Michigan September Offers Youth, Small Game, Woodcock, and Turkey Seasons
The month of September brings shorter days, school buses, football and hunting.
Youth can enjoy harvesting ducks this coming weekend, Sept. 14-15. The Youth Waterfowl Hunting event is for those ages 15 and younger. The daily limit includes ducks, mergansers, geese, coots and moorhens. For more information, including bag limits, species restrictions and regulations, please review the Michigan Waterfowl Hunting Digest.
The small game season opener is Sept. 15. The long-awaited ruffed grouse season will kick into full gear, with hunters from all around Michigan and beyond hitting the forest with their dogs to flush a grouse. Squirrels and rabbits are also species that can be pursued during small game season, and fall turkey season kicks off Sept. 15 as well.
Sept. 21 marks the opening day of woodcock season, when thousands of hunters will be on the quest for the famous “timberdoodle.”
The DNR reminds hunters to make sure they know the bag limits and shooting hours of the species they are hunting by picking up a 2013 Hunting and Trapping Digest wherever licenses are sold. Most hunters can hunt some small game for about six months with a $15 resident small game license. Non-residents, youth and seniors should refer to the digest for license information.
Michigan deer hunting seasons of 2013 are set for Sept. 21-22. Youth, antlerless deer hunters and 100-percent disabled veterans all will be taking to the woods to bag the first venison of the season where it is legal. Information about those hunts is also included in the hunting and trapping digest.
Youth 16 and younger will be able to hunt for antlered or antlerless deer on both public and private land for the two days of the youth hunt. Mentored youth licenses are available for $7.50 for youth 9 and younger, and youth who have not taken hunter safety can hunt under an apprentice license. Many opportunities are available to get youth in the field. Consult the 2013 Hunting and Trapping Digest or call a DNR Office for more hunting information.
For additional information about getting youth started in hunting, visit the Youth Hunting page.
Looking for a great place to hunt on public land? Start by using the Mi-HUNT interactive mapping tool to find over 9.9 million acres of public land open to hunting. Be sure to watch the tutorial sessions to get the most out of this mapping application. Maps can be printed in color and viewed at the level where users can search for sought-after tree species.
Looking for areas to hunt on private land? The Hunting Access Program (HAP) opens an additional 143 properties where landowners allow public access.
