Michigan Firearm Deer Season Primer: Reviewing the 2022 Season

The 2022 Michigan whitetail season was one of firsts and success. This was the first season that required hunters to electronically report their harvest within 72 hours. According to the DNR, it was a game-changer. This reporting brought in "much-needed" accuracy to Michigan's deer harvest estimates.

Michigan's 2022 Deer Seasons Review: The First Year of Mandatory Reporting

In 2022, about 586,595 Michigan outdoors enthusiasts purchased a license, down from 2021's 593,171, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources's (DNR) annual reports. The new electronic reporting system clocked in at 303,087 reported harvested deer. One Michigan county led the way with 8,150 total deer reported (a detailed 83-county ranking of bucks, does, and the total harvested is below).

Related: Michigan's State Record Whitetail Buck: 198 Inch Jackson County Beast

In 2022, Michigan's Upper Peninsula reported 22,787 total deer taken. Meanwhile, in the Northern Lower Peninsula, there were 97,714, and a whopping 182,586 in the Southern Lower Peninsula.

Breaking it down by season, data reveals that of the 586,595 total deer harvested in 2022, 154,598 were reported between November 15th and 30th, with opening day accounting for 45,834 of the total. Archery season played its part as well, with 95,125 reports. Michigans' firearm and archery season made up 82.5% of the total harvest.

Related: 5 Michigan Deer Hunting Violations With Stiff Mandatory Penalties

Want to break it down even more? Antlered made up more than half the reports (56.76%), including 172,044 legal bucks. Here's where the new reporting system's data gets into the fun stuff:

• 83% of reported antlerless deer were doe
• 6.2% were doe fawns
• 8.9% were buck fawns

Related: Michigan Firearm Deer Season: Making Opening Day a 2nd Saturday

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As to the mandatory online reporting, it doesn't take too long, and based on the above data, it can go a long way to reviewing the prior year's hunt. If you want to dive deeper into the data visit the DNR website, or keep scrolling for a county-by-county breakdown of 2022's Michigan deer seasons.