Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Michigan Hunters

I have not shot a deer when visiting Baraga yet after a dozen years or so.
I did pass on a 9 point a few years ago. I think I will shoot one this year
if 8 point or better. But then, why change now. I have meat in the freezer.
Maybe just set back and have another shot of Makers Mark and tell stories
setting by the wood fire.

Here in Gratiot co the number of hunters seems similar to usual. I have no complaints about this season thus far. Of our hunting group only 2 have not tagged bucks but that is due to them holding for something “special”. Lots of chances as there seems to be no shortage of deer here in farm country.

I did see a nice spike this evening! wish it had been a doe tho!

Well I guess I have a different story, Ogemaw county was definitely like a war zone, heard tons of shots.

And a lot of acquaintances shot some big old bruisers here, but maybe I should keep my mouth shut.

I drove fro Virginia, to my buddies farm near Daggett(UP), and shot a nice 10 point within five minutes of first light on the opener! Saw a bunch of does and small bucks on the following four days, but we didn't shoot anything else. Back home now.

Just an observation: I drove home from deer camp the Sunday after the opener and the Sunday after Thanksgiving. 131 south to GR - usually campers are in the slow lane holding up traffic. I never passed one this year...not one. Saw a few trailers with atvs and deer on them, but no campers. Only saw one camp in the woods after 8 days afield. I fear the old ways of deer hunting are dying out in Michigan.

Not a fear, a fact.

Maybe cause there are so many empty deer camps up north you can rent one for less than the gas it takes to pull a camper. I look all the time on the U.P. land for sale and deer camps for sale tha have trees growing on the roofs. Old Bud , or Elmer, Or Norby kicked the bucket one day and the wife had the deer camp up for sale before he was in the ground. Good riddance the wife said. None of the kids hunt anymore since the wolves took over and they have high paying jobs out of state. You can pick up some of these for dirt cheap but you wont see many deer and that old camp is so musty smelling you will be breathing hard before dinner. Sad but true.

Hunted 5 days on presque isle and cheboygan counties. On An 80 and a 187 that I take care of for some older folks. Saw lots of deer nothing older than 2 and didn’t pull the trigger. Onaway buck pole was loaded with 1-2 year olds barely any 3 year olds. 3 years of Hunting up there I’ve seen one 5 or 6 year old deer brought in. I don’t know why everyone burns tags on deer jus tout of there spots- especially when you know you’ll see more of them anyway- what’s the hurry to blast them?

And CWD be damned baiting isn’t going away up there either. I guess that why it’s all small bucks no one wants to hunt 100 yards off the bait pile between it and some bedding area.

I love it though. It’s the only real traditional “deer camp” experience I get and this year it was damn good shot of winter too

Craig 2506 I see in todays paper that Gratiot has been added to the counties with CWD. I hunt private land in Mecosta county and have let several small bucks got and have seen only smallish does. On opener I didn't see a deer until 4pm. A friends son shot a nice 8 point two nights ago and another one in Iron county is tagged out with a nice big 6 and a 9.

I like the no baiting but IMHO Michigan needs to get rid of the youth season at least for bucks and shorten the archery season. Make a deer license $50 with one buck tag and they could stipulate 4 pts on one side wouldn't hurt my feelings and one doe tag. They want the does shot but at $20 per tag I only need one.

If you want to kill deer hunting in the state, your plan is a sure way to do it.

I have hunted 11 days since the opener on the 15th a couple of days all day some morinings and afternoons, Iv seen one Buck a big spike and only 13 does. the deer just are not here like they used to be. I did take a 7pt. and a doe in archery season, and past 2 diffrent 6 pts. we have alot of Bears and coyotes, I think the bears are killing alot of the young Fawns, at least around here! it only takes 14 years to draw a bear tag. I had 11-13 diffrent bears on trail cams in a 5-6 mile area! also a lot less hunters than they used to be. Hope to go out the last day tommorow, the freezeing rain kept me in this afternoon.

Get rid of baiting and you will see the younger bucks much more likely to live a few more years. A 1 yr old buck coming into corn is dumber than a squirrel on a bait pile.

No kidding about the $20 doe tags. Should be $5-10 if they really want me to shoot 10 of them! I love venison but not for those prices.

Yeah, that is outrageous.
Twenty bucks for 40 pounds of meat and you get to go hunting to acquire it.

Interesting. I have seen good sign and good deer but I don’t sit, I still hunt and stalk public land. I walked over six miles on day one and filled my tag. Only one set of coyote tracks and zero wolf. I put on 150+ miles cruising the back woods after that the next day and only seen eight trucks in the woods. Definitely not the people hunting as there was back in the eighties. People don’t make the trip anymore and I honestly don’t blame them. They can take the money they would spend in gas,food,lodging etc and lease a piece of farm land and have almost a sure thing close to home. The UP doesn’t have the deer numbers it once did and yes there’s a wolf or two but , for me, my heart is in the “big woods” and I like getting my deer on my feet and not my ass.

True to form at our place, crockery creek took on the Taliban. Luckily wife took a nice six and bro in law took a nice 8 prior to gun. Think we seen 3 small does all during gun. DNR got there wish, deer are are shot out around us. Hopefully some decent does move in before end of season so I can put one in freezer

I wonder how long it will be before the wolves start taking over below the bridge? DNR has verified their presence but states there isn’t a breeding population. I always wondered what they consider a “breeding population “. In my eyes all that takes is one male and one female of breeding age. Not hard to get that.

I told you the neighbor to the North shoots everything!

I know who you are talking about and wish I could do something about it.