Zone 3 muzzleloader until New Years?

Are you serious? Michigan deer hunting is horrible compared to other states and I hunt prime Michigan ground.

 

1985 called and wants their deer hunting attitude back. It’s not going to go back to that anytime soon no matter hard the state or a few you guys want it to. Way to many hunters have seen the results for the better they can make themselves in the deer herd. The satisfaction is growing slowly, buts its growing.


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I’d say 4 years. The first year on this site I thought you were running for QDMA president! I would’ve voted for you to. Lol


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I agree Paul. But Michigan is way better that it was just ten years ago. Baby steps. You’ll be learning about baby steps real soon.


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Illinois killed a little over 153000 deer all seasons in 1019-2020 season !
https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/hunting/deer/Documents/2019-2020 Illinois Deer Harvest Report.pdf
Our archery hunters alone kill almost that many ! You really want to see bigger bucks close down archery season from Oct 31-Nov 15th You'll get your bigger bucks ! A person gets so many TAGS does it really matter what season he kills them in ! Lets say my local hero "Hillsdales most Wanted " Shoots two bucks in Oct all is great but if for some reason he kills those same two buck one during gun season and one during the late season he is now a bad guy! If you don't think the deer heard can take this extra season fix it DON'T hunt yourself but i would be willing to bet more the 90% of the people bitching on this thread if they haven't filled both their tags would be out there hunting and would shoot that buck! i If the bucks can't take it why are people out there shooting their 2 bucks shoot your one trophy the be done !There is only 1 person that you can control and thats YOU if your area can't support these new rules don't PULL the trigger be it on and trigger release , gun,muzzle loader , or crossbow!

 

I'm always serious...except when I'm not But yes...I am being serious in this case. It's all in the eyes of the beholder. I'm not going to do a research paper here, but pretty sure Michigan has the most deer hunters and kills the most deer. Think maybe Texas being the exception...but mostly because it is so much bigger. Michigan also has a ton of public land opportunities that many other states don't have. Are there other states that are better for "book" bucks...absolutely. What are their license fees? How much public land access is there? How much do you have to pay an outfitter to hunt, or a farmer to lease? Will you get scolded by the land-owner/outfitter if you shoot a 128" buck but you thought it was a little bigger. I love big bucks and I do pass a lot of small bucks. But in order for Michigan to be considered a "great" deer hunting state, it has to keep to the hunting traditions and allow people access and the ability to harvest meat for the freezer and make memories with family and friends. The DNR's job is not solely to produce 150" deer. I totally think we have a good balance here in the Mitten. Plenty of freezers get filled and I think the taxidermists are doing just fine. In fact, most that I know can't keep up. Plenty of 3.5 yr old and older bucks getting posted on MS/FB and plenty of others that don't. Just my opinions guys. And no, I've never hunted whitetails outside of Michigan. But I've been happy with my success/experiences over the years without ever paying a lease fee or going through an outfitter.

 

Yep, SAVE HIM! (for your neighbor)

 

Once you go out of state once you will go every year. I spend a week during the rut out of state and nothing compares. Not even remotely close. Until you do it you wont understand. I swear the deer are dumber outside the state lines of michigan

 

For sure! No arguing that. Deer are not pressured in other states like they are here. I know one outfitter in Iowa and he swears his Michigan clients are the best hunters and most successful because hunting is so tough here. I would love to do an Iowa/Ill/Kansas whitetail hunt someday but can't see myself paying much to do it. I'm fortunate to have good Michigan ground to hunt. I've killed a couple of P&Y bucks and a few others that would have qualified if taken with a bow. And lots of others that I consider dandy deer. I think if I were going to spend the money and vacation for an out of state hunt, it would be for Elk or Caribou...or maybe a Canadian Bear hunt. But being a teacher, fall vacation time is out...so that will have to wait till I retire I respect you guys and your opinions...and it is shared by many. But I don't agree with the blanket statements of how terrible we have it here. I think many, if not most of our hunters are very happy with what we have!

 

Quality private land in Michigan can be outstanding in the right areas. Are there areas that see tremendous pressure, of course. There are private land areas that are great but people don’t want to talk about them for good reason.

The biggest change in deer hunting in the last 30yrs is people manage the habitat/deer and the results have been larger antlered deer. The hunting shows have made everyone think that they need a trophy, the baseline of thinking on deer hunting has changed.

 

This is a good post. Except I don’t watch much hunting shows much anymore. Every second a guy who buys a piece of hunting property to hunt and manage deer is making this state better. This progression is minuscule but it’s happening. I also believe this progression has had a trickle down affect into our state land. Now if we can keep our hunting officials to stop ruining the progress, we could be in good shape.


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I've been impressed recently with the buck harvest here in Michigan. There have been some great bucks killed here over the last 5 years or so. I also think QDM and passing deer has contributed to it.