Deer season is over for Chuck Bond, who figures one buck will be plenty to feed him and his wife. However, a change in the weather starting today may give hunters an edge heading into the last weekend of the firearms deer season.
According to the mandated reporting section of the MDNR website, Leelanau County has a long way to go to catch up on the 2024 gun harvest. As of Sunday night, some 414 bucks and 176 antlerless deer were reported shot, for a total of 590. In 2024, county hunters reported taking 485 bucks and 264 does for 749 deer killed.
But with a whole week of hunting remaining and up to a three-day lag before harvested deer must be registered, catching 2024 is doable — with a change in the weather. Traditionally, deer hunter success wanes due to wariness and a drop-off in rutting toward the end of the firearms season.
