Michigan’s 16-day firearms deer season opens Friday. Successful firearms and archery hunters can submit photos to the Daily News by emailing [email protected]. In addition to hunting information, please indicate where the hunter is from and the harvest county. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

IRON MOUNTAIN — High temperatures in the 50s are expected across the region for Friday’s opening of Michigan’s deer season, with similar weather conditions throughout the weekend.

There is a chance of rain after midnight Saturday, but otherwise the forecast is dry through Monday evening. A mix of rain and snow is possible later next week.

After a mild winter, fawn production has been good this spring, which could lead to skewed deer sightings toward younger deer. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources also reports a good season for food sources such as apples and acorns.

Hunters are reminded that online harvest reporting is required for anyone who successfully harvests a deer. You can report your deer through the DNR Hunt Fish app or at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport.

In Dickinson County as of Wednesday, the DNR dashboard showed 321 antlered deer and 146 antlerless deer taken so far at the start of the archery season. That total of 467 deer compares to 396 taken during the first archery season of 2023, including 243 deer.

Although no additional cases of chronic wasting disease have been detected in Dickinson County since 2018, the DNR is still collecting baseline CWD surveillance data in many Upper Peninsula counties. The DNR encourages hunters to consider submitting a sample for CWD testing from deer harvested in Baraga, Chippewa, Dickinson, Houghton, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Ontonagon and Schoolcraft counties.

The sample submission site in Dickinson County is the MNR Norway Field Office located at 520 WUS 2 Norway. The site will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during the 16-day firearms season.

More information is available at or by calling 906-563-9247.

One regulatory change of note is the reinstatement of a 3-point antler restriction when hunting with a single deer license in Deer Management Unit 122, which is primarily in southern Dickinson County.

Baiting is allowed in the UP, but the DNR recommends baiting only when actively hunting and not placing bait or food repeatedly on the same point on the ground. This is to minimize the exposure of deer to diseases that may be present.

The volume of bait at any hunting site cannot exceed 2 gallons and dispersal must be over a minimum area of ​​10 feet by 10 feet.

According to the DNR, more than 457,200 hunting licenses were sold through Oct. 31 in Michigan, consistent with recent years. In total, 44,973 women purchased hunting licenses, an increase of 1.91%.

Wisconsin’s nine-day deer hunt will begin no earlier than Saturday, November 23, and continue through Sunday, December 1. This is the final window in which Wisconsin’s season can take place, as established by state law.