Category: Hunting

Upper Peninsula firearm deer season opens with improvement over last year

Young hunter on his first deer hunt, Menominee County

Michigan Department of Natural Resources staff said Sunday’s opening day of the firearm deer hunting season was improved in some parts of the Upper Peninsula over last year, based on reports from deer check stations.

Young hunter on his first deer hunt, Menominee CountyAcross the region, temperatures reached the low 50s, with sunny skies, though lingering snow that had fallen earlier in the week remained on the ground in some places.

Last year, much of the northwestern part of the U.P. was buried under 3 to 4 feet of snow by opening day, in the wake of a strong winter storm that began Nov. 10 and continued for three days, followed by lake-effect snow showers.

At the Marquette DNR check station, one deer was checked on opening day last November. This year, the Marquette station checked six deer, closer to the 10-year average of 10 deer brought in on opening day. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Michigan Encourages Hunters in Affected Areas to Have Deer Checked for CWD

DNR encourages hunters in affected areas to have deer checked for chronic wasting disease

CWD suspect positive deer harvested in Dewitt Township; Eaton County hunters urged to voluntarily check deer and cease baiting and feeding of deer

Michigan hunters are proving valuable allies in the fight against chronic wasting disease, a fatal neurological disease that has been found in free-ranging white-tailed deer in the state.

More than 700 hunters have submitted the head of their deer for CWD testing so far this year. Test results help the Michigan Department of Natural Resources determine the extent of the disease, and hunter harvest also helps prevent the spread of CWD by thinning the population in affected areas. Read more

Hunting

MI DNR check stations ready for firearm deer hunting season in the Upper Peninsula

DNR wildlife technician ages an 8-point buckThe Michigan Department of Natural Resources deer check stations are ready for the start of the upcoming firearm deer hunting season in the Upper Peninsula.

If the archery season is any indicator, there likely will be some great bucks harvested in the weeks to come.

“We’ve had some really nice deer checked here in Marquette over the past few weeks,” said DNR deputy public information officer John Pepin. “Some hunters think last winter’s big snowfall just before the start of the firearm deer hunting season may have been a blessing in disguise.” Read more

Hunting

Score Your Rack and Share the Results With Realtree’s Online Antler-Scoring Tool

COLUMBUS, GA — With Realtree’s new online Antler-Scoring Tool, you can score your rack quickly and easily and then share the results with a cool graphic image through social media.

Realtree’s Antler-Scoring Tool provides a handy step-by-step process with video tutorials for easily scoring your rack. Simply upload the measurements online and click “submit” for an accurate score. Once you get your score, you can share it directly to social media via Facebook with an automated image. You can also upload a photo of your buck for an image of the score superimposed directly on top of the photo.

Developed by Gray Loon Marketing Group, this responsive tool works on all devices, whether in the field, in camp or at home.

For the old-school types who could care less about social media and prefer to use pen and paper instead, a printable score sheet is available. Read more

Hunting

Helpful reminders for firearm deer season, starting this Sunday

buck and doe in fieldThis Sunday, Nov. 15, tens of thousands of Michigan residents and nonresidents will take to the fields and forests 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.
  • Deer hunting hours are found in the 2015 Hunting and Trapping Digest, which is available at mi.gov/dnrdigests.
  • 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 2015 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.
  • CWD video still frameDue to finding chronic wasting disease in free-ranging deer in Ingham County, there is mandatory deer registration for the following townships in Clinton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties: Alaiedon, Bath, Delhi, DeWitt, Lansing, Meridian, Wheatfield, Williamstown and Woodhull.
  • 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 through Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger. Find a participating processor at www.sportsmenagainsthunger.org.

Read more

Hunting

The Empire State Approves Game Vector

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Game Vector, a unique game tracking system, brings state-of-the-art electronic technology to the Empire State, by greatly improving a bow hunters ability to locate and recover arrowed game—an issue all too common in bow hunting. Dennis Steinman, the products inventor, developed the tracking system when he agonized over a lost trophy whitetail deer. He later recovered the deer, but vowed to use his 30 years in the electronics industry to solve the issue of lost game.

The staff at the New York State Department of Conservation evaluated the various components of the Game Vector system and found the device in accordance with pertinent rules and regulations governing bow hunting in New York State,” stated Douglas Stang Assistant Director, Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources. “We are committed to assisting hunters with fair chase, ensuring good ethics while afield, and enjoying their outdoor experience. This system provides another tool to help fulfil those goals”

The system uses a transmitter that is fitted onto the shaft of an arrow. Upon impact, the transmitter separates from the arrow’s shaft, attaches to the animals hide and transmits radio frequency signals to a separate handheld receiver, used by the hunter to recover the animal. Read more

Hunting

Sportsmen’s Alliance Urges Kentucky Governor to Rely on Science

The Sportsmen’s Alliance believes wildlife management decisions belong in the hands of trained biologists who use data and proven science to balance habitats and mitigate human-wildlife conflict.

As such, the Sportsmen’s Alliance has sent a letter to Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear urging him to dismiss a request by the Humane Society of the United States that called for an emergency stop of the 2015 bear hunt, the impetus of which is based solely on emotional rhetoric and an espoused agenda to end all hunting.

In a letter obtained by the Sportsmen’s Alliance, Kathryn Callahan, the Kentucky State Director for HSUS, pleads with Gov. Beshear to stop the bear hunt. Using emotional language and making unsubstantiated statements, Callahan espouses a case that runs long on rhetoric and short on fact – statements the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife unequivocally and expertly refute with legitimate fact.

“At the end of the day, this isn’t about management or harvest quotas. It’s about their desire to stop bear hunting entirely. It wouldn’t matter if a single bear was the quota, the Humane Society of the United States wouldn’t approve, and they won’t be satisfied until all hunting is stopped everywhere,” said Adam Wright, Sportsmen’s Alliance associate director of state services. “We’re hopeful Gov. Beshear will listen to Kentucky’s expert wildlife biologists who rely on facts, science and data when managing wildlife.”

The “emergency request” by HSUS was spurred by the fact that the quota for the fall archery black bear hunt was set at 10 bears total, or five female bears only, but because bowhunters experienced greater than anticipated success rates during the two-day season, 22 bears were killed, 10 of which were females. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting
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