Michigan DNR Says Firearm Deer Season Off To A Great Start

This is the time of year that some people spend months and months waiting and preparing for as it's one of their favorite times of the year. No, I'm not talking about the people who love holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and others that fall in the last quarter of the year.

Instead, we're talking about the people who bundle up, put on camo, take their binoculars and snacks to sit quietly in the woods. They also have their hunting rifle, shotguns, pistols, and other hunting weapons and tools with them. These are the people who have fallen into hunting as a hobby.

During the month of November, the firearm deer season begins and allows hunters to head out to their hideouts and legally hunt deer with firearms. Thousands of people from Michigan go out and hope to catch some of the biggest bucks they have ever seen. Those who are super invested are counting down the days to the early firearm season opening and they have not disappointed this year.

In Michigan, the firearm season opens on November 15th and runs through the end of the month. Last year, nearly 500,000 people participated in the firearm season which is more than the other 3 seasons of deer hunting season combined. The numbers this year seem to be trending higher than in the past.

The Michigan DNR says that as of Tuesday there were already 75,562 deer have been reported, including 54,782 “antlered” deer and 20,780 “antlerless” deer. This is in addition to the 173,000 deer that have already been harvested this year. Last year's harvest was 347,008 deer and it looks like this year may eclipse that.

Every hunter must report their successful harvest to the Michigan DNR within 72 hours before being passed to someone else or the hunter may face consequences. Although many of the rural areas have seen more harvests, here are the numbers for West Michigan:

• Allegan: 1,267
• Barry: 1,016
• Berrien: 586
• Calhoun: 1,283
• Ionia: 1,489
• Kalamazoo: 632
• Kent: 693
• Montcalm: 1,713
• Muskegon: 508
• Newaygo: 1,758
• Oceana: 1,156
• Ottawa: 536
• St. Joseph: 477
• Van Buren: 919

It looks like hunters in Michigan are looking to take down as many deer as they can, so make sure to keep your eyes on the road as they will be running loose and could cause accidents on both the highway and residential roads.