www.GunsandOptics.com Tactical & Hunting Gear Review
In 2018, US Fish and Wildlife Service hunting license data showed that hunters purchased more than 15.6 million hunting licenses. In Michigan, it was estimated that 574,000 hunters spent 8.7 million days afield, bringing back 376,000 deer, a nearly 50% success rate.
Most hunters in the U.S. are going after the big game, with deer the most popular of them all. If you’re looking for hunting land, considering some of the acreage for sale in Michigan should be at the top of your list. Over the 2016-2017 season, the state had the country’s second-largest deer harvest, as Outdoor Life reported with nearly 341,300 – since then that number has only gotten bigger and is expected to continue to rise. Typically, the southern Lower Peninsula has the biggest deer population due to its excellent habitat, with lots of cover in the form of scattered woodlots, swamps and agricultural crops coupled with an abundance of food.
But where are the top three counties in Michigan for deer hunting?
Jackson County
Located in the south-central area of the state, Jackson County is often named among the places where the biggest bucks are taken. In 2017, an estimated 6,232 were harvested here, and while the total number may be slightly smaller than some other counties, for hunters looking for a monster buck this may be the place to go. It also happens to be the home of the state record typical, a 198″ taken in 1996. On the downside, there aren’t a lot of public hunting options here, but searching for private land access or buying your own slice of the property may be worth it.
Clinton County
Clinton is part of the Lansing-East Lansing metro area and has had high numbers of deer harvests in recent years, with some 6,750 taken in 2015. It also has some outstanding public lands for hunting, including the Maple River State Game Area, the Muskrat Lake State Game Area, the Rose Lake State Wildlife Area, and the Portland State Game Area.
Grand Traverse County
Part of the northwest Lower Peninsula, few places can top Grand Traverse County in this region when it comes to the number of Commemorative Bucks of Michigan entries at the top of the “mitten.” For years it could boast Michigan’s state-record archery buck with a nearly 182″ 12 pointer taken in 1985. There are also rumors of a 215″ in the late ’90s, although it’s never made it into the record books. The latest statistics show around 2,900 deer harvested in 2016. Hunters will find plenty of state forest land to search for their own monster too.
