The state of Michigan has catered to bow hunters for decades, and it is much more popular than I can understand. It is common to meet hunters that are either bow only, or gun hunt only out of state.
I hunt with both but a bow is just a way to extend the season. I’ve always been an avid gun guy that likes taking various guns out to hunt with. I think of guns as heirlooms of future heirlooms an old bow is just an obsolete garage sale item.
You’re spot on that MI caters to bow hunters. The long archery seasons probably made sense back when archery was still a niche sport and guys shot recurves and hunted out of brush blinds on the ground. It makes no practical sense today with scoped crossbows and hunting out of a shooting house. It’s easier to kill a mature buck with a bow in MI than it is with a rifle given the 6x’s longer season and first crack at the deer along with the rut. In a heavily forested state like Michigan where most deer are shot within about 60 yards even with a rifle. You’re not giving up much with a good scoped Xbow, not when compared to the season differentials.
I’d like to see the rifle season extended to three weeks starting one week earlier. It would basically split the peak of the rut between bow and rifle seasons and the extra week would help to take at least a little pressure off of having the woods so crowded for what’s a really concentrated firearm season. It will never happen but there’s no reason not to do it when MI hands out licenses left and right and claims that we have to many deer.
