Michigan offers a generous squirrel hunting season which runs from September 15 to March 31, and you don’t have to travel far in the state to find good squirrel hunting opportunities. While I thoroughly enjoy squirrel hunting during the earlier fall season, I also always look forward to wintertime “bushytail” hunting. Due to the recent late deer hunting seasons in January that I enjoyed participating in, from February to the end of March will have me put a frequent focus on squirrel hunting, pending weather conditions, of course. Stormy and blustery winter weather doesn’t offer … Read More
Dealing with The Big Chill
Michigan has had some rather mild winters in recent years, but this year has been an eye-opener. At least in my Thumb area, it has been an up and down matter, sometimes featuring freezing rain and soon followed by snow, often lots of it, usually accompanied by strong winds creating drifting and whiteouts. In fact, I’m amazed by the strong, sometimes erratic, winds which have become unbelievingly common this winter. Yep, folks, snow coming down backed by 30-60 mph winds can get a bit interesting! I will never forget the Thumb in experiencing a balmy … Read More
Predator Hunting At Night
The coyote is an amazingly adaptable and very prolific wild critter which has expanded its range across North America and has recently even ventured beyond the Panama Canal into South America. It is now found in states where coyotes have never been documented before, and can be found in every county of Michigan, even in suburban and urban areas. I first began seeing coyotes in the Thumb area during the 1980’s, and their population has been steadily increasing statewide. One of the things which is assisting the coyote in the Lower Peninsula especially, is an … Read More
Archery deer hunting using both arrows and bolts (aka quarrels)
Thanks to the new accurate system of requiring hunters to register (online or by phone) their deer harvested in Michigan on a regular basis during the various deer hunting seasons, the DNR can keep daily and accurate tabs on matters. When I talked to a Wildlife Biologist at the Bay City DNR Office on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at 10:30 am to check on matters, a total of 295, 054 deer had thus far been harvested. Due to the ongoing January 2-31 extended late archery deer season, the total number of the deer being harvested … Read More
Walking on top of the snow is a lot easier than wading through it
Being a farm kid six decades ago, I decided to take up fur-trapping during the winter to supplement my meager allowance I received for doing daily chores. My trapping primarily took place in our nearby orchard (for fox and raccoons) as well as along the drainage ditch (for fox, raccoons, muskrats and mink) which runs across the center of the farm. Checking my traps daily was something I enjoyed and looked forward to because I was always excited to discover what might be in them, and you learn a whole lot about the wild critters … Read More
Fickle weather during December deer hunting adventures
December, in my mind, is the ficklest month of the year when it comes to weather. There are times the transition of fall into winter can get a bit confusing, while the weather makes up its mind to go one way or another. As a kid, I can remember when winter arrived, it usually brought lots of snow, and stayed until spring, but it seems like that predictability is all in the past these days. Being outdoors a lot, I’ve seen a steady transition, at least in my neck of the woods, of matters tending … Read More
Michigan’s most popular opening day – November 15th
The truth be known, I never bought a Michigan hunting license of any kind until just before the firearms deer season in November 1963. Being a Thumb farm kid back then, a hunting license wasn’t required for hunting small game on your family’s land where you resided, and I had started hunting pheasants, squirrels and cottontails with my granddad’s single-shot .410 at an early age. Yep, folks, I was a bit annoyed when I had to wait until I was 14 years old to go deer hunting. I bought my deer license at the Albee … Read More
A missing dog found while anticipating opening day
Going into a countdown for the November 15 opening day of Michigan’s Firearms Deer season is a tradition of mine, and I was in that mode with only 4 days to go on Tuesday evening. I was in the process of tossing hay to my horses in the pasture with my female GSP shorthair, Zelda, at my side. I’m assuming she spotted a rabbit in our nearby orchard and gave chase while I was looking the other way. All I knew when I turned around, she was gone. What I call my “rabbitat” borders the … Read More
Ladies-only pheasant hunt
A saving grace for the future of hunting is the involvement of women wishing to get involved in outdoor activities. The fact is, women are the fastest growing demographic in hunting and shooting sports today, which truly pleases me to no end. The person who got me interested in hunting and taking me into the field to show how it was done many years ago, was my mother. When in the field with the other pheasant hunters on our farm, she was the only woman and could give a hoot as to what the men … Read More
Rifles for deer hunting are the most popular in southern Michigan today, but don’t sell shotguns short.
The shotgun has played an important role throughout the history of firearms. From matchlock and flintlock “fowlers” to today’s wide array, shotguns can be considered as multitask tools because they can handle a wide variety of shot, including heavy duty buckshot, and even solid projectiles for a heavier and very effective “punch”. This was originally a large lead round ball, but it was usually not consistently accurate at long range. All of this would change when Karl M. Foster, who wished to help American hunters put meat on the table during the Great Depression, developed … Read More