LANSING, Mich. -- Open firearm season starts Tuesday, and the Michigan DNR and local gun shops are getting ready for the big day. They're reminding hunters to have fun but also follow the rules.
Tens of thousands of Michigan residents and non-residents will take to the fields and forests for open firearm deer season, which runs from Nov. 15 to Nov. 30.
The Michigan DNR is expecting an even bigger harvest than last year.
"Enjoy being outside, make sure you know your surroundings, always let someone know where you're going to be," said Ashley Autenrieth with the DNR.
If you're hunting in a Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) area, it's mandatory to check your deer in the core area located near Lansing and recommended to check your deer in the surrounding counties.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that if you harvest a deer that is positive with CWD, that you do not consume the meat.
Here are a few other reminders for Michigan hunters from the DNR:
- Firearm deer season runs Nov. 15 to Nov. 30
- Don't forget to wear hunter orange
- A deer or deer combo license can be purchased at a license agentor online
- There are public- and private-land anterless deer licensesstill available
- Deer hunting hours can be found on pages 12 and 13 of this year's Hunting and Trapping Digest
