State wildlife agency officials say they listen to the public and want feedback from hunters (and anglers, and others), so when they ask and get the results it’s sometimes eye-opening.
It appears Michigan will not have expanded mandatory antler rules anytime soon.
The two most recent surveys conducted in Michigan to determine the level of support for mandatory antler point restrictions failed to generate the required level of support (at least 66 percent) to recommend implementation.
Responses from hunters during prior discussions about the issue indicated they were in favor of voluntary restrictions, giving them the choice, but not mandatory.
One survey was sent to a sample of hunters (3,000) in the Northcentral Lower Peninsula to assess the level of support for limiting hunters to shooting bucks with a minimum of three points on an antler. The second survey went to a small sample of hunters (2,300) in the southern Lower Peninsula to ask if they supported mandatory rules that would limit hunters to shooting bucks with four points on an antler.
The surveys were sent out last autumn and the results were announced during mid-March.
Sixty-two percent of the hunters surveyed in the Northcentral Lower were in favor of 3-point regulations and only 55 percent of hunters in the southern Lower Peninsula were willing to limit themselves to shooting bucks with four points on an antler. The response rates to the surveys were 72 and 74 percent, respectively. A response rate of at least 50 percent was required.
For more news on deer and deer hunting opportunities in Michigan, check out the state’s DNR website.
Who’s ready for spring and the shed-hunting season?
-
Shed Hunting: A Guide to Finding White-Tailed Deer Antlers is the first book devoted entirely to shed antler hunting.This 160-page, fully illustrated book is an educational tool that teaches readers how to find shed white-tailed deer antlers. The book’s eight chapters discuss:
- Biology of the shedding process
- Where and when to look for antlers
- How to find productive shed hunting areas
- Shed hunting tips and techniques
- and even how to train a dog to find antlers
Other topics include how to match up a set of antlers, dealing with competition from other shed hunters and how to enter your sheds into the record book.
It is disingenuous of D&DH to claim in the title of an article that Hunters Don’t Want MARs and the to illustrate in the same article that one survey received 62% support while a second ONLY received 55% support. FYI, those are majorities of hunters supporting the proposals.
While the process in Michigan requires 66% for the MDNR to recommend implementation, any reasonable person can plainly deduce that Michigan’s hunters are restless. It would be foolish to believe that nothing will come of these surveys.
The jungle drums they are a rumbling, believe it!