[Swampbuckster]

I like the EAS. It’s fun to throw on some orange and let the .450 eat. Sort of a jump start on the season. I don’t mind hunting the mornings of the hot days. We’ve always had them home quartered and in the fridge by 10:00am.

I guess my son only knows killing does for youth , it’s the third year in a row he’s killed one. He said he wants to participate in next year’s youth too despite doe only. Regardless, it’s priceless time in the woods together and a great way to get some meat in the freezer up front.

 

[C20chris]

I got 2 brand new hunters in the woods on saturday. One on public and I sat with one on private. We all harvested a doe saturday morning. By 10:00 they were all field dressed. by 12:00 they were all skinned, quartered, and in a fridge. Sunday we processed all the deer as a group. 2 first time harvests with hands on the entire process start to finish. I would not call that "no impact"

Absolutely a great opportunity to grab somebody that is semi-interested in hunting, get them in the woods in a no-pressure, comfortable setting and harvest a deer.

 

[jiggin is livin]

I am more curious about the late doe changes. Personally, I agree with everyone else on temps. I don't think I have ever shot one in early season, but I have never tried either. I would if one was standing in my yard, but I am just too busy getting ready for fall usually that I don't devote time to it. Plus the weather.

Now late doe I love!! Probably kill more during that than regular season if I kept track.

 

[jiggin is livin]

This is exactly why they changed the youth season. It had become clear that it wasn’t doing anything besides continuing to cement the biggest issue the DNR has to deal with. We wont kill does.

I will!!! Every year at least a couple.

I might try to limit out this year, IDK yet. Usually I get tired of processing them. Lol but I refuse to pay someone else. I haven't found a recipe yet to make those antlers edible. Still like racks though, never turn down a nice rack, luckily my wife likes em too!

 

[tenring]

This is the county breakdown for EAS. Also added the 2023 - 2024 % change.

	2022 EAS	2023 EAS	2024 EAS	2023-2024
County	Total	Total	Total	% Change
Sanilac	120​	146​	134​	-8%​
Newaygo	115​	109​	115​	6%​
St. Clair	111​	130​	115​	-12%​
Lapeer	162​	139​	102​	-27%​
Oceana	84​	110​	101​	-8%​
Huron	71​	78​	90​	15%​
Tuscola	91​	121​	89​	-26%​
Mason	81​	68​	83​	22%​
Jackson	80​	82​	82​	0%​
Allegan	63​	69​	78​	13%​
Livingston	50​	73​	75​	3%​
Osceola	71​	92​	70​	-24%​
Hillsdale	66​	83​	69​	-17%​
Gladwin	62​	49​	66​	35%​
Montcalm	79​	95​	64​	-33%​
Ogemaw	49​	59​	62​	5%​
Kent	63​	92​	59​	-36%​
Barry	41​	48​	58​	21%​
Gratiot	58​	49​	58​	18%​
Clare	70​	71​	57​	-20%​
Presque Isle	53​	81​	56​	-31%​
Antrim	26​	36​	55​	53%​
Isabella	73​	87​	50​	-43%​
Lenawee	53​	52​	49​	-6%​
Shiawassee	84​	78​	49​	-37%​
Van Buren	44​	67​	49​	-27%​
Clinton	63​	109​	48​	-56%​
Ionia	64​	77​	48​	-38%​
Mecosta	82​	69​	47​	-32%​
Missaukee	28​	28​	47​	68%​
Alpena	32​	42​	46​	10%​
Genesee	63​	68​	46​	-32%​
Midland	35​	45​	46​	2%​
Saginaw	99​	108​	45​	-58%​
Washtenaw	73​	77​	45​	-42%​
Grand Traverse	36​	26​	43​	65%​
Alcona	43​	57​	42​	-26%​
Ingham	44​	76​	42​	-45%​
Montmorency	31​	25​	42​	68%​
Muskegon	43​	48​	42​	-13%​
Ottawa	55​	53​	39​	-26%​
Monroe	22​	11​	38​	245%​
Arenac	42​	43​	37​	-14%​
Berrien	42​	46​	37​	-20%​
Roscommon	16​	12​	37​	208%​
Oakland	38​	42​	36​	-14%​
Calhoun	47​	62​	35​	-44%​
Macomb	52​	27​	35​	30%​
Branch	50​	42​	34​	-19%​
Eaton	61​	45​	33​	-27%​
Kalamazoo	29​	26​	33​	27%​
Manistee	32​	24​	33​	38%​
Iosco	38​	49​	31​	-37%​
Oscoda	25​	17​	30​	76%​
Lake	30​	34​	29​	-15%​
Wexford	24​	20​	28​	40%​
Crawford	13​	12​	23​	92%​
Leelanau	23​	19​	22​	16%​
Bay	31​	34​	21​	-38%​
Cass	27​	22​	21​	-5%​
Benzie	11​	7​	18​	157%​
Charlevoix	16​	16​	18​	13%​
Cheboygan	19​	25​	17​	-32%​
Kalkaska	7​	12​	16​	33%​
St. Joseph	33​	35​	15​	-57%​
Emmet	14​	3​	14​	367%​
Otsego	17​	14​	12​	-14%​
Wayne	5​	7​	5​	-29%​
TOTAL	3475​	3778​	3311​

 

[triplelunger]

I like the EAS. It’s fun to throw on some orange and let the .450 eat. Sort of a jump start on the season. I don’t mind hunting the mornings of the hot days. We’ve always had them home quartered and in the fridge by 10:00am.

I guess my son only knows killing does for youth , it’s the third year in a row he’s killed one. He said he wants to participate in next year’s youth too despite doe only. Regardless, it’s priceless time in the woods together and a great way to get some meat in the freezer up front.

Here, Here! Exactly...people get their panties in full bunch mode about shooting a deer when it's over 70 degrees...

 

[mattawanhunter]

I am not a doe shooter never will be I am leaving that for the Young Bucks that have all sorts of energy to trapse all over The woods and up in trees and dragged deer home, have a homemade walk-in cooler because it's so hot out butcher them cut them up. Put them in the freezer!

I will say what I didn't know is if I could use my regular combo license and a firearm to shoot a doe with On private land in the early season?

I will say I may take an antlerless deer for the first time in the late season if I don't shoot a buck for my brother-in-law who relies on it to get through the winter!



I was unclear of the regulations when I went to get my license a couple of weeks ago at Dunham's the book was not out. I try to read that book on my phone on the hunting app and it's just way too small to read all of the do's and don'ts. So I'm going to stop and see if I can get a printed version somewhere!

I haven't had time at work to pull it up on my computer. If you've ever tried to print one of those hunting regulation books, you will find out quickly about killing trees and misaligned pages on paper 8 and 1/2 by 11! Or the booklet form which is always massively messed up when I try to print it!

 

[jiggin is livin]

Here, Here! Exactly...people get their panties in full bunch mode about shooting a deer when it's over 70 degrees...

I love doing it when it is 90 in July. Crop damage deer are a riot. I have a lot of farm buddies that own too much land to cover. They are too busy to shoot half the time until dark, but if you like drinking in a barn til midnight with blood up to your elbows while you're sweating out everything you're putting in, buddy I got a new hobby for ya!

 

[Nitro225Optimax]

I love doing it when it is 90 in July. Crop damage deer are a riot. I have a lot of farm buddies that own too much land to cover. They are too busy to shoot half the time until dark, but if you like drinking in a barn til midnight with blood up to your elbows while you're sweating out everything you're putting in, buddy I got a new hobby for ya!

Where does one sign up for this adventure? I’m your huckleberry.

 

[o_mykiss]

I will say what I didn't know is if I could use my regular combo license and a firearm to shoot a doe with On private land in the early season?

I was unclear of the regulations when I went to get my license a couple of weeks ago at Dunham's the book was not out. I try to read that book on my phone on the hunting app and it's just way too small to read all of the do's and don'ts. So I'm going to stop and see if I can get a printed version somewhere!

Yes, you can use your combo tags for antlerless in the EAS. Any tag works.

What kind of deer can I harvest with a deer combo license?
Residents and nonresidents can purchase only one deer combo license with two kill tags (regular and restricted) for use on public and private lands. These kill tags can be used to harvest an antlered deer, an antlerless deer in the Lower Peninsula OR an antlerless deer during the archery deer season in specific Upper Peninsula deer management units. You may also choose to use this kill tag for the early/late antlerless firearm season to take an antlerless deer. You can use both kill tags in the firearm seasons, both in archery or one in each season. To see how these tags can be used in each deer season, see pages 53-55 and 58-59.

 

[o_mykiss]

Absolutely a great opportunity to grab somebody that is semi-interested in hunting, get them in the woods in a no-pressure, comfortable setting and harvest a deer.

I have got 2 people out that fit that exact same description. Planning another one for next year. It's fantastic. Deer are easy to pattern, you don't need cold weather gear, and hunts don't last long if you are on private with high deer density.

 

[triplelunger]

I love doing it when it is 90 in July. Crop damage deer are a riot. I have a lot of farm buddies that own too much land to cover. They are too busy to shoot half the time until dark, but if you like drinking in a barn til midnight with blood up to your elbows while you're sweating out everything you're putting in, buddy I got a new hobby for ya!

It's a date...

 

[Gsphunteronpoint1]

This is exactly why they changed the youth season. It had become clear that it wasn’t doing anything besides continuing to cement the biggest issue the DNR has to deal with. We wont kill does.

My boys and I kill Our fair share of does every year, 6 last year, 7 the year before and 6 the year before that. We’d just much rather shoot does in Nov/Dec.

 

[Nitro225Optimax]

This is the county breakdown for EAS. Also added the 2023 - 2024 % change.


2022 EAS2023 EAS2024 EAS2023-2024CountyTotalTotalTotal% ChangeSanilac120146134-8%Newaygo1151091156%St. Clair111130115-12%Lapeer162139102-27%Oceana84110101-8%Huron71789015%Tuscola9112189-26%Mason81688322%Jackson8082820%Allegan63697813%Livingston5073753%Osceola719270-24%Hillsdale668369-17%Gladwin62496635%Montcalm799564-33%Ogemaw4959625%Kent639259-36%Barry41485821%Gratiot58495818%Clare707157-20%Presque Isle538156-31%Antrim26365553%Isabella738750-43%Lenawee535249-6%Shiawassee847849-37%Van Buren446749-27%Clinton6310948-56%Ionia647748-38%Mecosta826947-32%Missaukee28284768%Alpena32424610%Genesee636846-32%Midland3545462%Saginaw9910845-58%Washtenaw737745-42%Grand Traverse36264365%Alcona435742-26%Ingham447642-45%Montmorency31254268%Muskegon434842-13%Ottawa555339-26%Monroe221138245%Arenac424337-14%Berrien424637-20%Roscommon161237208%Oakland384236-14%Calhoun476235-44%Macomb52273530%Branch504234-19%Eaton614533-27%Kalamazoo29263327%Manistee32243338%Iosco384931-37%Oscoda25173076%Lake303429-15%Wexford24202840%Crawford13122392%Leelanau23192216%Bay313421-38%Cass272221-5%Benzie11718157%Charlevoix16161813%Cheboygan192517-32%Kalkaska7121633%St. Joseph333515-57%Emmet14314367%Otsego171412-14%Wayne575-29%TOTAL347537783311

The more I look at this, the more I see the counties with increased harvests appear to have a reasonable concentration of public land available to hunt and those without much public land, didn’t experience increases. My observation is just a hypothesis, I didn’t run any numbers. It’d be interesting to see a correlation with available public land open to hunting.

Somewhere like Oscoda, I didn’t know there were 30 deer in the entire county.

 

[tenring]

The more I look at this, the more I see the counties with increased harvests appear to have a reasonable concentration of public land available to hunt and those without much public land, didn’t experience increases. My observation is just a hypothesis, I didn’t run any numbers. It’s be interesting to see a correlation with available public land open to hunting.

Somewhere like Oscoda, I didn’t know there 30 deer in the entire county.

I almost added a couple comments to my original post saying almost exactly what you said here.

 

[C20chris]

I have got 2 people out that fit that exact same description. Planning another one for next year. It's fantastic. Deer are easy to pattern, you don't need cold weather gear, and hunts don't last long if you are on private with high deer density.

There is nothing better than putting yourself out there for others. When you see success happen on thier faces, it is better than any harvest you obtain for yourself. We as hunters need to be willing to grab ahold of people outside our circle in order to increase license buyers. This is a great season to do that in.

I have a third new hunter that opted out for a college college football game, but he is in for rifle. My 🤞 it works out for him. I could not be more pumped to see a 30 year old harvest and process thier first deer.

Don't complain. Be a difference maker. So awesome to read another person with the same mentality.

 

[Uncle Boopoo]

Keep in mind, this was only a 2 day hunt and 1 of the days was 80+ degrees. Harvest numbers are going to be low in those conditions no matter where they are.

Muzzleloader season and late antlerless are 27 days combined and warm temps won’t be an issue then. Should be safe to assume that harvest totals will be a lot higer in those hunts than EAS.

I still don’t see how adding 17 extra days of firearm hunting on public land is a supposed to solve anything. Seems like it would just decrease the public land experience and hurt hunter recruitment.

 

[greense1]

Was up at camp last weekend. Never in a million years would I have considered hunting. Did some scouting, put a few cameras out and didn’t see a single person hunting. It was damn near 80 and too hot to even be out scouting, let alone worrying about what to do with a dead deer.

 

[Nostromo]

Early Antlerless results are in and all kills should be reported as of today.

2024 = 3,270

2023 = 3,778

2022 = 3,475

Initial observations, regardless of beliefs of reporting compliance or non-compliance, shows opening the season to public land had no effect on harvest numbers.

I personally saw 7 deer hunting Saturday. Passed for several reasons, mostly due to ethical limits of my rifle.

I came across three “camps” with 2-4 hunters and encountered three hunters in the woods.

Did the extremely warm temps keep people away? Heavy rain on Sunday kept me out of the woods.

So to sum it up, the Early Antlerless season accounts for about 1% of the total annual harvest.

I’m still seeing bucks on camera during daylight. I don’t think the public land access changed much. Did some hunters not know about it? Didn’t have time to plan a trip up north?

We should wait for the official tally. But high heat certainly was a concern.

 

[TriggerDiscipline]

I think a lot of people didn't know about the change to allow public land hunting this year. A lot of people don't bother to read the regs until it gets close to their season (usually gun season). The heat may be a concern, but I don't think so seeing as down south it's this hot all season long, and it doesn't seem to slow down the hunting. Another thing is guys don't like to kill does until after the rut, they don't want to kill the "bait." It really only makes sense in high density areas.

I hunted Grand Traverse on a 40 acre patch surrounded by miles of state land on Saturday. Saw 10 does, the population in this little area exploded over the last few years of mild winters, so I knew taking one or two out wouldn't impact my fall hunting. I heard two other shots that morning, one farther off, and one was definitely a public land hunter. Saw a couple other trucks parked along the two track on my way to the processor.

I suspect next year will have a bigger impact, but you already see a 65% increase in GT County, so it appears word is getting out somewhat.