STORY November 15: The Most Important Day in Michigan
BY: Derrek Sigler + POSTED: 10/31/13
The best part of deer hunting with family is getting to pass along the traditions and wisdom to the next generation of Michigan hunters.
It’s a safe bet that there are more vacation days used on November 15 in the state of Michigan than on any other day. It’s the traditional opening day for Michigan’s regular firearm deer season and for most, it’s a holiday better than any other. Like Remnar Soady said in Jeff Daniels’ film set in an Upper Peninsula deer camp, Escanaba in Da Moonlight, “It’s like Christmas with guns.”
How big of a deal is Michigan’s deer hunting tradition? Last year, over 640,000 hunters purchased at least one deer tag in the state according to the Department of Natural Resources license sales division. To let that sink in, there are about 540,000 soldiers in the United States Army right now, not including the National Guard. In 2012, Michigan deer hunters harvested around 419,000 whitetail deer. If personal deer sightings are any indication, 2013 should be a good year as well.
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