Deer Hunting in Michigan

[Fordguy]

The last few years I've hardly seen a car in any of the state land parking areas after the first few days of firearm season, and that's in the central lower peninsula. Seemed odd to me, but who knows. When I was a kid those parking areas were full and trucks were parked down the side of the road for the first week. 4 years ago I hunted some state land just south of Mt. Pleasant and had the entire place to myself, second week of firearm season. Mostly I hunt private land, but occasionally I venture out on public. Most state land areas a 120 is a good deer unless you've been putting in the time scouting to find a big one- and then you're probably not the only one who's after him.

 

[Tjdeerslayer37]

within an hour of you theres waterloo, oak grove, pinckney, brighton rec area, and a couple other places. expect to see 10 hunters for every deer you see. only having state land to hunt in SE MI honestly makes me not even want to hunt. i look forward to my time out of state way more than i do hunting at home.

 

[Tjdeerslayer37]

The last few years I've hardly seen a car in any of the state land parking areas after the first few days of firearm season, and that's in the central lower peninsula. Seemed odd to me, but who knows. When I was a kid those parking areas were full and trucks were parked down the side of the road for the first week. 4 years ago I hunted some state land just south of Mt. Pleasant and had the entire place to myself, second week of firearm season. Mostly I hunt private land, but occasionally I venture out on public. Most state land areas a 120 is a good deer unless you've been putting in the time scouting to find a big one- and then you're probably not the only one who's after him.

thats wild, ive seen way more people out since covid, guess i need to drive further north to hunt

 

[MrRogers]

I would avoid the larger tracts of public land that everyone knows about and try to find some smaller ones that might be overlooked.

 

[NovemberWhitetailz]

Southern Michigan can get pretty busy on Public land. Anything within 1 hour of you i'd try to focus on weekday hunting if you can. Weekends are pretty packed. Central to Northern Lower MI has some good public land and number of hunters will drop. Grab a tent and a buddy and go explore.

 

[yoopshoot]

I can’t speak to the LP, but I would advise against the UP if you are in search of quality. I am born and raised in the UP and to be blunt, the hunting is dismal. Between the wolves impacting the deer herd and winters, it is quite bleak. There is a reason I go west or south to WI for any semblance of halfway decent hunting. I still hunt in the UP as a family tradition , however I align my expectations accordingly.


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[bullnose]

I've been hunting whitetail in the southern, middle, and western upper LP since 1981, except for a break from '85 to '89 when I was in the Navy. "Deer Hunting in Michigan" covers a lot of ground, literally and figuratively. It all depends on your access to land and where you intend hunt. I'm not an expert by any means, but for what it's worth, I've got the mileage and opinions based on my experience that are entirely my own. PM if you want to talk. I can share what I know - that and $5 will get you a cup of coffee.

 

[Ethan_johnss]

get away from pressure