LANSING — With Opening Day just around the corner, the Department of Natural Resources is refreshing hunters on state law and safety precautions.
Around half a million people are set to take part in the two-week firearm season, and the state is encouraging everyone to brush up on rules and regulations.
“It is required that every deer taken be reported online,” said Brent Rudolph, the DNR’s deer, elk and moose management specialist. “We provide resources to be able to assist folks in that process, but it’s an important thing for hunters to be aware of this year.”
The DNR says that hunters can expect largely the same regulations during this year’s firearm season, but to look out for some changes later in the year.
“We had almost 180,000 deer taken during that two-week regular firearm season last year, and we expect that to be probably similar, or maybe up a little bit, on that this coming year as well,” Rudolph said.
Rudolph says that anyone who hasn’t bought their license at this point should do so in-person.
“If you’re going out just now, you’re going to need to go to a retail sales location to purchase one so you can have that tag printed and in-hand as you go field,” he said. “So no shame if you’re a lollygagger and left it behind until this point — that’s okay, but just plan accordingly.”
Firearm safety is also a crucial part of the season.
“During the firearm season, it is required that you wear a hunter orange or blaze orange,” he said. “It’s a safety precaution to be visible to other hunters in the field, and it’s also a regulation that’s required as you’re out and about.”
When transporting firearms in a vehicle, they must be unloaded and put in a case or the car’s trunk.
“Always treat every firearm as if it’s loaded, so don’t depend on your memory whether it’s unloaded or not,” Rudolph said. “You should always keep every firearm pointed in a safe direction.”
The regular firearm season, which runs through Nov. 30, is unchanged from previous years.
Archery season will return on Dec. 1 and the late antlerless firearm season will kick off Dec. 15. Both run through January 1st.
A new change this year is with the muzzleloader season, which runs from Dec. 5 through the Dec. 14.
Hunters south of the Upper Peninsula will be allowed to use any type of firearm they’d use during the regular season.
The late antlerless deer season was also extended in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. That season will run from Jan. 2 through Jan. 11.
Rudolph encouraged hunters to visit michigan.gov/deer for more information on regulations by region and time of year.