Head to the woods and wetlands for deer, waterfowl, small game and furbearers



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Winter hunt by Khalid Ibrahim

Michigan's woods and wetlands are waiting for you! Step away from the hustle and bustle and pursue your favorite game species.


* Deer hunting [ #link_4 ]
* Waterfowl hunting [ #link_3 ]
* Small game hunting [ #link_1 ]
* Fur harvesting [ #link_2 ]

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Deer hunting

Online harvest reporting [ [link removed] ] is required for all hunters who successfully take a deer. You can report your deer through the DNR Hunt Fish app or at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport [ [link removed] ].

*Late archery: Dec. 1-Jan. 1*

* Statewide on public or private land.
* Changes to antlerless harvest have been implemented in the Upper Peninsula. See the Upper Peninsula APRs chart in the Deer Hunting Regulations Summary, available at Michigan.gov/Deer [ [link removed] ].
* Archery deer hunters in the Lower Peninsula have the option to harvest antlerless deer with their deer or deer combo license.

Muzzleloading: Dec. 5-14

* Statewide on public or private land.
* In zones 2 and 3, you can use any firearm that is legal for the zone. If you are hunting in the limited firearm deer zone, you must follow equipment requirements for that zone.
* In the Upper Peninsula (zone 1), only muzzleloading firearms may be used.
* See page 52 of the Deer Hunting Regulations Summary [ [link removed] ] for more muzzleloading equipment information.

Late antlerless firearm: Dec. 15-Jan. 1

* Open on public and private lands in the Lower Peninsula ONLY, excluding deer management units 115, 145 and 245. All Upper Peninsula DMUs are closed.
* See map of open deer management units below.
Late antlerless firearm deer season DMU map 2026
Extended late antlerless firearm: Get ready for January

* Licenses for the extended late antlerless firearm deer season cost $5 and go on sale Dec. 1, but you cannot use them until the extended late antlerless firearm deer season opens Jan. 2–11, 2026.
* See map of open DMUs below. Open on public and private lands in Allegan, Barry, Bay, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Mecosta, Midland, Monroe, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oakland, Ottawa, Saginaw, Shiawassee, St. Clair (excluding DMU 174), Washtenaw and Wayne counties, as well as DMUs 311 (Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties), 312 (Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Branch counties) and 332 (Huron, Tuscola and Sanilac counties).
* During this season, you can harvest up to 10 antlerless deer (one per valid kill tag).
* You can harvest an antlerless deer with these license types: Unused single deer licenses (including those issued through the Mentored Hunting Program), deer combo licenses (regular kill tags), deer combo licenses (restricted kill tags), universal antlerless deer licenses, extended late antlerless deer licenses and DMA permits.
Extended late antlerless firearm deer season DMU map 2026

Deer hunting season dates, regulations and more are available in the mobile friendly [ [link removed] ] and desktop PDF [ [link removed] ] versions of the Deer Hunting Regulations Summary, available at Michigan.gov/Deer [ [link removed] ].

See the annual deer hunting preview [ [link removed] ], which includes a regional forecast and how conditions are looking for this season.

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Waterfowl hunting

Duck and goose seasons are open throughout the state this month. Visit one of Michigan's Wetland Wonders [ [link removed] ] for exceptional waterfowl hunting opportunities.

Waterfowl hunting information is available in the mobile friendly [ [link removed] ] and desktop PDF [ [link removed] ] versions of the Waterfowl Hunting Regulations Summary at Michigan.gov/Waterfowl [ [link removed] ].

*North Zone*

* Goose (dark and light): Now through Dec. 16

*Middle Zone*

* Coot, duck and merganser: Dec. 13-14
* Goose (dark and light): Now through Dec. 19

*South Zone*

* Coot, duck and merganser: Now through Dec. 14 and Dec. 27-28
* Goose (dark and light): Now through Dec. 14, Dec. 27-Jan. 4 and Jan. 31-Feb. 9

*Allegan County GMU*

* Goose (dark and light): Dec. 20-Feb. 15

*Muskegon*

* Goose (dark and light): Now through Dec. 20

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Small game hunting

Grab your base license and head out for some small game hunting! Season dates, bag limits and small game hunting regulations are available in mobile-friendly [ [link removed] ] and desktop PDF [ [link removed] ] versions and at Michigan.gov/SmallGame [ [link removed] ].

*New this year: *Hunters can now share their ruffed grouse and American woodcock hunting experiences through the new Michigan Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock Dashboard. [ [link removed] ] This easy online survey replaces the long-running paper version and lets hunters report flushes per hour and view near real-time data from across the state. Check out the data that hunters have reported so far this season before you head into the field!


* *Ruffed grouse:* Dec. 1-Jan. 1
* *Pheasant (male only): *Zone 3 only, Dec. 1-Jan. 1
* A $25 pheasant license is required for all hunters 18 and older to hunt pheasants on any public land in the Lower Peninsula or on lands enrolled in the Hunting Access Program. See the Small Game Hunting Regulations Summary [ [link removed] ] for exceptions. 
* *Pheasant releases:* This year, pheasants will be released at 13 state game and wildlife areas throughout southern Michigan during the Dec. 1-Jan. 1 season. The list of release locations and parking lot directions can be found on the pheasant release webpage [ [link removed] ].

* *Cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare:* Now through Mar. 31
* *Fox and gray squirrels* (black phase included): Now through Mar. 31

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Fur harvesting

Fur harvesting regulations, bag limits and season dates are available in the mobile friendly [ [link removed] ] and desktop PDF [ [link removed] ] versions of the Furbearer Hunting Regulations Summary, available at Michigan.gov/Trapping [ [link removed] ].

*Hunting seasons*

* Fox (gray and red) hunting: Now through Mar. 1
* Raccoon hunting: Now through Mar. 31
* Coyote hunting: Now through Apr. 15

*Trapping seasons*

* Coyote and fox (gray and red) trapping: Now through Mar. 1
* Raccoon trapping: Now through Mar. 31
* Badger, beaver, bobcat, muskrat, mink and otter trapping opportunities are open in December in some areas; see the Furbearer Harvest Regulations Summary [ [link removed] ] for open units, season dates and bag limits.

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Get involved

*Dec. 11:* Natural Resources Commission meeting [ [link removed] ]




Hunt public lands

Explore lands open to public hunting near you with Mi-HUNT [ [link removed] ].




Support

Get a Kirtland's warbler license plate [ [link removed] ] and show your support for wildlife habitat!





"Learn more: Michigan.gov/Hunting [ [link removed] ]"


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This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Michigan Department of Natural Resources · Deborah A. Stabenow Building, 525 W. Allegan St., PO Box 30028 Lansing MI 48909 · 1-800-439-1420