Michigan late antlerless firearm season begins

Michigan’s late antlerless firearm deer season in the Lower Peninsula starts today! The season is open on private lands only through Jan. 1 and hunters may take only antlerless deer (see exception below) — regardless of the type of license you are using.

Valid licenses include:

A private land antlerless license valid for the deer management unit in which you are hunting.
A deer management assistance permit valid for that DMU.
A deer license or deer combo license (valid for antlerless deer only during the antlerless-only seasons).
A deer kill tag issued under the mentored youth license (valid for antlerless deer only during the antlerless-only seasons).

An additional opportunity is available for deer hunters in Zone 3 (see page 11 of the Hunting Digest for hunting zone maps and descriptions) who want to hunt with a muzzleloader on public land during the late antlerless season. If you’re hunting with a muzzleloader on public land in Zone 3 only, you may take any deer (antlerless or antlered) with a mentored youth hunting license, a deer license or a deer combo license. Hunters hunting with a muzzleloader on public land in Zone 3 may also hunt with their public land antlerless deer license valid for the DMU in which they are hunting, but an antlerless deer license is valid for an antlerless deer only.

Archery deer season also continues through Jan. 1 statewide.

DNR deer check stations are still available on a limited basis. Check station locations and hours of operation are available at Michigan.gov/DeerCheck. The DNR especially needs deer heads from Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle and Roscommon counties. If you hunt in these areas, please bring your deer to a DNR check station!

Find CWD testing options (depending on harvest location) at Michigan.gov/CWD under “For Hunters.”

For a map of open DMUs and antlerless firearm deer season information, see page 40 of the 2020 Hunting Digest, available at Michigan.gov/Deer and Michigan.gov/DNRDigests.

Questions? Contact the DNR Wildlife Division at DNR-Wildlife@michigan.gov or 517-284-9453.