The Natural Resources Commission unanimously approved an amendment to the Wildlife Conservation Order to allow year-round coyote hunting and allowing the use of #3 and #4 buckshot at night. Both were MUCC resolutions sponsored by the Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association. Special recognition is due to MTPCA president Dale Hendershot and past president John Caretti, who have testified at the NRC on behalf of their organization urging consideration and adoption of these provisions for years. MUCC also testified in support of the provisions.

The new coyote regulations expand daytime coyote hunting year round, nighttime coyote hunting with an artificial light year round, and includes the use of #3 and #4 buckshot. However, it’s important to note that the quiet period restricting the use of hounds to hunt coyotes between April 16 and July 7 is maintained, and the order did not affect coyote trapping regulations.

In recent results from the Michigan Predator-Prey Study in the Upper Peninsula, coyotes had more impact on deer than other predator species in the study area, accounting for 22% of the identifiable deer kills in the study area. However, that is one factor of many factors, including habitat, that affect deer populations. The expanded regulations aren’t expected, nor designed, to be a solution to the coyote problem or deer numbers on their own. It’s simply another tool in the toolbox that hunters can use to more effectively manage coyotes in their local areas.

Still, this is a significant expansion of hunting opportunity. The Humane Society of the United States fought against these changes, testifying at multiple NRC meetings against them and using many of the same misleading and outright untrue arguments that they use in every attack on expanded hunting opportunities, from wolves to urban and suburban deer. But sound science won the day; even they couldn’t argue that this change will negatively impact the hunted species.

And it’s always a good thing when sound science beats HSUS.

Spring turkey season in Michigan opens Monday, April 18!  If you haven’t purchased a license yet, you still have a chance to hunt one of the many seasons in both April and May – check out the list of available licenses. Spring turkey hunting licenses are $15 and available anywhere DNR licenses are sold or online at E-License.

Don’t forget, anyone can hunt turkeys in Michigan. You can buy a Hunt 234 license over the counter at any time from now through the end of the season, which gives you 30 days of chasing turkeys in May.

Every resident and non-resident must purchase an annual base license before purchasing additional hunting licenses.

The Spring Turkey Digest has hunt units and seasons dates. For frequently asked questions, watch our 2016 spring turkey hunting regulations video. If you need further assistance, call 517-284-WILD (9453).

By Glen Wunderlich

As American settlers cleared forests along their westward routes, they found wild turkeys in abundant numbers. However, removing the ground-dwelling birds’ natural habitat for shelter and warmth, and taking turkeys for food year-round, colonists left only birds that were inaccessible, and just about wiped them out.

In an effort to relocate turkeys, early archaic trapping methods were less than effective. However, in the early 1950s large cannon nets were employed successfully until even more modern rocket-propelled nets were developed in the 1960s. As good as this method was, some people thought it would be even better to pen-raise turkeys and turn them loose in the wild. This expensive failed experiment set back the restoration project some 20 years, because pen-raised birds couldn’t fend for themselves in the wild.

The transplant process carried on, and with the support of private interests and governmental agencies, the turkey has become a real success story across the United States. Michigan’s wild turkey hunters took only 50 birds in the year 1969. My, how times have changed. For the past 16 years, Michigan turkey hunters have bagged close to 40,000 turkeys annually with the totals peaking in year 2008.

Today, all states but Alaska have huntable numbers with millions of birds reestablished and they now inhabit more territory than any other game bird in North America.

Hunting them today has never been easier. Not only are there plenty of birds to go around, but hunting tactics are no longer such a mystery with the advent of hunting shows and online how-to videos and DVDs. In addition, dedicated turkey guns and high-tech ammunition have evolved, as well.

But, the single-most productive advancement has to be the proliferation of portable blinds.

Browning Powerhouse Blind

To introduce a new hunter – especially a youngster – to hunting, incorporating the use of a pop-up shelter cannot be beat. For whatever reason, turkeys pay no attention to a portable shelter – even one that’s been set up minutes before a bird approaches.

By purchasing a blind large enough for two people and tall enough to stand up, fidgety youngsters can fidget about and a hunter can position himself for an opportunity with minimal chance for being detected by a wily gobbler. And, if the weather turns nasty, those inside the shelter can laugh at Mother Nature’s attempt to spoil an adventure.

Yet another advantage of a portable blind is that hunters can record hunts with a video camera that can be kept safe from the elements.

Hunting turkeys doesn’t take a lot of expensive, single-purpose gear, either. Decoys can be elaborate – and costly – but fancy is not necessary. I’ve used the same inexpensive rubber hen decoy for years; if, and when, a gobbler figures it out, he’s already enroute to my dinner table.