Michigan’s 2025 Archery Deer Season So Far: Big Bucks, Bigger Problems

We're not even done yet — Michigan's early segment archery season runs through November 14 — but the numbers already tell quite a story. Bowhunters across the state are having a fantastic year, and Michigan's whitetail deer population? Well, not so much.

So far, hunters have tagged and self-reported harvesting nearly 48,000 deer statewide, and the scoreboard looks more than a little lopsided. Of those, 33,396 are antlered bucks, while only 14,507 are antlerless deer (as of November 3, 2025). That means a whole lot of trophies for living room walls and a whole lot of does still out there planning on next spring's fawn boom.

Michigan's Deer Explosion

It's no secret that Michigan has a deer problem. Sure, they're cute until they're eating your hostas or darting across I-96 like they're auditioning for "Fast & Furious: Forest Drift." While hunters are filling their freezers (and mounting their bragging rights), the focus on bucks is letting the doe population run wild — literally. More deer means more crop damage for farmers and more caved-in windshields for the rest of us.

Great for Hunters, Tough for Michigan Wildlife Management

Michigan's archery hunters deserve credit — they're skilled, dedicated, and clearly putting in the hours. But as the season continues, wildlife officials are crunching the numbers and wincing. The imbalance between antlered and antlerless harvests makes managing our overpopulated herds harder and harder each year, despite the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) practically begging hunters to take does.

RELATED: DNR: Michigan's 2024 Deer Harvest Underreported by Nearly 75,000

When the final arrows are loosed and the season wraps up, we'll see which Michigan counties led the charge. With a little more than a month of the season in the books, and a bit under two weeks to go, let's see how your county stands.