In general the southern UP (Lake Michigan watershed), especially Menominee County, has more deer but most of the land is private and there are more hunters.There's someagriculturethat supports the higher deer numbers. Doe permits are usually available in these areas. Sometimes there's no snow on the ground November 15.

The northern UP (Lake Superior watershed) has fewer deer but tons of public land. There are big bucks but you have to hunt hard for them. This is where we bought land and established our camp. I hunt for days without seeing any other hunters, and we've taken some respectable deer. There are usually no doe permits issued here.We usually have snowin November, but sometimes it's not until around Thanksgiving.

To me the experience of solitude in da Big Woods and hunting deer in fresh snowfall easily justify the extra effort we make to take game. You just have to decide what's important to you. I'd suggest finding a realtor and checking out listings of vacant recreational property. Also spend some time in the different areas to get a feel for them. My brother and I put in a lot of miles checking our different properties until we stumbled upon our camp area. Good Luck!