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Grade Your 2017 Whitetail Season

Looking at the survey, there seems to be some diverse experiences this past year. Speaking for myself in SE GT County....this was the worst year for seeing bucks on public land, especially on trail cam. Last year was good for cam bucks....horrendous this year though. I ran 4 stands on public land, one being a new spot and cam scouted 3 additional new spots. During the seasons I did not see one legal buck in the stand or blind and I put alot of days in.

I did notice more camps on public land this year than years past for rifle season.....at least where I'm at. One stretch of the road had 4 camps on it. I spoke to some down state guys camped near one of my spots. All they seen were does. I noticed some campers and camps were set up a good week before the opener. Some were empty, I guess they were staking out a spot and setting the camp and then came back up for the opener. Not sure if the fantasy of big APR bucks or the concern of CWD further south was pushing hunters north. It might be a combo of both?? One of my other spots had some guy in a camper squatting there throughout the summer and fall. He would leave his dog tied up and go off working somewhere and come back at night. The dog loved to bark.

I also hunted a private land spot just under 400 acres SE of Cadillac. Had some good cam bucks. Got some good Handicam footage of young bucks sparring. Didn't see any legal bucks while in the stand and blind. We did have adjacent property owners hanging stands on the property lines facing into our property.

Overall....the number of hunters in early bow season seemed to be up. The number of hunters I seen for gun season was overwhelming. IMO I can't help but think there are way too many hunters competing for the same small pool of bucks. Me personally....I'd like to stop the unlimited OTC license structure we have in place and go to draws and units for the gun season to spread out the hunters and give the deer a chance.

On balance.....the late bow season was good in the context there was hardly any hunters out. I had the woods to myself just like last year and seen a few more deer, mostly does but constant deer none the less. I am seriously considering going out of state in 2018 for gun season. I have relatives in Montana and Oklahoma and can hunt both places. Anyone else contemplating going out of state?

Granddaughter and I saw several deer on the first day of the youth season. Had many deer and many bucks on trail cams BUT after the youth season weekend the deer went nocturnal for the most part. Kind of wish they would end the pre-archery season gun seasons.

I saw a lot of smaller bucks before they shed velvet but during season very few. Also way less bigger bucks on camera. We have more hunters around my place then I can ever remember seeing, plus more camps. It really has become not fun hunting around here especially during gun season. Also the deer numbers are way down compared to the past but that is what's to be expected when they give out doe permits and the number of guys archery hunting around here.

As long as the DNR makes does off limits to archers in the U.P. for no sound biological reason... They get FAILING grades from me......

The longer they make it illegal to harvest a doe on my land with a bow.... The closer I get to not buying a Michigan hunting license...... and spending my money to hunt elsewhere...... screw the DNR. And the NRC.

My son and I had lots of deer on our crappy dirt in Esky but no "good" bucks. We had some decent ones on camera last year and I had a run-in with an 8pt 2 times in different spots during the rut - last year. My son had the same with a 7pt last year. We must have seen a dozen different young bucks (spikes to forks) this year. My son shot a 6pt during the gun season. He also shot a doe. We did not get it done in bow season. There were often too many eyes and noses at one time. My son was busted multiple times when he wanted to take a doe.

I'm wondering if we're our worst enemy. With all the new food plots I added to our crappy land, we might have too many doe groups on the land because we have lots of does and fawns. I think we should be killing more.

My goal this year is to do some hinge cutting in sections of the land we'll stay out of hoping to create more buck bedding areas. I am limited when it comes to high dry land. This chain saw work might be what we need but I just have this feeling that my land won't ever be conducive to big buck activity.

Some preliminary harvest info from the recent NRC/DNR meeting compiled by Jim Sweeney. Note the numbers are as of 12/4/17. It should clear up some incorrect info floating around.

2017 deer season preliminary report Chad Stewart made a preliminary report on how the 2017 season has gone so far. He cautioned that these results may change after all of the data is gathered once deer seasons are fully over. The number of unique license buyers was down 2.1% from last year, although license sales were only down .7%. This drop is similar to what has been an ongoing trend over recent years.

Total deer checked as of 12/4

UP: +28.1%

NLP: -10.6%

SLP: - 11.0%

Statewide: +.5%

Antlered Bucks checked as of 12/4

UP: +27%

NLP: -19.3%

SLP: -1.7%

Statewide: No change

When asked by Commissioner Schlaybaugh as to what conclusions could be drawn from these numbers, Chad said that clearly the herd in the UP is rebounding from the back to back bad winters several years ago but that he did not want to draw any conclusions from the large drop in antlered buck harvest in the NLP as the check station data was not comprehensive enough. He did mention that they feel the herd is growing in size in the NLP.

He also provided a graph that showed that yearling buck harvest, as a percentage of the antlered harvest was about 50% in the UP, 40% in the SLP and around 32% in the NLP.

My experience was like Jons. After Sept 15th the bucks vanished.

The season was a disappointment for me. I had many bucks on camera last winter after the season closed, including several 2 1/2, and 3 1/2. But when the season began in October there were very few around. I saw a few 1 1/2 year old bucks during October, along with a few does and fawns. I don't know what happened to the deer from the previous year, but they were not in my area. During the season I had pictures of 4 or 5 small bucks. I know many people in the area were getting disease control permits, but didn't hear a lot of shooting, so it remains a mystery. I am retired, and spend time in the woods nearly every day.

It is hard to believe that the deer hunting in this state has fallen as far as it has. This past season was the poorest I have ever seen it. The number of deer and the quality of bucks is at an all time low. My dad says that there are fewer deer here now in Ionia Co. where we hunt than there was in the late 60's and early 70's. There are far too many seasons that last way too long. With the introduction of crossbows into the general archery season, the advancements in muzzleloaders and now with the introduction of straight walled cartridges into the firearm season here in southern Michigan it has taken its toll. You can not introduce all of these weapons, expand the seasons and not expect it to have a detrimental effect on the population. Another problem that needs to be addressed is the number of crop damage permits that are issued. The DNR hands them out like they are tossing candy at a parade.

There is not one person I talked to this past fall that didn't ask the question "where did all of the deer go?"

I have 200 acres that is some of the best habitat that you can find here in southern michigan all to myself for the archery season and my dad and son hunt with me during the firearm season so this property gets minimal pressure. I did not have one sit at any point this past season where I seen more than a dozen deer. There were multiple days where I seen less than 5 deer. In the early to mid 2000's it was nothing to see 25 to 30 deer per sit with a half dozen of those deer being 2.5 year old bucks or better. This year I seen just 2 bucks all season that were 2.5 years or older. I sat all day opening day of gun season and seen a grand total of 4 deer all day. I seen 1 spike at daybreak, a doe at noon and 2 does and the same spike right at dark. UNBELIEVABLE. 10 years ago I would have seen at least 40 deer if I sat all day and there would have been at least 6 bucks of age 2.5 or better. It was once that good.

BH, FYI.....the DNR recently announced there are January hunts scheduled in parts of eastern Montcalm and northern Ionia Counties for CWD testing.

""January Hunts

The DNR announced that two January disease control hunts will occur, both in the TB zone in Alpena Co. and in portions of Montcalm & Ionia Counties. The Alpena hunt is going to be on selected private land only parcels that are in close proximity to farms where cattle have tested positive for BTB. For some reason the DNR is not making testing mandatory for the deer harvested, which seems like a lost opportunity. Chad Stewart said that the purpose of the hunt is less about successfully harvesting deer and more about establishing relationships with private land owners and encouraging them to participate in the HAP program to allow more hunters access to private land. The Montcalm/Ionia hunts will take place on both public and private and in 6 Eastern Townships in Montcalm and 8 Northern Townships in Ionia County. Testing of harvested deer is mandatory. The purpose of those hunts is to increase sample sizes of deer tested in those townships and to try and see if CWD will be found in the area in Ionia County, between where it's been detected in Montcalm & Clinton Counties, which could provide some insight as to whether the two areas of outbreak are related.""

If I’m giving my season a grade it would be a “C”. I hunt Lake county on public land exclusively. Having recently retired I spent more time in the woods than I ever have and had less opportunities. I had two 8 points and a ten on the game cameras but I never saw them. The deer didn’t seem really start working scrapes until the second week of November. I had a iffy shot a doe that I passed on and shots at a couple of spikes that weren’t legal. The first two weeks of November I saw deer most every time I went out but no shots. The acorn crop was way down in my area so I suspect that contributed to seeing less deer.

JL...... I know about those hunts and am not impressed at all by the DNR's mgt. of the herd. I really don't see too many people participating in those hunts. I am hoping that this cold weather holds through those hunts to keep people out of the woods.

Back in 2012 when we got hit hard by the EHD bug there was several members of the hunting community that pleaded with the DNR to suspend, at the very least, the early and late doe hunts until we found out how much of an impact there was on the herd. Those of us that spent time in the field knew that the impact was going to be big, trying to convince the DNR of this was another matter. These request were made as early as June.

Per those that I and many others spoke to on the phone and sent emails to within the DNR this wasn't possible as the season dates were already set and some licenses had already been sold and couldn't be refunded because they claimed their computer system wouldn't allow it.

North and South Dakota both experienced EHD with the same time frame of infection as Michigan that year and their DNR took it upon themselves to be proactive and suspend their doe seasons and refunded any tags that had been bought. But not Michigan because our state is all about license sales and revenue. But now lo and behold with 2 weeks left in December the DNR can now all of a sudden make new seasons to kill more deer just to see if they have the potential to die someday from CWD.

I agree about the DNR being revenue hungry (ie...addicted). Unfortunately IMO....that affects their decision making. IMO again that is why unlimited OTC licenses....more revenue. I believe that is the biggest detriment to the herd, buck quality and the hunting experience. I do not see how with such a large pool of hunters we have going after such a small pool of bucks (especially with APR's involved) produces long term positive outcomes.

2017 is the worst deer season in recent memory in regards to deer sightings and encounters while hunting. We moved in mid-June and I hunted a new-to-me piece of private ground most of the season, but even with a couple trail cams out, had mostly nighttime pix and never saw a buck on that property in person. In addition, the doe population was very spooky and I never had a shot opportunity there with minimal sightings. Hunting a buddy's farm, I finally got a chance to draw my bow on a buck on November 14th and filled the regular tag of my combo.....the restricted went unfilled with neither an antlered or antlerless deer sighted in December. 8^/

Turkeys on the other hand were plentiful and I had my first year with both a spring and fall archery kill. Since the visible decline in whitetails appears to be a state-wide phenomena, it seems that my repeated concerns about a firearms youth hunt in September, adding crossbows to "archery" season, plus the expansion of muzzleloader and the late antlerless seasons in December has achieved the goal of the Farm Bureau and auto insurance industry to seriously reduce deer numbers in the mitten. I would love to invest in some hunting land of my own.....but it is hard to get motivated when the prospects seem so dim at present. Maybe best to invest that on out-of-state hunts???

If cross bows are not threat, why are they not allowed during late season in the UP?

If CWD is such a threat, if there is a new study being funded, ($$$$$$) for the UP, why can you continue to transport deer over the bridge, from CWD areas from the south?

GH- my understanding from a talk with a c.o. is that the u.p. ban on xbows late season is they know how effective hunting deer yards, migration Trails can be late season. Not really admitting xbows as more deadly but more so to have less hunters as most guys don't use both a xbow and vertical. Both weapons are close range. Simular capabilities, provided the vertical guy puts in enough practice.

Yes the transport thing don't make sense. Can't bring a buck from Wisconsin side of river back to a Michigan side camp, but you could bring a l.p. cwd deer into the u.p.

Pretty weak deer season for me. I hunt mostly near my home in Ionia county these days and as most ,if not all y'all know ,the EHD outbreak a few years ago took about 90%of the deer herd out around here . Now we have the CWD thing creeping in and our DNR is doing their best to exterminate the local herd . Did any of you guys know the late Bob Jones from Portland? He was credible and had much insight on the herd management in Michigan. Anyway , he had some interesting things to say about it! I was able to arrow a nice dry doe on October 1st in the state land near my house and about two weeks later a 2 1/2 yr old 9 pt from a different location in the same patch of land. Killed a whopper ,smart , spooky, man in tree finding doe on November 13 on a little grown over pasture across the road from home. That pasture is a special spot. A little bedding spot that, if not pressured , will always have a group of does and fawns living in it. The bucks always show up... Never saw an adult buck in person or trail cam! Camera was in it's normal place for a month . One 3 1/2 yr old and a bunch of first rack bucks. Crop rotation and the neighbors crops may have contributed but it just isn't normal. Super high pressure area . Lots of different guys in trees who talk QDM but the lack of big buck sign and sightings say different. Had fun huntin for sure and put meat up , which is always my goal. Rating though for sightings and opportunities per hour of time in the stand was pretty dismal. Weather and moon stuff even seemed right . I try to pay attention to all that and usually get it right. Hoping for a good spring beaver trapping season and time with the kids on my favorite little river catching walleye n small mouth. Deer killins over but deer huntin never stops!! Best wishes to all and look forward to reading more good stuff from y'all!

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