Carol Thompson

The Detroit News

Updated May 14, 2026, 3:02 p.m. ET

Deer hunting changes in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula start in 2027

Lansing — Michigan hunters in the Lower Peninsula will only be allowed to kill one buck starting in March 2027, the state commission that sets hunting and fishing rules declared Wednesday.

The change is in service of efforts to control the booming deer population in southern Michigan, where some communities have resorted to culling deer to reduce the number of animals moving through their neighborhoods and roadways.

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission approved the new limit Wednesday, along with a suite of other changes to deer hunting rules, during a meeting in Gaylord. One significant change involves lifting the ban on the use of rifles in the southern Lower Peninsula during the late fall deer-hunting firearms season.

Michigan hunters in Lower Peninsula face one-buck rule

Starting in 2027, hunters in the Lower Peninsula will have the option of buying a combination license that would allow them to take one antlered deer, with the second tag only valid for an antlerless deer. They could also buy a single deer license that would allow them to shoot a buck with three or more antler points.

Until then, hunters in the Lower Peninsula have been allowed to take two bucks. That led to some hunters choosing to pass on harvesting does, or female deer, said Brent Rudolph, deer, elk and moose management specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

“Many of our hunters seem unwilling, as long as they have the option to sit and wait (for a buck), to take an antlerless deer,” he said.More: Fishing group ticketed for Detroit River walleye haul

Killing more female deer will help rein in some of the issues residents face in southern Michigan counties with the huge herd, such as deer leaping in front of vehicles, eating crops, and spreading disease, state officials said.

Mike Thorman, a hunter who spoke at Wednesday’s Natural Resources Commission meeting, warned the commissioners not to put antler point restrictions on licenses for a single deer. He said that could discourage people from hunting and said it’s sometimes hard to tell how many points are on a buck.

“The culture in Michigan, whether we like it or not, is ‘did I get my buck?'” Thorman said. “They want to go back to the shop and say they got their buck.”

One-buck rule will help decrease herd sizes

The one buck rule’s impact on the herd won’t be immediate, but “as hunters adapted to the restriction and increased their antlerless harvest, greater changes would be anticipated over time,” the Michigan DNR’s recommendation to the NRC states.

Rules for hunting in the Upper Peninsula will remain the same. Hunters will be allowed to take either one buck of any size, or buy a combination license that will allow them to take a buck with at least three antler points and a second with at least four points.

Natural Resources Commission members on Wednesday passed an amendment requiring the DNR to launch a pilot study of an “earn a second buck” program in some southern Michigan counties. In the program, hunters would have to harvest an antlerless deer in order to buy a license for a second antlered deer, Rudolph said.

Thorman told commissioners he supported that pilot program.

DNR eliminates limited firearms deer zone

Starting this year, hunters in southern Michigan will also have more options for firearms they can use to hunt. Commissioners eliminated the limited firearms deer zone, which had roughly included the portion of the state south of US-10, where some firearms were not allowed because the population is denser than in northern Michigan.

Hunters in the limited firearms deer zones previously were limited to shotguns, muzzleloading rifles, black powder handguns, certain conventional handguns and certain shorter-range rifles. Now, more firearms, including .30-30 rifles, will be allowed.

The change reduces confusion for hunters unsure which type of firearm they’re allowed to use in the zone and, hopefully, will lead to more people hunting and killing antlerless deer, officials said.

Hunters still have to abide by the same rules about where they are allowed to hunt with firearms, Rudolph said. They still need permission to hunt on private land or to retrieve deer from it, he said. Public lands open for hunting also have regulations about access.

They also have to follow rules about safety zones. They cannot hunt or shoot an animal within 450 feet of an occupied building, such as a house, cabin, barn, garage, warehouse or office building, without written permission, he said.

Hunters also have to follow any local ordinances that restrict where they can hunt.

Commissioners also passed a resolution put forward by Brandon Fewins, of Traverse City, recommending the DNR to work with the Wildlife Management Institute to conduct a science-based review of the state’s deer management program and develop an updated deer management framework that includes recommendations for hunting rules, disease management and handling deer-caused damage.

Deer management is “one of the most contentious issues we deal with as a commission,” Fewins said, and should be done by region because of different climates, habitats, diseases, and preferences of hunters. He said having clear, numerical benchmarks and goals will improve transparency and make it easier for the public and commissioners to assess whether hunting regulations are protecting the herd.

“The one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to produce the best long-term outcomes for either the herd or for hunter satisfaction,” he said.More: Michigan’s deer hunting experts see hopeful signs amid declining license sales

Decline in hunting causes DNR budget woes

Hunting license sales have declined in Michigan since the mid-1990s, and the average age of hunters is rising, DNR data show. That has caused a funding crisis, as funding for the department responsible for protecting and managing Michigan’s natural resources relies heavily on hunting and fishing license sales.

In her latest budget proposal, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for raising the price of hunting, fishing and boating licenses to help mitigate the decline in revenue, a move opposed by some lawmakers, hunters and fishers.

Former DNR director Keith Creagh and former NRC chair Tim Nichols said “Michigan must begin a serious conversation about modernizing how we fund conservation” in a March editorial published in The Detroit News.

“Hunters and anglers have carried the financial burden for generations,” they wrote. “As outdoor recreation continues to grow and diversify, it is imperative we explore and develop innovative funding models that support the resources everyone enjoys.”