Michigan Hunters May Soon Be Able to Kill 2 Does Per Season For Free

There are too many female deer in Michigan and soon hunters may be able to kill two per season and not have to pay for tags.

Michigan's Doe Problem

One phrase I have heard from older deer hunters in Michigan my whole life is, "If you shoot the does, there will be no more deer."  It's partly true if hunters killed them all but to not kill any is ignorant.

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The female deer population is so out of balance in Michigan. There are about 20 does per buck in most counties. Sure, hunters can pay for extra doe tags but when they buy a license that allows them a doe or a buck most will go after the buck and in most cases never shoot a doe.

I took the picture above of the field behind my house a few weeks ago and it's 90 to 95% female deer. Some of the deer are button bucks. You can't see the deer on the other side of the field where there were just as many. I have watched this batch of deer for a couple of years and only see a handful of bucks.

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The doe numbers are so out of balance in my area, that I have had to speak with the neighbors on my road to get everyone to agree to take at least 1 doe each for the next couple of years to try and balance our herd. I lived in Indiana for 18 years and the state did a lot to get the buck-to-doe ratio closer. When I moved back to Michigan it was about 3 does per buck in Indiana, and let me tell you how much better the hunting is when there is a ratio like that. The deer are healthier, hunters see more bucks, farmers have less crop damage, and less deer are getting hit by vehicles.

Michigan Hunters May Soon Be Able to Kill 2 Doe's Per Season Free

According to FOX 17, Michigan lawmaker Jennifer Wortz has proposed a new bill that will provide free hunting licenses allowing hunters to take two doe's per season.

This is the best new idea I have heard from a politician in a while. I will admit it probably comes from lobbying auto insurance companies but as a hunter, I will take it.

FOX 17 reported Prepresentative Wortz said,

Too many deer are eating crops in our fields and hitting cars on our roads, endangering lives, damaging vehicles, and reducing our food supply.

Did you notice how she brought up vehicles twice in that statement? I wasn't far off on the auto insurance comment a few paragraphs back.

The focus should be a healthier herd of deer to make Michigan's hunting quality better that would encourage more people to get back in the woods. If deer hunters took 1 or 2 doe's every season for next 2 or 3 years Michigan's hunting would be better than it has been in 75 years. I question the lawmakers motives but the idea of getting a better balance of Michigan's deer herd is a positive.