The final round of biologist updates for this season are ready for you to view! As we enter the final week of firearm deer season, everyone is curious about what’s happening out in the woods. These biologists will give their take on what they’re seeing, what they’re hearing from hunters in the area, what can be expected based on available food sources and more. This week we hear from biologists Dusty Arsnoe (south central Upper Peninsula), Zach Cooley (southeast Lower Peninsula), Chad Fedewa (central Lower Peninsula) and Nik Kalejs (southwest Lower Peninsula) about what to expect in their part of the state. If you haven’t picked up your deer licenses yet, head to your local retailer or E-License so you don’t miss out on the hunt. Also, don’t forget to tweet your harvest photos on twitter with the hashtag, “#MiDeerPic.” Good luck this last week of firearm deer season!

What a terrible afternoon! Two horseback riders had ridden by down the neighbor’s property line and now the other neighbor’s boy was out on his ATV tearing up the ground. He was buzzing by so close I had to turn my face because the breeze was blowing the dust in my eyes. Disappointed, I was about ready to get down out of my treestand when I saw a slight flicker of antler in the sunlight. My binoculars picked out a massive buck bedded down within 100 yards. Now I couldn’t move, nor did I want to!

The afternoon went on and I cursed the ATV. It was amazing…that buck was bedded within thirty yards of the ATV trail and it never seemed to bother him. Finally the sun dropped behind the trees and the ATV sounds stopped. A couple does popped-up from their beds and ambled by. There were dry leaves but I could hardly hear them, because even though the ATV noises had stopped, rush hour on the highway sounded like flies buzzing in my ears.

My binoculars stayed glued on the buck. At long last he finally rose-up and stretched. He did a good scent-check of the area, waved his nose in the air and started browsing in my direction. To make a long story short, I drove an arrow through both lungs when the buck reached 22 yards and he expired seconds latter about 100 yards away.
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By Glen Wunderlich After some six weeks of archery deer hunting and numerous occasions to take does and bucks, I had resigned myself to a certainty: Having an antlerless kill tag is of no use unless it’s punched.

Not that I had intentionally set out on opening day of firearms deer season to hunt a doe, but I had the option, if opportunity knocked. Sure, like any other hunter, taking a big buck is always preferred. However, antler soup wasn’t necessarily on the menu. Venison was!

The one-shot, one-kill mentality is explained with a J.D. Jones hand cannon in .45-70 caliber here…

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It was prime-time for rattling so I proceeded to impersonate my best rendition of “two bucks fighting over a hot doe.” Glancing left, I noticed a wary doe and her fawn that I hadn’t seen and all I had done was alerted them to my position. Since she was only twenty yards away, I immediately stopped and became a “statue” of some goofy dude with a bow. She started doing that high-step walk in my direction (which I think in the whitetails’ world means, “I know something is awry but I’m going to play along anyhow) to gain the advantage of the wind. She came within inches (literally) of the blind and stood behind it. I could hear her breathing, but wanted to see.

I stretched one of the windows open a quarter inch to peak out and see whether I’d blown the whole deal or if she would calm down and go about her business. I was paying too much attention to the doe because when I turned around, thirty yards away stood possibly the largest whitetail I have ever seen (body size) standing in the tall grass with his head down. It was one of the moments when you say to yourself “Holy cow!” I slowly picked up my bow and the buck picked up his head. I was expecting to see huge “headgear” but this buck was strange. He had a weird, high 4×4 “crown” and the main beams almost touched in front. Obviously this was a mature buck so I was going to shoot despite the “antler air-shrinkage.” A double-lung hit toppled the buck within sight. Read more