The 2026 bear and elk hunting license application period is open through June 1. Apply online or at any license retailer. Applications are $5.Aren’t planning to hunt this year? Increase your odds for next year and purchase your elk chance or bear preference point instead!Take a few moments to watch the videos explaining the bear and elk license drawing process:

• Michigan elk weighted lottery system explained.
• Michigan bear draw preference point system explained.

Read more

May 15, 2026
Contact: Chad Stewart, 517-282-4810, or Brent Rudolph, 517-730-8802

Following extensive public input, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission on Wednesday approved several deer regulation changes for the 2026 and 2027 hunting seasons.

The seven-member citizen commission, appointed by the governor, acted on and amended recommendations developed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to support healthy deer populations while balancing hunter opportunity and public feedback.

The department presented its recommendations to the commission in April. Under Michigan law, the NRC has the authority to issue wildlife orders and establish hunting regulations.

Changes for the 2026 deer seasons

The NRC’s approved changes include:

• Elimination of the antlerless access drawing in the Upper Peninsula. Deer Management Units 351 and 352 have been rescinded. Hunters in the U.P. will only be able to use universal antlerless licenses in DMUs 022, 122, 155, 255, 121 and 055 during the 2026 season.
• Reduction of the Statewide Muzzleloader Season from 10 days to three days. The shortened season will begin on the first Friday in December. In the Lower Peninsula, any legal firearm may be used during this season, which will now be called the December Firearm Deer Season.
• Opening the Late Antlerless Season earlier, beginning on the Monday following the December Firearm Deer Season and continuing through Jan. 1. The season will be open across the Lower Peninsula except in Deer Management Units 245 (South Fox Island) and 145 (North Manitou Island). DMU 115 (Beaver and Garden islands) is now open for both early and late antlerless seasons.
• Elimination of the Limited Firearms Deer Zone in the Lower Peninsula, allowing the use of all legal firearms, including bottleneck cartridges, throughout the Lower Peninsula. Firearms larger than .22 rimfire are now permitted statewide.
• Authorization for residents with a valid senior deer license, senior deer combo license or senior antlerless deer license to use a crossbow during the Late Archery Deer Season in the U.P.
• Elimination of the Extended Late Antlerless and January Archery Seasons, concluding all deer hunting seasons after Jan. 1.
• Scheduling the Early Antlerless Firearm Deer Season to run concurrently with the Liberty Hunt during the second weekend in September. The Liberty and Early Antlerless seasons will be Sept. 12-13 this year.
• Authorization for the department to establish universal antlerless deer license use limits in consultation with the commission. The limits will be reviewed and published annually. This change applies limits on the number of universal antlerless licenses that hunters may use within individual DMUs or counties.

In addition, the commission approved several administrative changes for 2026, including:

• Allowing case-by-case exceptions to authorize wildlife rehabilitators to possess fawns for rehabilitation.
• Resolving a gap between DMUs 027 and 036. This gap existed in the Wildlife Conservation Order only.

Changes for 2027 deer seasons in the Lower Peninsula

The commission also approved several changes for the 2027 deer seasons in the Lower Peninsula only. Upper Peninsula deer regulations will remain unchanged in 2027. Under the new regulations in the Lower Peninsula, starting with the 2027 deer hunting seasons: Buck harvest is limited to one buck per hunter. A single deer license will be valid for one deer with at least three antler points on one side or for one antlerless deer. A combo license will allow hunters to take one antlered deer and one antlerless deer, or two antlerless deer. Existing DMU-specific antler point restrictions will remain in place. The commission also approved a pilot “earn a second buck” program in the southern Lower Peninsula (Zone 3) starting in 2027. Under the pilot program, hunters must first harvest an antlerless deer before becoming eligible to harvest a second buck with a four-point antler point restriction. The DNR will determine participating counties at a later date and will bring forward an order in July outlining the program parameters. In addition, the commission expanded exceptions authorizing deer management assistance permits for the take of antlered deer causing horticultural damage because of the new one-buck limit in the Lower Peninsula. These exceptions will require approval from wildlife and law enforcement supervisors. The DNR is preparing the 2026 deer hunting regulations summary, which will include complete season regulations and hunting information. Digital versions will be available first through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish mobile app and at Michigan.gov/Deer, followed by printed copies distributed to license retailers and DNR offices statewide.

MUSKEGON, MI – Late season turkey hunting can test the meddle of even the most seasoned hunters. Conventional wisdom often paints the late season as a waste of time due to a host of reasons including: the birds just don’t work anymore, the birds “get weird”, or it’s too hot and buggy, or simply “I’m over it”, are just a few reasons hunters skip the late season.

If you love turkey hunting it seems silly to not take advantage of late season dates that may push into early June in some states. There are nearly always plenty of leftover tags in quota zones and with far less hunting pressure, it’s easier to gain access to private ground by banging on doors and asking nicely, not to mention the chaos of public ground has largely come and gone.

The fact of the matter is that wild turkeys still breed well past the allotted hunting season dates for a host of reasons. Read more

In a major win for conservation, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, simply known as the Farm Bill. Farm Bill passage is never easy, but it is vital. The Farm Bill positively impacts countless wildlife species, hunting access, and American families, and the Sportsmen’s Alliance applauds its passage in the House.

The Farm Bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation considered by the U.S. Congress. It contains funding and sets policy on items ranging from conservation programs valued by American sportsmen to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits that help feed low-income families. The Conservation Title of the bill outlines and funds numerous programs that benefit sportsmen and wildlife, including the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Improvement Program (VIP-HIP), which create valuable wildlife habitat and provide public hunting access.

“We’re incredibly grateful for House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson’s leadership on the Farm Bill, generally, and more specifically, his concerns for hunters and conservationists, and his efforts to remove the anti-hunting language from the Farm Bill,” said Torin Miller, Associate Litigation Counsel at the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “We’ll now focus our efforts on getting a Farm Bill clean of anti-hunting and anti-sporting-dog language passed in the Senate, and eventually, Congress as a whole.”

As a result of tireless advocacy by the Sportsmen’s Alliance, its members and affiliates, and strong Congressional leadership, the anti-hunting language that was amended into the Farm Bill was previously removed. That language, which was put forth by animal-rights groups, would have banned certain types of hounds and sporting dogs in hunting, as well as the use of “live lures” for training or field trials. Read more

Jerry Peak and son with two elk

Application period: May 1 – June 1
Drawing results available June 22.

You could get two tags in a single year with Pure Michigan Hunt!

Elk and bear license applications are on sale now through June 1. You can increase your odds, or even get two tags in a single year, by picking up Pure Michigan Hunt applications while you’re applying for bear and elk.

Previous Pure Michigan Hunt recipient Jerry Peak of Crystal did exactly that! He managed to grab two elk tags, which were used to harvest two beautiful, 6-by-6 bull elk. The secret of Jerry’s success? He applied for his elk tag as usual, but he also applied for – and was one of the people drawn for – the Pure Michigan Hunt.

The Pure Michigan Hunt offers a chance at licenses to hunt elk, bear, spring and fall turkey, and antlerless deer, and first pick at a managed waterfowl area. Plus, a hunting prize package worth thousands goes home with the three lucky hunters. All licenses are transferable – winners can keep licenses for themselves or transfer licenses to a friend or loved one. Peak transferred his Pure Michigan Hunt elk tag to his son so they could hunt together.

Pure Michigan Hunt applications are only $5 each. Remember, you can only buy one elk chance and one bear preference point, and the deadline is June 1. That’s not the case with the Pure Michigan Hunt, as there is no limit to the number of applications you can buy through Dec. 31. Read more

With the application period for Michigan’s elk season opening Friday, May 1, hunters should be aware of several key changes to the popular hunt.

On April 8, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission voted to establish elk hunting regulations for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Those actions include:

• Setting the first elk hunt period in 2026 from Sept. 23 through Oct. 4, a 12-day, contiguous period. Previously, the first hunt period was broken up into three, four-day sessions that began in late August.
• Setting the second hunt period from Dec. 1 through Dec. 15, a 15-day period. Previously, the second hunt period was Dec. 13-21, a nine-day period that was closer to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
• Giving successful elk hunters 72 hours to present the elk head or entire animal for registration as directed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Previously, hunters were required to register the entire elk within 24 hours of harvest.

Brent Rudolph, the DNR’s deer, elk and moose management specialist, said the changes are geared toward hunter convenience and increasing opportunities to harvest an iconic elk.

“For the first hunt period in particular, having a contiguous session that starts later in the season should make it easier for hunters to plan their hunt. The move also provides more favorable conditions and avoids the warm temperatures we’ve experienced during the earlier hunt in recent years,” Rudolph said. Read more