METRO DETROIT (WXYZ) — Many would argue Nov. 15 a statewide holiday: it's the start of firearm deer season.
It will run two weeks starting Friday through Nov. 30. For many families, it's tradition to grab their most flattering hunter orange and stake out. However, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, fewer and fewer people are taking part year-by-year, and the number of deer is growing.
The highest number of deer harvested this year will all come from the first three days of firearm season. The hunters I talked with earlier this week are calling off work with the 'firearm season flu', and right now, they are in their blinds. They learned it from their Dads and Grandpas, and it's something they're passing down now.
"We call the animals high-speed beef," said hunter Sidney Schock.
It's officially open season here in Michigan with that high-speed beef, and about 600,000 hunters are comfy in blinds for firearm season.
"Oftentimes you’re in there and you got our own little cooker in the blind. You get fresh hot coffee and things are nice," Sydney said.
"I’ve gone every year but maybe twice," said hunter Jack Miller. "Right now I’m about to buy a blind cause the winds up there blew my other blind over."
It's two weeks marked on thousands of calendars across the state.
"It’s by far our most participated in season," said Chad Fedewa, the Acting Gear Specialist for Michigan's DNR. "Probably 50% of the total harvest of the year happens in firearm season."
With the majority of that harvest happening in the first three days of the season, the DNR says all hunters need to wear hunter orange, make sure they have permission on private land and if they are on public land, be aware of all the hunters in the area.
"You need to know where that bullet may go if you’re going to miss," Fedewa said.
But the amount of hunters is steadily dropping. 20 years ago, numbers edged closer to 800,000.
Now deer populations are spiking and they're moving into more and more populated areas, eating gardens, spreading diseases and being a danger to drivers.
"The thing that’s killing the most deer besides hunters is cars," Jack said. "I drove up North two weeks ago to set things up. I saw 50 dead deer on the side of the road."
Sidney started hunting in the 70s.
"We all sat on a five-gallon bucket," Sidney said.
He's a long way from walking uphill, both ways with that bucket, now sitting in a heated blind, but Sidney is keeping the hunting tradition alive with his kids and grandkids.
"You got to have enough ground hamburger for summer sausage so we can do a batch of pepper stick and summer sausage here and there," Sidney said. "That’s the primary goal."
What firearm you're allowed to use depends on if you're above or below the limited firearm zone. Only people living above it can use a shotgun or rifle. There are also a few changes and extensions to the upcoming deer season: you can find more info on those changes at this link.
