I hunt an area of the Huron National Forest here in Michigan. I have hunted the same area for over 25 years. I don't ever recall so few shots both close and distant on any rifle opener as was the case this year. Deer numbers in this area are way down though there are not a lot of deer in this area to begin with but certainly huntable numbers and always some nice bucks.
This area has had near limitless antlerless tags for years as part of a management plan to contain or limit the spread of tb which is prevalent in the area. This part of the Huron National Forest is on the fringe of the more concentrated problem area for tb. We have had 2 consecutive years of poor to nonexistent acorn production which further affects the deer numbers.
I hunted hard for 6 days and saw 2 deer. As alluded to by efw Michigan had some very poor weather conditions for the rifle opener which compounded our lack of deer sightings. There are also a lot of coyotes in this area. We hope to take out some of those after the first of the year when the deer season is over.
