For those who are active hunters, it might come as a shock that less people are taking part in the hobby compared to 20 years ago – but that number is slowly growing.
According to the 2024 Michigan Deer Harvest Survey Report, about 60,000 fewer people purchased a deer hunting license in 2024 compared to 2014.
While that may seem like a lot, the number only went down by 9% to 604,088.
While the number is lower, data also shows it is going up compared to 2022 and 2023.
Michigan DNR Survey Coordinator tells us there are two things behind this increase - baby boomers and the youth.
He says that as baby boomer age into retirement, they are hunting more, and, due to regulation changes, younger generations can now receive a deer hunting license.
Despite this, they are still not seeing enough of the younger generation to make up for the older generation leaving the pastime behind.
Frawley tells us “So hunting isn’t as attractive as it was to the baby boomers. You got to remember, the baby boomers grew up in the 70s. A greater percentage of the population lived in rural areas at that time. So they were they probably had a closer connection with the land because they were either, children of landowners, the farmers, or they were one generation removed. So now as the generations get removed, there’s less connection with the land, and therefore they have less access to the land to hunt. ”
But, there are some ways to help bring the number back up.
The DNR has issued new specials during the season, as well as adjustments to encourage more people to hunt.
But, Frawley says it it takes a hunter to become a hunting, adding “Most hunters come from families of hunters. So we do our best to encourage participation by youth.”