any michigan hunters here
 

Deer herd SUCKS!! doesn' t it I live in big rapids, michigan. And the state dnr is letting people shoot toooo many does. We might have 15 deer per square mile now, some less!!!!!:( And that is no joke!!! They wanted to even out buck to doe population. Why didn' t they just say one buck, and one doe. Instead, they said 2 bucks and many does you can shoot!! Bull ****!! There is no deer now. I hope they do a qdm for all michigan, that would be cool. well i' m mad now again
Hope the deer population goes up[:' (] And insurance goes down!

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

BigBuck,

I hunt in Van Buren County MI, Cass County, and Washtenah counties. All the deer herds seem to be very good this year. My girlfriends parents have 20 acres up by port Huron and they say there are more deer this year than they have ever seen. I' ve been going through my hunting grounds on the border of Cass and Van Buren and I' m seeing the same thing....A LOT OF DEER. It' s Crazy your not seeing that many. I have friends in Jackson county and they say they have a ton of deer this year. Not sure whats going on in your neck of the woods!!!!

Good luck this year.

J

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

I hunt near Moorestown in Missaukee county. There are too many deer up there for the available good browse. On my property last February the deer were beginning to eat on the balsam fir. The deer herd of the `90s was too high and the habitat suffered because of it. There won`t be more deer until the habitat recovers. The habitat won`t recover until deer numbers are reduced to a level that the habitat has a chance to come back. I plan to hit the does hard this year.

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

I hunt in the Crystal falls area and from what I have heard the numbers are still ggod in and around that area. i hope to get up in the next couple weeks to start to get ready...

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

Deer populations look good around here in Livingston county. Up in Emmet county where i rifle hunt is another story.

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

It definately varies from Co. to Co. from town to town. Some areas are way out of wack with heard numbers. I definately think baiting has an negative impact on the number of deer you see (or don' t see) during daylight hours.

I hunt all over the state, some areas are as low as less than 10 a sq. mile ( Lk. Superior watershed, while some areas have well over a 100 per sq. mile (menominee co.).

An over abundance of does, doesn' t contribute to a healthier deer heard.

A solid buck to doe ratio that is balanced. Good brouse and a healthy distributed buck age structure are all key ingredients in maintaining a healthy and enjoyable deer hunting environment.

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

The deer numbers are low where i hunt in Felch!!

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

Deer herd here is healthy,A few to many does though,But i live in menominee county

Deer everywhere
 

I live in Livingston Co. Between Howell and Fowlerville, There are deer everywhere. Up north in St. Helen and the areas around there we have plenty of deer.

Coyote Caller

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

Hey Coyote,

Where abouts in St. Helen have you seen deer? I hunt there every season, but I haven' t had much luck bringing anything back home. I hunt in the area around the Ogemaw County Game Refuge. I' m heading up there next weekend to do some preseason scouting and it would be helpful to have an idea where to look.

Thanks,
Mike

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

I hunt a 500 acre farm in Chippewa county and we have good numbers but the buck to doe ratio is way out of balance for our area I would say close 1 buck for every 10 does.

Graodo
 

I' ve seen a whole lot of deer off of airport Rd, heading toward West Branch. But the area is way too populated during the rifle hunt for me. Bow hunting is great in the area though. North on F-97 in the old Oryx oil and gas fields is another good spot. I' ve also seen a lot of deer activity off of Geels Rd. But your best area is in the swamp off the left side of the road. It' s hard to get into it but it holds quite a lot of nice deer.
When the rifle season is on the swamps is the place to be. The real trouble I' ve found out after 30yrs. of hunting St. Helen. When your scouting this time of the year, and find a hot spot, usually someone else has found it too. Hey good luck scouting, and I hope you nail a good one this year.

Coyote Caller

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

:( I got thinking about why no deer around stanwood and big rapids. The dam amish!!!! We have had lots of deer until amish started moving in. They shoot all year round. One guy i know, went by amish on opening day (nov. 15), they have 20 some deer hanging. This was 3 years ago, now they can' t get nothing either (lmao) Is that Bull crap or WHAT!!![:@] We have numerous families of amish around here. So you can figure, it takes a big toll on the deer herd. I guess i need new spot, sucks, cause everything locally is pretty much bad hunting. If you go south or north east west, they have a lot more deer. Just our area, it almost seems. I can go 30 minutes to lakeview area, tons of deer!!!:D, but i don' t know anyone there to hunt:(. Deer hunting roles around, i let ya know if i get something. Good luck, mike

RE: any michigan hunters here
 

I live and hunt in houghton county in Upper Michigan deer numbers are pretty good here even though the winter hung on a little longer than normal. But there are still quite a few big BUCKS!!