Archery deer season extended until Jan. 31 in Oakland, Macomb, Wayne counties

Amy Huschka | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Father son hunting duo bag four-point buck Horace Miller and his son, Shawn, saw a four-point buck out in the open and wasted no time firing and hitting it once on the shoulder. Hear the story!

Bowhunters still looking to score this season will have time as the archery season has been extended until Jan. 31 for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

This extended season is in its third and final year of a Department of Natural Resources pilot program announced in December 2017.

Chad Stewart, the DNR’s deer, elk and moose program leader, said it is both a chance for hunters to pursue some high-quality deer and a culling opportunity.

“Archery hunters can take advantage of some excellent hunting in January,” Stewart said. “This longer season also is a fairly low-cost first attempt for municipalities to help reduce the conflicts that arise when deer numbers rise in more populated, urban areas.”

After this season closes, the DNR will evaluate the pilot program’s results and determine whether to recommend similar opportunities in the future.

Licenses for this season include a deer license, a deer combination license or an antlerless deer license. All rules and regulations for the archery season apply. State game and wildlife areas in all three counties are open to hunting during this extended season.

Deer hunting regulations, including archery equipment restrictions, can be found in the 2019 Hunting Digest or by visiting Michigan.gov/Deer.

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Contact Amy Huschka: ahuschka@freepress.com or follow her on Twitter (@aetmanshuschka).

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