more times. It isn't over until it is over.

[kill shot]

I seen more deer than you can shake a stick at. For the first time up at my hunting lodge I have been seeing a few bucks. The deer numbers are way out of the norm.(too many does) During febuary we took about 50 deer with crop damage permits. Dave and Don McKeller hunted uo there this year for 1 week and saw about 60 deer. Yes some of the deer were the same ones sighted before but 60 sightings in 1 week is still pretty good. My brother in law who owns the land I lease was hoping more deer were taken this year than what was taken.(8 so far) I'm going up after christmas and take a kid to get her first deer. The area is in Millersburg in Presque Isle county. I'm trying to come up with the cash to buy an add space on tradgang to advertize my bowhunting only lodge. I'm close but not quite there yet. But yes the bean and corn fields up there are just lowsy with deer. Also a lot of the state land up there goes unhunted.

[Bladepeek]

I think the EHD damage and an exceptionally cold winter last year may have had some effect. I think the deer are still around in good numbers down south here, based on the tracks I've seen. Deer kill numbers are going to be VERY low this year. Many of my friends have taken really good bucks, but I sure wasn't one of them. I let two fork-horns walk and a large doe with 2 good sized fawns and that was the last I saw of deer so far.

 The private area where I had planned on hunting has been thoroughly flogged to death with baiting and trail cam checking and most of the deer have gone nocturnal. Tracks and deer scat everywhere, but no hair in sight.

The huge areas of standing corn may have been a big factor too. Farmers have been unable to get out in the fields to harvest it and what better place to bed down for the day where they can bed and feed out of the wind (and out of sight too!)

[JMR]

Very slow for me too. Only saw 2 bucks all season and the same 7 does a few times. Everyone I talk to says its the same for them.

[Bonebuster]

Snow cover reveals the deer population in a given area.

Take the time to hike areas after a fresh snowfall, and you will be able to see just how many deer there are in a given area.

Last January I did this very thing several times in several areas in the N.E. Lower, and I can tell you there were VERY few deer there BEFORE we had any winter loss.

If you have good numbers of deer in your area, consider yourself lucky...and hope that it remains that way.

The Michigan DNR has, IMHO, SEVERELY mismanaged the deer herd for well over a decade. I am not alone in this thinking.

I truly do not believe ANYTHING they (the DNR)  bring forth as far as harvest reports, license sales OR pre season deer populations.

I believe hunter numbers are UNDER REPORTED...I believe harvest figures are OVERESTIMATED, and that populations are OVERESTIMATED.

Money truly is the root of all evil...whitetail management in Michigan revolves around MONEY.

Our DNR is constantly banking on the adaptability of the whitetail.

All a hunter can do is NOT shoot a deer?

[Flingblade]

Well said Bonebuster.  I'll be hunting out of state next year and as soon as I can arrange it I will be moving out of state.