Category: Hunting

Everything You Need to Know About Testing Your Michigan Deer for CWD This Year

CWD testing in northern Lower and Upper peninsulas

This year, chronic wasting disease testing will still be focused in some areas of the northern Lower Peninsula as well as the Upper Peninsula. The counties for CWD testing in 2024 include Antrim, Arenac, Baraga, Benzie, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Clare, Dickinson, Gladwin, Grand Traverse, Houghton, Iosco, Kalkaska, Keweenaw, Leelanau, Luce, Mackinac, Manistee, Ogemaw, Ontonagon, Otsego and Schoolcraft.

In these counties, a variety of sites will be popping up, with at least one of the following depending on the county: drop boxes, staffed submission sites, and partner processors and taxidermists to assist with collection efforts. To find out about available sites near where you hunt, see the CWD testing page. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Free Kill Tags Only Available Through Oct. 31 for Michigan Bobcat Harvesters

Planning to hunt or trap bobcats this winter and into 2025? You need to pick up your kill tags by Oct. 31, 2024. In addition to purchasing a fur harvester license, hunters and trappers who intend to harvest bobcats also need to get their free bobcat kill tags.

Kill tags are available at license agents, Department of Natural Resources customer service centers, online at eLicense or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.

If you harvest a bobcat, you should immediately validate the tag and attach it to the hide from the upper jaw through the eye socket or through the lower jaw. The kill tag will be replaced by an official DNR seal at registration.

For bobcat registration information and harvest regulations, see the 2024 Furbearer Harvest Regulations Summary.

Hunting, Wildlife

MUCC Donation Helps Improve Crystal Waters State Game Area

On September 19, Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) presented the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Crystal Waters State Game Area (SGA) a check dedicated to recreational development and habitat work on the property.

The Crystal Waters SGA was first purchased in 2021 using a combination of Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) dollars and a donation from MUCC. MUCC and partner organizations supported the acquisition, and MUCC along with a private donor contributed $262,500 to the purchase.

The 680-acre parcel of public land in Southeast Michigan is open to hunting, fishing, trapping, and other recreational opportunities. Before this key acquisition, there was no other public hunting land within 30 miles. Approximately 23 percent of the state’s population live in one of the counties bordering this public land. Read more

Fishing, Hunting

Pheasant Releases Set for Southern Michigan State Game Areas This Fall

Rooster pheasants will be released on 13 state game/wildlife areas throughout southern Michigan this fall. Releases will take place from Oct. 20 to Nov. 14 on all 13 areas and Dec. 1-31 on 10 areas, coinciding with pheasant hunting season.

Adam Bump, Department of Natural Resources upland game bird specialist, said, “For seasoned hunters and newcomers alike, this is a great opportunity to connect or reconnect with upland bird hunting in Michigan.”

This year, directions to parking lots at release sites are provided online.

Parking Lot Directions

Releases will take place during the regular pheasant season at locations below. Locations include: Read more

Hunting

Goose Scouting and Hunt Planning Tips and Tactics

Elite waterfowl hunters will tell you the foundation of their distinguished accomplishments in the marshes and fields begins with scouting – period. Pinning down good intel on a potential hunting spot requires a level of awareness that for whatever reason, some hunters ignore. Contrary to the oft-repeated adage “you can’t predict what the birds will do”, you can do a pretty good job of it, and frankly it isn’t rocket science. Factors such as weather, wind, moon phase, hunting pressure, alternate food sources, and the availability of a “hide” – among other things, are important considerations when it comes to planning a hunt, and ultimately setting the hunt into motion.

Good scouting isn’t just a matter of “taking a look” or having a buddy drive by a spot on his way to work to see if the birds are there. Determining what the situation is with any level of certainty requires better intel, which should include observing broader patterns within a given area and doing it at varying times of day and in any type of weather to narrow down hunt timing.

The basic premise is simple: “The most important thing I’d say is find where the birds are roosting and hang back and follow them to the feed, then make sure you have permission.” Said Hardcore Waterfowl Central Flyway Manager, Jason Summers. “Take note of where the are birds in the field, weather and what time they hit the field, and figure out where the best hide is and where the birds want to be.” Read more

Hunting

305-Inch Bull Elk Harvested by LandTrust Hunter on Nebraska Farm

A hunter booking through the LandTrust platform successfully harvested a 305-inch bull elk at Danielski Farms in Kilgore, Nebraska. Outdoorsman Joe Spooner and his hunting partners set up on one of the farm’s pivots, guided by the land manager’s intimate knowledge of the elk herd’s movement. Through several days of scouting, the hunters had knowledge of elk activity and recent movement, and following a morning of high winds, their luck changed that afternoon.

“We had been hunting close by and knew there were good numbers of elk, including up to 12 different bulls around,” said Spooner. “With the less than ideal weather that morning, we set up for the afternoon overlooking a big cornfield hoping they may come our way. With the wind dying before dark, everything fell into place.” Read more

Hunting

Saddle Hunting 101

Evolving from a treestand sitter to a saddle hunter is easier than you might think.

How many times have you been sitting and wished your location was 50- or even 20-yards closer to what turned out to be the travel corridor? Unfortunately, moving a semi-permanent treestand during the season is a big risk, and while not impossible, odds are any mature bucks in the area will know something is up.

On the other hand, saddle hunting makes it easy to move. Saddles are lightweight and mobile so when the right spot is located and the saddle system deployed, the hunter can move up the tree quickly and remain in a stable, comfortable position. The versatility and mobility is unmatched when it comes to a height advantage over vegetation and game.

At first glance, saddle setups may seem complicated, but with a little practice and careful attention to organization, it’s actually very easy to use a saddle. Just ask the increasing number of very successful hunters who have ditched other tree suspension options in favor of saddles. Read more

Hunting

Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation Releases Economic Impact Report of Hunting and Shooting in America

New report details fiscal impact of sportsmen at the national, state and local levels

A new report released by the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation provides the most detailed and up-to-date data concerning the economic impact and importance of America’s hunters and sport shooters to national and state economies. The report delves into the economic significance of these sportsmen in every state and every legislative district.

“It’s important that people – the general public, and state and federal legislators – understand that America’s hunters and sport shooters are an incredibly important force when it comes to our national, state and local economies, as well as providing an outsized share of conservation funding at both the state and federal levels,” said Evan Heusinkveld, President and CEO of the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “With this information, sportsmen can educate friends, family and their representatives at every level by clearly illustrating in dollars and cents what they bring to the table and mean to the bottom line.” Read more

Hunting
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