The biggest factor is the UP winters. The second biggest is the way the DNR handed out doe tags for so long. Bait kills our season. Our rut is very weak, no competition. Bucks don't have to go all out to find does to breed because they don't have to compete with another buck for the most part. I rarely see chasing and seldom see bucks cruising. There's hardly any buck sign in the woods, no need.

I gun hunt another big woods state with no baiting. There's sign everywhere, deer are on their feet all day, heavy competition...all with less than six deer per square mile. Find a buck or a doe group, sit it and shoot a wall hanger. Doesn't get any better. Deer there also respond to calls there, unlike the UP.

I hate hunting the UP, but I live here and have started a family. I may be limited to UP hunting the next 1-2 years.