Helpful Reminders for Michigan’s Firearm Deer Season

Tens of thousands of Michigan residents and nonresidents will take to the fields and forests Tuesday, Nov. 15, to enjoy deer hunting. The Department of Natural Resources would like to share a few helpful reminders with those who will be heading out to hunt.

• The firearm deer season runs Nov. 15-30.
• Don’t forget to wear hunter orange. See page 18 of the Hunting and Trapping Digest for hunter orange clothing requirements.
• A deer or deer combo license can be purchased at a license agent or online at E-License.
• There are public- and private-land antlerless deer licenses still available.
• Be aware of any antler point restrictions that may be in effect where you are hunting and understand deer license types (video still applies even though it states 2014).
• Deer hunting hours are found on pages 12 and 13 of the 2016 Hunting and Trapping Digest.
• Be aware of the baiting and feeding rules and restrictions for deer in Michigan.
• Don’t forget to bring your deer to a DNR check station and pick up one of the DNR’s deer cooperator patches. Find the check station nearest you on the 2016 Deer Check Station Map.
• Bovine tuberculosis is still a major concern in the northeastern Lower Peninsula deer herd, so please be sure to bring your deer to a check station if you hunt in DMU 487.
• Don’t forget, due to finding chronic wasting disease, there is mandatory deer registration in the Core CWD Area, which includes 17 townships in the southern Lower Peninsula.
• Learn more about chronic wasting disease and how you can help by visiting mi.gov/cwd.
• Watch the instructional video on how to quarter a deer. This may be helpful if you wish to store your deer after you have submitted the head to a DNR deer check station in the Core CWD Area for testing.
• Those still looking for places to hunt on public land can check out Mi-HUNT – a cutting-edge, web-based, interactive mapping application that can help hunters plan their next trip.
• Hunters who have filled their freezers but want to keep hunting are encouraged to consider donating a deer to those in need through Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger. Find a participating processor at www.sportsmenagainsthunger.org.