DEER HUNTING

A Michigan man who is already an convicted felon is facing 15 DNR charges after officers discovered nine poached trophy bucks in a barn.

A 10-point buck sought sanctuary inside a southern Michigan church on opening day of the state’s firearm deer hunting season.

Deer hunters might find it easier to bag a buck than to have the meat processed in some areas of Michigan.

DETROIT – Sunday is an unofficial holiday in Michigan -- it’s the opening day of firearm deer hunting season. The DNR reported technical issues Saturday that prevented many hunters from buying a base license and deer kill tags. The temporary tag should include the same information normally found on a kill tag:Identification of the hunter. Customers who have purchased a license on the DNR website are asked to use this temporary kill tag until their legal tag arrives in the mail. Officials say evidence suggests that Clark’s Marsh is highly contaminated with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan wildlife officials won’t be able to check as many deer for chronic wasting disease during the upcoming hunting season. Deer heads from Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent and Montcalm counties will be accepted for state testing only from Nov. 15-18. The archery season starts Thursday. The traditional firearm deer season starts Nov. 15. Related: Michigan hunters should expect changes to deer check stations this fall due to COVID-19

LANSING, Mich. – Deer hunters should expect changes to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources deer check stations this fall. Hunters will be required to wear masks and following social distancing guidelines at DNR deer check stations. At many check stations, hunters will be required to stay in their vehicles while their deer is checked. Hunters who want disease testing are asked to bring only deer heads to check stations by removing them ahead of time. Hours and locations of deer check stations will be available by clicking here.

CLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An 11-year-old boy has died from his injuries after he was shot by his stepfather in an apparent hunting accident in Clay Township, officials said. “Like most of these, it could have been preventable,” Clay Township police Chief Michael Koach said. Sunset was at 7:40 p.m. and they were out looking for the deer they shot, according to authorities. Koach said the stepfather fired a shot that struck the 11-year-old boy. DNR officials are also investigating whether the family followed all the safety laws and rules, including that hunters must wear blaze orange.

CASEVILLE, Mich. – A 14-year-old deer hunter who possibly fell asleep in a farm field was killed when he was run over by a corn harvester in Michigan’s Thumb region, police said. Emergency workers were called about 9 a.m. Saturday to the cornfield in a rural area near the Huron County city of Caseville after a farm worker spotted the boy soon after accidentally driving over him, according to the county sheriff’s office. The boy from the nearby city of Elkton had been dropped off earlier for deer hunting at the field and might have fallen asleep, the sheriff’s office said. The farm worker wasn’t aware that anyone was in the field. The boy’s identity wasn’t immediately released by authorities and an autopsy was expected to be performed in the coming days.