Michigan Deer Season 2023: Schedule Updates for Dates, Licenses & Rules!

Michigan hunters are preparing for another thrilling deer season. There should be plenty of chances for shooters to capture their coveted bulls and does during the 2023 season. Michigan’s varied scenery and wealth of shooting opportunities will surely make your trip unforgettable. We’ll look more closely at the forthcoming Michigan deer season in this piece and everything shooters should know to make the most of their time in the woods.

Michigan Deer Season 2023

Throughout the year, Michigan offers a variety of deer shooting chances to suit the needs of various shooter organizations. Young people and shooters with impairments can participate in seasons like the Liberty Hunt and Independence Hunt. The seasons for archery and standard firearms begin in October and end in November. The season for muzzleloaders has two zones as well. Hunting opportunities include whitetail deer and other related species like elk, moose, and pronghorn. Implementing mandatory deer capture reporting resulted in a sizable amount of deer being recorded. To guarantee safety, hunter orange is needed during some deer shooting seasons. Overall, Michigan provides various deer shooting opportunities for shooters with different skills and levels of experience.

Elk Season

Pronghorn Season

Moose Season

Deerhunters in Michigan must now submit a required deer capture report online at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport. In mid-Upper Peninsula DMUs, the registration window for entry licenses for antlerless deer shooting is open from July 15 to August 15. Licenses for antlerless deer are accessible globally without registration.

Bag Limits

Hunters in Georgia can take one deer into their possession during the current deer shooting season.

MI Deer License

A part of the $1 registration charge for hunting and trapping in Michigan will be used to inform the public about the advantages of these activities and their effects on the state’s natural resources. In DMU 487, you can purchase antlerless deer permits at a reduced price. On pages 36–40, information about youth hunting is given. Nonresident children under the age of 17 can buy resident permits. Pheasant shooters who are 18 years of age or older must also have a pheasant hunting registration to hunt in public areas. On March 1, 2023, the 2023 basic registration will be offered for sale. On page 67, there are exceptions to this rule and more information.

Pure Michigan Hunt

Three fortunate shooters can earn a shot at a quest of a lifetime during the Pure Michigan hunt. For $3, winners can buy one elk, bear, antlerless deer, spring, fall, and basic hunting ticket. They can also participate in one designated waterfowl game at a controlled region. Additionally, victors can pass their Pure Michigan Hunt chances to other people in addition to receiving a reward bundle worth thousands of dollars. Nonresidents cannot purchase the PMH deer pass. Each PMH ticket is good for the relevant species’ 2023 hunting season and is usable in any open hunt region for that species, except Drummond Island, for bear hunting.

Deer Regulations

• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has NPS.gov/SLBE-listed safety zones. Occupied buildings, homes, cottages, camps, and farms have a 450-foot safety zone. This zone prohibits weapon hunting without the landowner’s signed consent. Shooting ranges, target shooting, law enforcement, and nonhunting weapon firing are exempt from the safety zone.

• No state park or leisure area allows nocturnal centerfire rifle or pistol hunting.

• State parks and leisure areas prohibit trapping 50 feet from mowed areas. Before trapping, call the parks or leisure areas to check trapping rules and limitations.

• Target shooting is banned in state parks and leisure zones except at approved shooting ranges like Algonac State Park and Bald Mountain, Island Lake, Ortonville, and Pontiac Lake.

• Dogs can only be used to find downed or fatally injured deer or elk in Georgia. The dog must be leashed, and hunts cannot carry guns. Only at the kill can an approved dog tracker join a hunter with a rifle, crossbow, or bow. Artificial lights can be used for nighttime tracing, but howling dogs are prohibited on public land.

• A leisure Passport is required to hunt or camp in over 100 Michigan state parks, leisure areas, state forest campsites, and DNR-administered boat landings. Michigan citizens can buy a $12 Recreation Passport when updating their car registration. Nonresidents must pay $10 per day or $36 annually to visit state parks and DNR-run boat launches. State woods and game zones do not need Recreation Passports. Michigan.gov/RecreationPassport or 517-284-7275 have details.

• Commercial hunting guides using state-owned areas must obtain written permission and follow its terms. National park offices issue federal special use permits for guiding. Michigan.gov/WildlifePermits or Casey Reitz at [email protected] or 517-284-6210 can provide permission information.

• Federal and local laws govern hunting in public forests at U.S. FS sites. State and federal laws govern ORV use.

• Hunting on private land requires written or direct approval from the landlord or leaseholder. Hunters must show their permits to homeowners when trespassing.

• Commercial forest (CF) lands—2.2 million privately held acres—allow hunting. All CF species must be hunted with private-land permits. Walking on CF areas for angling and hunting is allowed, but powered cars are the landowner’s option. CF landlords may limit entry during busy logging. Building shades or buildings requires landlord approval. Cutting firing lines or harming flora is illegal. CF land is only used for forests or oil and gas production. The DNR Forest Resources Division can answer queries and provide a GIS map of CF plots on its website.

• Archery deer hunting does not require hunter orange. For all other hunting events during daytime firing hours from August 15 to April 30, hunters must don hunter-orange caps, hats, vests, jackets, or rain gear visible from all sides. Hunter orange camouflage is included.

• Hunting tools and tactics are banned. You cannot set fires to drive out the game, use snares, traps, cages, nets, pitfalls, deadfalls, spears, drugs, poisons, chemicals, smoke, gas, explosives, ferrets, weasels, or mechanical devices other than firearms, crossbows, bows, and arrows, or slingshots to take wild animals, except as provided by trapping rules or special permit. Hunting while intoxicated or using tracer or exploding rounds is prohibited. The Michigan.gov/Deer page also regulates the ownership and use of natural cervid pee baits and attractants.

• November and 11 p.m. are off-limits for locating wild animals with artificial lights. 6 a.m. all year. Nighttime furbearer hunting and walking with an empty weapon or bow and arrow are outliers to this law. Legal hunting hours allow an LED pin sight or scope with lit markers. Illuminating a national wildlife area is also prohibited. Hunters using artificial lights to find the game must halt when notified by an armed officer or marked police car.

Note: For a complete list of Deer regulations in Georgia, you refer to the eregulation website

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James Ellis

James Ellis, the passionate creator of DeerSeason.Org, is dedicated to fostering a deep appreciation for wildlife. With over a decade of experience in exploring the world of deer, his writing reflects an extensive understanding of these magnificent creatures

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