LANSING, Mich. — With the statewide firearm deer hunt a little more than a week away, wildlife and conservation officers are flooding hunters with a practical checklist meant to cut tickets and prevent accidents.
Opening day is Nov. 15 and the traditional firearm window closes Nov. 30. A deer license and tags are required before anyone carries a gun for deer. The Hunt Fish app, DNR counters and licensed retailers all issue them. Online eLicense orders are offline through the end of November so hunters are not waiting on mail while the season is underway.
A kill tag has to be filled in with the date, sex and antler count and fastened to the animal before field dressing or moving it. App users validate digitally on the spot, even without a signal. The harvest also has to be logged with the state inside three days.
From Nov. 15 through Nov. 30 every deer hunter — bowhunters included — must show hunter orange on the outer layer from every angle. A hat, vest, jacket or raincoat works; camouflage orange is fine only when at least half the piece is orange. Guns travel unloaded and cased, and every shot needs a clear backstop.
State law keeps firearm hunting at least 450 feet from an occupied house, cabin or farm building unless the owner says otherwise. Overnight stands and blinds on public ground need the owner’s contact info or Sportcard number and stay open to whoever arrives first. Lower Peninsula baiting is off-limits; the Upper Peninsula still allows limited bait piles under volume and spread rules.
Shots are legal from a half-hour before sunrise until a half-hour after sunset. Tip lines at 800-292-7800 take poaching and harassment reports. Officers also note a southern Lower Peninsula change: older caliber limits there are gone, so centerfire rifles already legal farther north may now be used in the south if hunters stay mindful of longer ranges near homes and roads.
Filed under: Lansing MI Hunting News
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