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Determining which deer license you need should be easier thanks to improvements to the DNR’s online sport license finder.
The website, dnr.IN.gov/fishwild/6486.htm , has been improved to include all deer license types.
Deer season, which begins Sept. 15 with the opening of hunting in designated urban zones, may seem far away. But hunters can apply online beginning July 1 for certain reserved deer hunts, including state park deer reduction hunts, and must have a license to apply.
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The Berrien County Sportsman's Club will host its 13th annual Compton Traditional Bowhunters Rendezvous June 14-16.
This is a non-competitive traditional only event with shooters coming from all over the U.S. and Canada as well as several foreign countries.
Admission is $5 for adults while youths 15 and under are FREE. Saturday is Kids Day with free instruction for all youth.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
Although early winter snow in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was mild compared to the past few years, precipitation late in the season resulted in above-average snow depths that are continuing well into spring. These conditions are challenging deer in the region, and are expected to lead to lower survival and fawn recruitment rates than seen during the last few years.
Winter conditions are a significant factor for the U.P.’s deer herd. Mild winters, such as those experienced from 2010-2012, provide favorable conditions for over-winter survival and allow pregnant does to produce healthy fawns. Harsher winters with deep snows restrict movement and challenge energy reserves. Those conditions affect survival rates, particularly for deer living in harsher conditions, and put additional stress on pregnant does.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
Crossbow use in Michigan is on the rise.Although the overall number of hunters in Michigan has been on a slight decline, the DNR reports that a recent survey shows growth in one method of deer hunting – crossbows.
In the past, only hunters with disabilities had the option to hunt with a crossbow. Beginning in 2009, crossbows were allowed in most areas of Michigan during the archery deer season in an attempt to expand hunting opportunities, retain existing hunters and recruit new hunters. Crossbow hunters were required to obtain a free crossbow stamp to determine the number of hunters who took advantage of the new method.
In 2009, the opportunity to use a crossbow was extended only to hunters 50 years of age or older in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, while hunters of any age could use crossbows in the southern Lower Peninsula. In 2010 the age restriction was eliminated statewide.
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(Provided by Indiana DNR)
Photo courtesy stevepricephotos.com
Whitetail DeerHunters took advantage of new equipment regulations and extra hunting dates to harvest a record 136,248 deer during the 2012 season, according to data the DNR gathered from designated check stations and from a recently implemented online and phone reporting system.
The total harvest represented a 6 percent increase over the 2011 season’s harvest and topped the previous record of 134,004 deer set in 2010.
“We started down the path to strategically reduce the deer herd in order to balance the ecological, recreational, and economic needs of all Indiana citizens,” said Mitch Marcus, wildlife chief for the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife. “To meet that strategy, we initiated several regulation changes to make it easier to take antlerless deer. It appears the regulations may be working.”