Michigan Hunters Bag 125,554 Deer in First 15 Days of 2025 Firearm Season

Michigan's first 15 days of firearm deer season are in, and surprise: we've once again treated the woods like an all-you-can-tag buck buffet. The season began on November 15, 2025, the first Saturday opener in 11 years, and according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), self-reported harvest numbers, as of December 1st, 2025, Michigan hunters have knocked down 125,554 deer  — which is basically the deer-herd equivalent of dropping a bowling ball into a ball pit.

To put that into perspective, this year's opening weekend alone took out 42,965 deer. That's almost exactly a third of the first 15-day total. We came out of the gate like a Labrador on espresso, and then... just kept going.

Top 5 Counties: Where Deer Didn’t Stand a Chance

If you are an antlered deer and you're reading this, stay out of these counties, or get ready to wear a sticker on your rack:

• Hillsdale County - 2,917
  • Antlered: 1,675
  • Antlerless: 1,242
• Montcalm County - 2,968
  • Antlered: 1,819
  • Antlerless: 1,149
• Menominee County - 3,072
  • Antlered: 2,172
  • Antlerless: 900
• Saginaw County  - 3,140
  • Antlered: 1,982
  • Antlerless: 1,158
• Sanilac - 3,767
  • Antlered: 2,287
  • Antlerless: 1,480

RELATED: Michigan DNR Begs Hunters: 'Please, For the Love of Corn, Shoot a Doe!'

See a pattern?

Breaking Down the Numbers: Bucks vs. Does

Of the 125,554 deer harvested in Michigan since November 15, 2025, a ridiculous 79,490 were antlered. Meanwhile, just 46,064 were does, because of course. Michigan hunters continue their tradition of treating bucks like Pokémon ("gotta catch 'em all") while the does are left free to sprint into traffic, devour every soybean in sight, and produce yet another generation of crop-munching, bumper-destroying chaos gremlins.

RELATED: Michigan DNR Pleads: Harvest a Doe, Save a Fender

What This Means for Michigan’s Herd & Roads

The DNR keeps begging hunters to take more does, but, according to the numbers, those does had better start wearing a ten-point rack made of LED lights. But here we are. Michigan's herd is still massive, the does are still plotting to sabotage you on the roadways, and hunters still proudly hold up antlers as a trophy and later complain about deer fur in their truck grills and dented fenders.