Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting UP Michigan, well north of Flint anyway

Saginaw and Gratiot counties are in the lower middle of the mitten, a long ways and another world away from the UP. Generally greater deer numbers in the area you are are going, but not a UP hunting experience.

Michigan is one of the larger states and a drive from Monroe to Copper Harbor is probably 10+ hours. The bulk of the deer population is in the lower half of the mitten, but it is mostly private land and access can sometimes be difficult. The UP has a lot of state and national forest and the evolving habitat has reduced the deer population.

If you are looking for deer, the two counties you listed will do you well, if you are looking for a deer hunting experience, go to the UP!

405wcf

I'm retired so the experience is a good idea, like to fish the Ausable again. I could get up there in early October and stay til after rifle season is over. Too bad I know so few people able to do something like that.

I wouldn't fish Van Etten Lake unless you want to glow in the dark. PFAS up the wazoo in that lake from Wurtsmith AFB. They're having a hell of a time getting the Air Force to man up and clean it. Damn shame. Used to be a terrific perch lake. The Holy Waters of the Au Sable are still some of the best trout fishing in the nation. Truly a Blue Ribbon trout stream.

Saginaw and Gratiot are good deer producing counties. Mostly agricultural and private with the majority of it below the rifle line. The UP is truly a great hunt as 405wcf said. You have to work for your deer, but it sounds like you have the time to do it. Nothing like the feeling of taking a nice buck out of the north woods.

October is a good time of year to be there. The fall color change is great to see and spend time driving around the northern part of the state. The fishing can be pretty good that time of year as well.

I went to Negaunee via Marquette airport, and shot a "Raging Russian", ha. It was a 200# Eurasian hog, extremely good eating! We drove up a Nickel Mine my friend had to visit for his work then. It reminded me of East, Texas. No Palmetto, and laurel swamps instead of Youpon thickets, but very similar. Of course, they have big rock outcroppings up there too, unlike the part of East Texas I'm from! ha. I saw 2 huge does ( big as burros! Real "Swamp Donkies"!) my goodness those deer are huge! Have a ball Pard!

fwiw,

A look-see at the stats of bucks taken in the last 10-15 years are pretty appalling for the UP. We have hunted it, the western side, yearly for better than 35 years and the change in quality is undeniable. We are not the only long-term camp to take note. The impact of wolves killing worn-out mature active breeding bucks is borne out by the statistics. Of course, there are always outliers. The winters were always an issue--but add wolves to the equation in the more remote areas and recovery for a population of mature bucks becomes a huge problem. There was never a surplus in the first place and the equation has changed.

In contrast, the Lower has been turning out numbers of excellent bucks.

Saginaw or Gratiot counties, particularly on private ground--sounds like a very generous invite.

As baiting has thankfully been outlawed, actual hunting skills will be in vogue. Personally, if room to roam is limited, I'd be looking for a squeeze to sit and then try not to sit in the middle of it...:) At that time of year, bucks are keeping pretty tight tabs on doe groups and if you are seeing good doe activity, (preferably more than one group of girls) sooner or later a dude will be by. The older animals, imho, are capable of patterning you long before you "pattern" them regardless of attempts to cover scent, so during odd hours a guy can score a good one. Right or wrong, once we are set-up, we don't go into the area we am watching. Older bucks tend to use the herd's eyes as scouts--whether they intend to or not, I do not know. But if an older doe blows your cover in her territory, she may make it a point to make your existence known to the world in the days to come. Females sure can be vindictive...

fwiw, ymmv, bwthfdik

The UP is having a tough winter, you may want to wait and see how much deer loss happens.

The dam does do that in Texas too!

I'm curious how rickt300 fared in the 2019 Michigan deer season. Report?

Grouse hunted the Up off and on for last 20 years or so . First few years lots of birds and saw lots of deer ( no big bucks) then the wolves took over. Last two trips(last 3years ago this fall ) saw more wolves than deer actually never saw a deer. I have dogs and hunted primarily areas that you were not supposed to be driving in, we hardly saw a deer track and very few grouse. I love to deer hunt too but I would never go to the UP to deer hunt, and I guess I've made my last trip grouse hunting. Really bothers me that there has been such a decline in the quality of the hunting up there, as it has been said it's a beautiful place to be in October.

Love hunting the UP. North of powers mi.