With firearm deer hunting season beginning today, The Ticker headed into the wild to learn what’s new, what’s up, and what to watch for this hunting season.

Too Many Deer?
The DNR estimates Michigan’s deer population at 1.7 million, or about 200,000 more than they’d like to see. “Mild winter conditions for the second year in a row in the Northern Lower Peninsula should lead to increasing deer numbers. Deer numbers on many state land areas appear to be on the rise,” states the DNR.

Locally, Steve Largent, a wildlife biologist for the Grand Traverse Conservation District, says he’s not seeing anything out of the ordinary this year. “With tracks and sightings, numbers appear to be healthy, but don’t seem to be above average.”

Hunting In Decline?
Hunting overall is experiencing a drop in Michigan. Last year, 1.5 million people purchased Michigan deer hunting licenses, down 3.8 percent from the previous year (according to DNR statistics, hunting in Michigan peaked in 1992). In an attempt to reverse the trend, the DNR has implemented several incentives and changes, including the launch in 2006 of an apprenticeship program to get more young people involved in the hobby.

Still, license sales to Grand Traverse and Leelanau county residents saw a smaller drop than statewide, while sales from stores in the two counties was actually up (meaning more people from outside the area bought licenses here, while fewer area residents purchased them locally).

Baiting & Bows
The news for bow hunters, meanwhile, is much more encouraging.

“The kill is way up this year, and baiting is the big thing,” says Jim Gauthier, owner of Gauthier’s Archery Shop in TC. Bow hunting began on October 1.

Bow hunting had been down for three years as the state had enacted a ban on baiting, but in June, the Natural Resources Commission voted to lift the deer baiting and feeding ban in the Lower Peninsula. For bow-hunters, putting apples, carrots or beets out has renewed hunters’ success rates and re-sparked interest.

Local deer processors – those who butcher deer into steaks, sausages and burgers – tell us they’ve seen the effects.

Tom Fabatz, owns The Buck Stop in Grawn, has butchered 30 percent more deer this year than recent years, he estimates.

Deering’s Market & Deli in downtown Traverse City has also seen an increase from recent years, though manager Paul Deering says baiting might explain only part of it.

“Maybe people are just preferring to do bow-hunting season because it’s safer,” he offers, adding that there are fewer other hunters in the woods at that time.

Crossbows, which have been allowed for three years now, have grown in popularity among those who might have otherwise hung it up, says Jay Guernsey, a salesman at Gauthier’s, says.

“It gets more guys into the woods – that’s for sure – guys who can’t pull the bow back anymore!”