By: Richard P. Smith. Brian Krupla from Newberry, Michigan has a good reason for wanting wolves in the Great Lakes Region removed from the endangered species act. Last summer, he was forced to kill a wolf to protect himself and one of his dogs and he’s concerned about the safety of his daughter. Krupla could have been the state’s first instance of a wolf attacking a human in modern times on August 2, 2019, if he had not armed himself before trying to rescue his dog from a wolf about 10:00 a.m. that morning. … Read More
The Colorful History Of Michigan Deer Hunting
By: Tom Lounsbury. Humankind certainly has a way of changing the face of the world, especially in the name of progress, and Michigan is a prime example. When Europeans first made their appearance in the Great Lakes State, the southern Lower Peninsula featured more open areas, including prairies and bogs, which was ideal habitat for whitetail deer and elk. The northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula entailed a very dense, unending old growth forest which allowed very little sunlight to penetrate through. This was ideal habitat for woodland caribou and moose, and detrimental to whitetail … Read More
Michigan’s U.P. Deer – “not a ground ball”.
By: Adrian Zarantonello. Despite the favorable conditions, opening day didn’t yield any activity for me. My father-in-law Jeff shot a nice 8-point on opening day, his first deer in 5 years. Jeff could care less about antler points and would equally have someone else have success as himself, so as he regaled us with the story, of his first 8-point, I was glad that someone so selfless had found some personal success. With the wind changing to the southeast the next day, a location change was in order. The morning of the 16th, we were greeted … Read More
Active Scrapes, #1 Natural Hunting Location.
By: John Eberhart. As you likely know by now the Michigan NRC has banned baiting in 12 counties for the 2018 deer season and in Michigan’s entire southern Peninsula for 2019 due to issues with chronic wasting disease or better known as CWD. For at least a generation and a half (30 years) a pretty high percentage of Michigan bow and gun hunters have been introduced into the deer hunting world by exclusively hunting over bait and have known no other method for taking deer. Also many hunters that began hunting without using bait have … Read More
How To Judge A Black Bear
By: Richard P Smith. After more than 50 years of hunting, photographing and studying black bears, I’ve learned a number of reliable methods for judging the size and sex of the animals that rely on the differences in body length and height as well as the proportions and positions of the ears on the head and front foot size. Obvious sex organs are important, too, of course. If you see a penis sheath hanging down in front of the hind legs on a side view or testicles from a rear view of a bruin, you … Read More
One fine big game cartridge for Michigan hunting – the .450 Bushmaster
By: Tom Lounsbury. When the Michigan Natural Resources Commission passed the Limited Firearms Deer Season into law five years ago, it opened up a whole new avenue for southern Michigan deer hunters, allowing an array of straight wall cartridges (.35 caliber are larger, with a minimum case length of 1.16 inches and a maximum case length of 1.80 inches) in rifles during the regular firearms deer season (not to mention the Liberty, and early and late antlerless deer seasons as well). The new law is very well written, easy to understand, and it truly uses … 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
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
My Hunting Obsession Came Late
By: Adrian Zarantonello. I’ll start this story off with the fact that I’m by no means a hunting expert. I haven’t shot any “Booners” and I’m relatively new to hunting. However, for a newer hunter with limited background and experience, some components of hunting stick out more than others in terms of importance. Although my learning curve was steep, I’ve cultivated a great appreciation for scent control and prevention. I thought I’d share my observations concerning scent control and prevention, and its importance in a successful hunt. My hunting obsession started late; I was really … Read More
Gearing up and getting ready for the fall hunting seasons – that time is here
By: Tom Lounsbury. Mid-August is the perfect time to take a good look at your hunting gear and make improvements or additions as is necessary, because before you know it, you will be out in the field pursuing various autumn outdoor pastimes. That is what I truly appreciate about our great state of Michigan, the very diverse availability of outdoor pursuits, in which my home Thumb area is no slouch at all. The crow season is already in progress and in a couple short weeks, the early goose season opens up. Mid-September represents my … Read More