Late Antlerless Firearm Deer Hunts Planned in January

Don't put the rifle away yet, hunters can still hit the woods to chase antlerless deer.

Five counties in northern Michigan will be open to antlerless deer hunts twice this month. The hunts will take place between January 7th through 10th and January 14th through 17th. The late antlerless firearm deer hunts on private land will take place in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, Oscoda, and Presque Isle counties.

This season will provide an additional opportunity for deer management in the bovine tuberculosis (bTB) area...Increased antlerless harvest in these counties is important to reducing the number of deer interacting with farms and helps to limit the number of bTB-infected wildlife and cattle herds in the future...said Emily Sewell, Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife health specialist. 

If hunters do not own property in those areas, they will still be able to participate with the use of the Hunting Access Program. The hunting access program gives access to quality private land in Michigan for hunting purposes. Get more details and see the map of those areas here. 

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Hunters can take antlerless deer with unused 2020 deer or deer combo licenses or a private-land antlerless deer license. Disease control permits issued for 2021 are also valid in this case. Additional licenses can be purchased now through January 12th.

Hunters can get their deer checked between 10 am and 3 pm any day of the hunt at the Alpena, Atlanta, and Mio DNR deer check stations. Dropbox locations are also available with the use of a smartphone. Get all the details here. 

Source: Michigan DNR