DOE! Michigan’s 2023 All Deer Season Numbers to Date By County

With the number of hunters steadily declining since the mid-90s and after a slow start, the Michigan firearm whitetail deer season has brought optimism and increasing harvest numbers.

Related: 2022 Michigan Deer Harvest All Seasons County by County Breakdown

In 1998, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported 597,980 deer licenses were sold. Compare that to 2022's 339,189 licenses sold and the numbers speak for themselves.

How Has Michigan Lost 250,000 Deer Hunters in 25 Years?

Doing the math shows that Great Lake's State has lost a total of 258,791 deer license sales in the last quarter century. Why has the sport seen such a drastic and continued dive?

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Bridge Michigan's Zahra Ahmad spoke with the chair of Michigan's Natural Resources Commission chair, Tom Baird, and asked why the state continues to see people leaving the sport

As people age out of hunting and fishing, they aren’t being replaced in the same numbers by younger people.

What has been done to encourage youth participation? In 2021 Michigan offered its first-ever Liberty Hunt, a weekend that allows hunters 16 or younger to hunt on private or public land to take 1 deer.

This early season now takes place on the second Saturday and Sunday of September annually and is also open to Michiganders with disabilities. Having the limited hunting window fall on a weekend is meant to allow youth the opportunity for the first crack at Mr. September without missing school.

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Schools no longer allowing students to take the opening day of firearm deer season cannot be overlooked as a reason for the steady decline. The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) uses the same week as the first official week of winter sports practice.

If a student misses a practice, in most schools they don't play. Why make them choose? Why keep opening day on November 15 and not on a second Saturday? According to the DNR who says they've conducted surveys, the majority of hunters polled are not in favor of moving it. Tradition is the main argument.

Related: Bucking MI Tradition: Moving Firearm Deer Opener to 2nd Saturday

Traditions are passed from generation to generation but, with a total of 303,057 deer licenses sold in 2022, and the numbers giving a slight glimmer of matching or exceeding that this year, it's still a far cry from where the sport was in 1998.