It’s basically Christmas Eve for hunters as firearm season loads up and takes aim Friday morning at sunrise.
More than half a million hunters take to the woods each hunting season and this weekend, for Opening Day, it will be the busiest.
Both in stores but also in the woods where the DNR is patrolling to make sure everyone has a successful and safe holiday.
There will be nearly perfect conditions for Opening Day. It’s on a Friday, there’s snow on the ground and it’s going to be cold so the deer are going to be moving.
“Firearm season, the opener, holds an important place for everybody,” says Sgt. Robert Hobkirk, “For many different reasons.”
“The day before, the week before leading up to Opening Day is very, very busy,” says Terry Doolittle of Goldstar Outdoors near Edmore, “A lot of licenses are being sold and last minute ammo.”
With so many hunters taking to the woods, the DNR is asking people to remember their safety regulations.
“Specifically their hunter orange. Make sure you’re wearing your hunter orange,” says Sgt. Hobkirk, “We require that so they can see one another when they’re out there in the woods.”
Also to read up on all the new rules, including the highly debated baiting ban in the Lower Peninsula.
“I think it’ll be an issue but I don’t think it’ll be really more so than anywhere else,” says Sgt. Hobkirk.
Maybe the conditions will make baiting inconsequential as the deer find it difficult to hide.
“The deer should be moving,” says Doolittle, “Definitely we’ve been seeing a lot more activity with the snow on the ground but they are up and moving, just trying to stay warm themselves.”
Firearm season begins at sunrise on Friday. Hunters can check their DNR Hunting Digest for exact times for their location.
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