Much of Michigan has too many deer, which was the main reason the state Natural Resources Commission liberalized the December muzzle loader hunt to include standard deer rifles.
If the goal was to shoot more deer — especially does, but also bucks — the change was a success in Leelanau County.
County hunters killed 164 deer during the 10-day hunt that ended Dec. 15, about four times more than the previous two muzzle loader seasons. Some 41 bucks and 123 antler less deer were tagged, according to a mandatory reporting system implemented by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR).
The numbers were 12 bucks and 27 anterless deer shot through muzzleloading in 2023 and 18 bucks and 27 antler less deer in 2022.
The higher 2024 muzzle loader total led to a banner fall for deer hunting in Leelanau with 892 bucks and 719 antler less deer shot for a total of 1,611 animals. The numbers in 2023 were 732 bucks and 520 antler less deer for a total kill of 1,252 deer; in 2022, 743 bucks and 571 does were shot for a 1,314 total.
Historic comparisons before 2022, when a compulsory deer reporting program was implemented, are subjective at best. Two long-time county nimrods said predicting the outcome, if any, from the higher deer kill during the muzzle loader season is impossible today, but hunters overall seemed happy with what they saw in the woods last fall.
“In general, I think people are happy,” said Travis Nelson, an avid hunter and official scorer for Leelanau County for the Commemorative Bucks of Michigan organization. “My personal feeling is that the number of deer observed and shot was good, and that we had plenty of deer. But I don’t really think we have any more deer than the last two years.”
The bigger muzzleloader kill will likely be embraced by farmers, especially orchardists, who have encouraged the taking of more deer to reduce the level of damage to their crops.
“The (antler) scores were higher,” added Mark Steimel, a taxidermist. “I’ve heard of more bucks shot this year.”
Deer hunting has ended in Leelanau County but late antlerless seasons continue in southern Michigan. As of Monday 157,649 bucks and 141,563 antler less deer had been reported for a total of 298,717. The figures in 2023 were 155,649 bucks and 118,633 antler less for 274,282; in 2022 they were 172,021 and 131,034 for 303,055.
Statewide results for the muzzleloader season could not be retrieved from the MDNR website Sunday or Monday morning. Instead, a message popped up stating, “An error occurred retrieving the deer harvest report summary.”
