Firearms deer season has ended

Michigan’s 16-day firearms deer hunting season came to an end Sunday across Michigan and by most accounts, it was, as predicted, not the best of seasons for hunter success. Brent Rudolph, Deer and Elk Program Leader at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, says the number of deer checked at its various stations was down significantly from last year. He blames a doubling of license fees this year keeping the number of hunters down, early winter blizzard conditions, especially in the Upper Peninsula, keeping hunters from getting to deer camps, and fewer deer being seen by hunters and D-N-R officials. The Mackinac Bridge Authority says the number of deer being spotted on vehicles crossing the five-mile-long span linking Michigan’s two peninsulas was off by 46-percent compared to last year, although Rudolph says those numbers were also down in Northeastern Lower Michigan and Southern Michigan as well. Rudolph says the D-N-R will release Preliminary Firearms Deer Season numbers later this week, but a final tally won’t be completed until next summer following responses to an annual hunter survey once the December bow hunting and Muzzleloaders seasons end later this month. The Muzzleloaders season runs through December 14th, while the late archery season ends on December 31st.  (MRN)