By: John Eberhart. Midday 10 to 3 Shift Before your hunting plan for the upcoming rut phases is put to bed, consider this. How many times during the rut phases have you planned on sitting until noon or later on morning hunts, and if you did, how many were aborted early due to lack of deer sightings and eventual boredom? Well intended plans can change when boredom sets in and if I stated that scenario has never happened to me, it would be a blatant lie. In November 2011, for the first time in over … Read More
Michigan’s Bear Population Fluctuations
By: Richard P. Smith. During 2018, the DNR estimated there were 13,756 black bears in the state that were at least a year old on September 1, 2017. The estimate for the UP was 10,799 and 2,957 of those were in the northern LP. In 2019, the DNR estimated the state’s bear population was only 12,408 animals at least a year old on September 1, 2018, with 9,761 of those living in the UP and 2,647 residing in the northern LP. In other words, the population declined by 1,348 in one year’s time when the … Read More
Have Wolves Destroyed The (Michigan) Deer Population?
By: Carol Stiffler. Lou Bennett owns 20 acres of land east of Newberry and says he’s fed deer herds there for 30 years. It was perfect, he said. The woods offered plenty to eat, and many places for deer to hide. There was no pressure. Each winter, he’d feed between 250 and 300 deer. That began to change a few winters ago, and Bennett saw the herd drop hundreds of animals at a time. “Last year I was down to about 100, 125,” he said. “This year, not one deer came back. Not one.” Bennett … Read More
Home Waters – Don’t Be Fooled About Wolves
By: Dennis Smith. At a wolf symposium in Grand Junction (Colorado) in August of 2018, Dr. Valerius Geist stated: “I’m here to tell you why the wolf does not belong in settled landscapes. Wolves do unbelievable damage to wildlife, they do great damage to agriculture, they pose a real threat to public health and safety and they kill humans under now well-known circumstances. Moreover, after all the pain, suffering and depredations that wolves inflict on people in settled landscapes, after the enormous public expenditures to maintain wolves, all the effort and costs are for naught … Read More
Ontario Wolf Hunting In -40 Degrees (f)
By: Nick Grillo. Not many people can say that they have seen a wolf in person while in the wild and many more people have not been lucky enough to have a chance to harvest a wolf. Well last year in January of 2019, I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to go on my first wolf hunt. Where can you wolf hunt? Well obviously for the time being, my home state of Michigan is not an option, so Ontario is the closest, next best option for a chance at a big wolf. I … Read More
The Bear Necessities Of Bilateral Symmetry – Its A Michigan “Thing”
By: John Buczek. Over 50 years ago my Dad introduced me to one of Michigan’s favorite pastimes – hunting. Each adventure out of doors was an opportunity for us to share many of life’s lessons. I fondly remember how respectfully he treated other people. I remember him saying “it takes more energy to treat people poorly, so why do it?” My outdoor experiences continued in mid-Michigan, which included pheasant hunting in “the thumb”, deer hunting “up north” and eventually an occasional turkey hunt in “God’s country” . Of course, specific areas of the state provided … Read More
Wintertime Predator Hunting – A Great Outdoor Pastime
By: Tom Loundsbury. Winters just wouldn’t be the same for me without my annual varmint hunting excursions. The “varmints” (aka predators) I’m referring to are the fox and coyote, and my home Thumb area has its share of foxes (both gray and red) and coyotes to keep an avid varmint hunter occupied for a long winter’s stretch. My preferred method is using various calling techniques, and my most productive daylight timeframes are right at daybreak or near sunset, although I’ve called varmints in at high noon as well (especially when I’ve located fresh tracks). I’ve … Read More
Speed Touring during Pre-Season…get to know it now!
by: John Eberhardt. How many times have you heard of or witnessed a nice buck consistently come out and feed in the same location every evening during the summer only to dissipate into thin air just prior to season. In areas with a heavy consequential hunting pressure this vanishing act happens far more frequently than not. Unknowingly, many hunters create this vanishing act with their overzealous pre-season scouting and location preparation. By traipsing through the woods, busting through brush, hanging stands, clearing shooting lanes, and marking entry and exit routes just prior to season, hunters … Read More
All’s Well In Love & War but not necessarily with Michigan Bear Hunting
By: John Buczek. For the past few years, I’ve volunteered as a cook with an outfitter based out of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. This outfitter conducts deer, bear and turkey hunts in both the Lower and Upper Peninsulas. Throughout my time helping this outfitter, I’ve witnessed an issue that I believe affects bear hunting in the state of Michigan. What I’ve both seen and experienced doesn’t just feel like an isolated or local problem, but perhaps something more widespread that needs to be addressed. …The following is … Read More
The 100-inch “Booner”
By: John Eberhardt. Whitetail deer are the most adaptable, widespread, abundant, and sought after game animal in the country and under “normal hunting conditions” a mature whitetail buck is the smartest game animal we have to hunt. The Boone & Crocket club was established to promote and log record class game animals taken with all weapons and the Pope & Young club was established to promote and log record class animals taken with archery equipment. It takes a 170-inch net typical and a 195-inch net non-typical buck to qualify for the Boone & Crocket record … Read More