Youth Waterfowl Hunting Weekend is statewide, Sept. 21-22, for youth 16 and younger.

Reminders:

• Ducks, mergansers, geese, coots and moorhens may be harvested; accompanying adults are not permitted to harvest these species during the hunt unless hunting during the September portion of the Canada goose hunting season. The daily limits and species restrictions are the same as those allowed in the regular waterfowl hunting season.
• Youth 10-16 years of age must have a base license and be accompanied by a parent, guardian or someone 18 years of age or older designated by the parent or guardian.
• Youth 16 years of age also must have a waterfowl license and a federal duck stamp.
• Youth who are hunting with a base apprentice license must be accompanied by an adult 21 years of age or older who has a nonapprentice base license and waterfowl license.
• Youth under 10 years of age also must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years of age, and the youth and adult must meet all provisions of the Mentored Youth Hunting Program.

5-mile advisory area refined in 2019; updated map available online

LANSING, Mich. – With archery hunting season beginning Oct. 1, the Michigan departments of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Natural Resources (DNR) are reminding hunters of the ‘Do Not Eat’ advisory for deer taken within 5 miles of Clark’s Marsh in Oscoda Township due to PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid). PFOS is the most common PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that bioaccumulates in fish and wild game.

The Do Not Eat advisory was initially issued in 2018 due to high levels of PFOS analyzed in the venison from one deer of several taken from the area near Clark’s Marsh, which borders the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Read more

First fox squirrel of the season

Took a couple of fox squirrels on opening day of Michigan’s small game season in Shiawassee County.  This one was taken with a Marlin 39 A lever-action .22 rimfire and Lapua Center X ammo.  Also, ran across an early buck rub in the timber.

Whitetail buck rub

Hunt Period 1 begins Sept. 11 for Bergland, Baraga, Amasa, Carney, Gwinn, Newberry and Drummond Island bear management units.

Red Oak, Baldwin and Gladwin units open Sept. 15.

Good luck to all Michigan bear hunters!

Hunters around Michigan are getting ready to get outdoors! Sunday, Sept. 15, marks the statewide start of hunting season for cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, ruffed grouse, fox and gray squirrel. Woodcock season, also statewide, follows less than a week later on Sept. 21.

Before hitting the forests and fields, every small game hunter needs to have a Michigan base license. A resident base license costs $11 and is valid as a small game license.

The base license allows hunters to hunt for rabbit, hare, squirrel (fox and gray), pheasant, ruffed grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, woodchuck, woodcock, quail, crow, coyote (Michigan residents only) and waterfowl during the open season for each species. Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

A good morning hunt with the Marlin Original Golden 39 A topped with a Leupold fixed 4x rimfire scope

Small game hunting season begins in a week and that means it’s time to dust off that favorite rimfire rifle and sight it in. Actually, that part is already done for me and what a joy it was!

However, if you don’t mind eating a few BBs, any old shotgun will work fine. Just load up the smoothbore, hike among the oak and hickory timber and blast away with whatever choke you have. There’s nothing to it, including skill.

Yes, I was that guy years ago until I graduated to the fine art of hunting with a .22 rifle. What follows are some tips and techniques to make your experience afield more enjoyable.

Most of today’s inexpensive rimfire firearms have terrible triggers right out of the box. If the trigger is not adjustable by the consumer, the accuracy will not be up to par in most instances. Most any scope and gun combination should be able to group shots within 1.5 inches at 50 yards but that’s the minimum level of accuracy to head afield with any ethical considerations. If a shooter is not able to meet these standards with the chosen rig, then getting closer to the target is the only option.

If your rifle is going to be scoped, make sure it’s a rimfire scope and not one designed for high-power rifles. The reason is that scopes that are not rimfire scopes have their parallax set to focus on targets at 100 yards or more – not squirrel-hunting range. And, it’s the closer range that will present optical illusions that some shooters will not recognize.

Here’s how to tell if you suspect a parallax issue: Set the rig on sandbags with crosshairs on a target. Without touching it, look through the scope at 50 yards or even less, then, move your head a bit while looking at the target. If the crosshairs appear to move, you have identified parallax. It’s a subtle malfunction that’ll drive a discriminating shooter bonkers.

Parallax adjustable scopes can solve this dilemma but messing around with a focus ring in a hunting situation is problematic, because squirrels have a way of changing the distance perpetually. Such optics may be good for target shooting, but not necessarily in the woods.

Choosing the proper ammo is important, as well. The bulk ammo in milk cartons is not typically accurate enough for me. In addition, most of it is supersonic, meaning its velocity is beyond the speed of sound or more than 1120 feet per second. That means it can be too destructive, especially in hollow-point configuration.

When I discovered the accuracy built into Lapua rimfire cartridges, I quit looking for anything better. (Olympic shooters use it, too.) To illustrate my rationale, I loaded my old Marlin Original Golden 39 A lever gun with a few rounds of Lapua Center X subsonic round-nose ammo and took three shots. The group measured less than ½ inch at 50 yards on the center X – right where I left it a year ago!

A quick check at 25 yards confirmed the bullets striking about an inch high. If there is a drawback to subsonic ammo, it is the fact that trajectory differences are magnified based on the slower velocity. Just make sure to shoot at various ranges to see how it may affect your groups. If $10 per box is too steep, check out other subsonic brands typically used for target shooting to save money. Also, make sure the ammo will cycle any semi-auto firearms properly.

Not only is subsonic ammo usually more accurate than the high-stepping fodder, it’s always quieter. And, that means a hunter can sit still and bag multiple squirrels from one stand with a little patience.

It’s not spray and pray with a scatter gun, but better tools for the job at hand can lead to a more enjoyable time afield.

A 78-year-old man from southeast Michigan became lost in the woods in Otsego County on day two of northern Michigan’s annual elk hunt. Within 90 minutes of receiving the call, a Department of Natural Resources conservation officer located the man in good condition.

The man had been helping his son (who had an elk tag) scout for elk Wednesday evening when he became lost as the sun began to set and it started to rain. The man’s son notified the DNR’s Wildlife Division that his father was missing, and the call was relayed to conservation officers working the elk hunt.

Conservation Officer Tim Rosochacki met the man’s son and DNR Wildlife staff, Di Ann Staniulis and Miranda Millikin, who were looking for the elk hunter’s father. The son provided Rosochacki with more details about his father and said the pair were scouting for elk on state land known as Green Timbers, located north of Vanderbilt on the edge of the Pigeon River Country. Read more

MISSOULA, Mont. – According to the Boone and Crockett Club animal rights and anti-hunting groups have again misconstrued the meaning of Fair Chase. This time, it involves baiting, which they claim should be banned because it is not Fair Chase.

The Club has a history of defining what is and is not Fair Chase, and has released a new position statement on baiting. The position reads in part; “Fair Chase is based on the meaning of ‘fair’ that relates to legitimate, genuine, or appropriate given the circumstances. Where an increased harvest of a particular species needs to occur, or where positive identification of size or sex is a legal requirement, baiting is appropriate given the circumstances and does not violate Fair Chase principles.”

“Over the past 132 years, the Club has helped to eliminate unsportsmanlike practices,” said Timothy C. Brady, president of the Boone and Crockett Club. “Chasing game rendered helpless in deep snow, spotlighting, driving game into lakes, or using aircraft to locate or herd game then landing to hunt them were all commonplace at one time. The Club was the first organization to recognize these practices as both unsustainable and unethical.” Read more