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MDNR Report Rooster pheasants will be released on 13 state game/wildlife areas throughout southern Michigan this fall. Releases will take place from Oct. 20 to Nov. 14 on all 13 areas and Dec. 1-31 on 10 areas, coinciding with pheasant hunting season. Adam Bump, Department of Natural Resources upland game bird specialist, said, "For seasoned hunters and newcomers alike, this is a great opportunity to connect or reconnect with upland bird hunting in Michigan.” This year, directions to parking lots at release sites are provided online.
Michigan Pheasant
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MDNR Report The sixth annual Joe Johnson Memorial Youth Pheasant Hunt will be Nov. 2 at the Gordon GuyerAgusta Creek State Wildlife Area in northern Kalamazoo County. Hunter safety-certified youth hunters, ages 12-17, are invited to join this free pheasant hunt. Groups of two will hunt with a guide, dog and dog handler. Pheasants will be planted for each group to hunt, and lunch will be provided. Hunters should bring their base license, firearm and ammunition, hunter orange garments and a cooler for their harvested birds. This pheasant hunt is held in honor of conservationist Joe Johnson, director of the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary from 1985 to 2007 and a leader in many conservation efforts throughout Michigan, the Great Lakes and beyond. There are limited spots available for this hunt. Register now to reserve a spot for your youth hunter. You can register here.
Youth Hunt
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IDNR Report
Registration for put-and-take pheasant hunts opens Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 7 a.m. ET and will continue to the end of the hunt period or until hunts are sold out. The hunts take place from Nov. 23 – Dec. 1. Hunters can register at on.IN.gov/reservedhunt.
Participating Fish & Wildlife areas include Atterbury, Glendale, J.E. Roush Lake, Pigeon River, Tri-County, Willow Slough, and Winamac. Hunters seeking information about the property on which they are interested in hunting should contact that respective property. Contact information is available at the website listed above.
Registration is first-come, first-served and costs $30 per registered hunter. Once the daily hunter quota is reached for each site, the location will be listed as unavailable. Hunters must possess a valid hunting license and a gamebird habitat stamp to hunt pheasant. The bag limit is two pheasants per person, per day. Hunters should print their registration confirmation sheet and bring it with them on the day of their hunts.
More information about put-and-take pheasant hunts and other reserved hunts is available at the website listed above.
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MDNR Report
Late season Michigan elk
After several days of challenging hunting conditions due to wind, rain and warm temperatures, 63% of elk hunters filled their tags during the December hunting season.
There were 160 elk licenses issued for this hunt period, 110 antlerless licenses and 50 any-elk licenses. State hunters harvested 41 bulls, 51 cows and five calves during the nine-day season.
“This second hunt period definitely had atypical weather conditions. During that nine-day season, the weather was unseasonably warm with very little snow cover,” said Michigan Department of Natural Resources deer, elk and moose specialist Chad Stewart. “When combined with the heavy acorn crop from the fall, it seems like the distribution and activity of elk were different than in previous years, which likely influenced overall success rates for our hunters.”
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MDNR Report
Michigan Elk
Michigan’s hunt period 1 proved to be successful for 72% of early-season elk hunters.
The 97 state hunters who took to the field over the 12-day season harvested 29 bull elk and 41 antlerless elk, including four calves. Additionally, one Pure Michigan Hunt winner harvested a bull. The success rate of this season is comparable with previous seasons.
The season began in late August and spanned 12 days throughout September and into early October. The hunting conditions were consistently warm, with temperatures above average during the second and third hunting windows.
The early season is designed to remove elk living outside of the designated elk management area, which is primarily the Pigeon River Country State Forest. The second hunt period will begin Dec. 9 for 160 hunters.
Curious about Michigan elk and elk hunting? Learn more at: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/hunting/elk.