Why does Michigan deer hunting season open Nov. 15 every year? What to know

It's a cool, crisp Michigan morning. The sun just arrived, greeting the woods and wilds with warmth and light.

But Mike Ketelaar and his father settled in to their sacred spots in Kent or Ionia counties far before rays fell onto the landscape they pine for every year. It's an opening salvo to what Ketelaar describes as his greatest passion in life.

With first light comes a time of year revered by many a Michigan hunter: opening day of the traditional firearm deer season.

"The opening day experience, is — it doesn't matter how old you are, Christmas morning is kind of fun," said Ketelaar, council president of the National Deer Association of Michigan.

"Whether you're a diehard Christmas fanatic or you're not, everyone looks forward to Christmas morning, just like every level of hunter looks forward to opening day, Nov. 15."

That day, Nov. 15, has special meaning for Michigan hunters. In other states, the first day of firearm deer hunting season starts on the third Saturday in November, or some other time not pegged to a specific day. But in Michigan, for the better part of the last century, Nov. 15 marked the official start of the most popular deer hunting season.

The history behind that date is a bit convoluted, the concept of changing that date contested. It's a story of tradition, deer population, logistics and data, all centered around trying to encourage people to continue hunting in Michigan.

More: Michigan hunting in major decline — why that matters

What is opening day?

Michigan regulates when and how people hunt whitetail deer, as is the case with many other animals in the state. While there are actually a slew of special deer hunting seasons, people typically refer to "opening day" as the first day when hunters can legally shoot a deer with a traditional firearm.

In Michigan, that day is always Nov. 15. The traditional firearm season runs about two weeks, through Nov. 30.

There's a general perception in the hunting community that people are more likely to see and ultimately take down a deer on the first day of the season. Chad Stewart, a deer, elk, and moose management specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said that in 2022, hunters harvested more deer on opening day than on the final nine days of the season combined.

Ketelaar noted that deer behavior tends to change throughout a season. As more people come out into an area and, in theory, start shooting firearms, deer may be more likely to avoid open areas or spaces they previously considered safe.

Still, the need to be in the woods and ready on opening day goes beyond trying to ensure seeing a deer.

"You've got to be out there because that's what you do. And that's where everyone else is. It's almost like the fear of missing out," Ketelaar said.

"It's just the vibe, the excitement, the days going up to it. A lot of guys talk that they can't even sleep the night before, because of the anticipation."

More: Warmer winters, fewer hunters have Michigan deer numbers soaring — and it's becoming a problem

Why is it Nov. 15?

There's no clear cut answer. But after months of research, Stewart has a theory.

A self-admitted sucker for history, Stewart dove into the question as part of a project for the DNR. In the process of scouring old documents and reports, he suspects he found the rationale behind this specific date.

Records show Michigan conservations started to worry about the state's deer population in the early 1900s. Lawmakers first regulating deer hunting in 1859, passing a law that allowed hunting during the last five months of the year. Gradually, as anecdotal reports indicated dwindling deer numbers, regulators added more restrictions.

At various points, that included banning deer hunting in specific counties, limiting the number of deer hunters could take per season and ultimately shortening the season.

By 1913, the main firearm season ran from Nov. 10 through Nov. 30. Just one year later, state Game Commission William R. Oates suggested there were only 45,000 deer in the entire state, according to a 1980 DNR report — there are roughly 2 million in the state today. He made the argument to push for what became known as the "buck law," a 1921 regulation that banned shooting any antlerless deer.

While Stewart says he did not find evidence specifically tying the buck law to the Nov. 15 change, he did say it was clear that regulators were still nervous about the perceived decline in deer by 1925.

So, the shift to Nov. 15 can be seen in multiple ways. It further limited the number of days people could legally hunt, but it also pushed hunting season further along in the life cycle of a deer, Stewart noted.

"By establishing that date in 1925, they are putting it just a little bit outside of what would be the typical rutting period," Stewart said, referring to deer mating season.

Combined with the buck law, the push back further ensured deer could safely breed.

"So you're getting most of those animals that are getting bred. Of course, you're still protecting a lot of antlerless deer at that time, because you're trying to grow a deer herd. But at the same time, you're making opportunities to hunters when bucks are still fairly active on the landscape and moving around."

Hunters didn't seem to mind the change. Nov. 15, 1925, was a Sunday. The Michigan Wolverines beat Ohio State University 10-0 the day before, and Detroiters experienced a record 6.2 inches of snow. Newspapers throughout northern Michigan, collected by Central Michigan University, indicated hunters headed out to the woods.

"All of the deer hunters will be glad to see this snow storm on the first day of the season. We hope they all return with good results," reads a portion of the Nov. 18, 1925, edition of the Pinconning Journal and Bay County News.

More: Deer hunters’ impact on the state extends far beyond Michigan’s fields and woods

Was it always Nov. 15?

Nope. After years of conservation efforts, Michigan saw the deer population balloon relatively quickly. By the mid 1930s, DNR records show hunters complaining about too many does and drivers complaining about deer zooming across roadways.

Ilo Bartlett, the state's first deer biologist, determined by 1937 there were 1.125 million deer across Michigan, about a third living in the Upper Peninsula, according to 1980 report from the DNR. By 1940, the state repealed the buck law, and hunting was allowed again in every county by 1948 — the first time hunters could harvest deer statewide in Michigan in 1891.

But the deer population continued to boom. Records show in the 1950s, the state started to play around with regulations in an effort to encourage more hunting. By 1963, the state came around to changing opening day. In parts of the U.P., the season shifted from Nov. 9 to Nov. 24. The state kicked around a few other dates, suggesting the season open on the Saturday closest to Nov. 15 in some areas and later in others.

By 1968, Stewart says the state returned to the Nov. 15 opening day. It's been that way ever since.

"It's kind of turned into that quirky wrinkle that just is associated with Michigan deer hunting. Maybe it doesn't make much sense to keep it at that date anymore, but because it's so traditionally engrained in our culture, people just don't want to see it go away. They just love what it is," Stewart said.

Do people want to change it?

Not really. Numerous DNR studies found hunters of all ages love the Nov. 15 opening day tradition.

In 2009, 84% of hunters polled preferred keeping Nov. 15 as opening day, Stewart said. In 2016, that number jumped to 85%.

In theory, there are various reasons to change the date. Many years, opening day falls on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, theoretically requiring people to take off work or go through other logistical hurdles to ensure they're out in the woods on the first day of the season.

In practice, Stewart says the data shows changes likely won't have a huge impact on hunting season.

As fewer Michiganders hunt — about 593,000 bought deer licenses in 2021, compared with more than 700,000 in 1978 — there's a good chance keeping traditions alive is of more importance to those who continue to hunt.

Ketelaar says he's not sure he and his father have even shot a deer on opening day in the past decade; they both bow hunt, a season popular with very avid hunters that opens Oct. 1. But the day is about much more than grabbing a trophy buck: more many like Ketelaar it's about nostalgia, memories and family.

"I think that we're in a world right now where change is happening so often and so quickly, it's something that (hunters) want to remain consistent and kind of traditional," Ketelaar said.

"I think part of the 80% (who support keeping Nov. 15 as opening day) is "let's not touch one thing that we can control that is tradition in this ever-changing world."

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I don't buy it. Won't more people hunt if opening day is on the weekend?

The state and conservationists are actively trying to find ways to encourage more hunting. Completely separate from promoting an activity steeped in tradition and, for many, the ability to fill freezers with food for a year, the DNR deer hunting brings in revenue for the state and helps manage the deer population.

In theory, more hunters mean fewer car accidents. But it also means far less crop loss for farmers: deer result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in loses for farmers every year.

The state has an incentive to find ways to control the deer population. Stewart analyzed data on any number of factors, from how many deer are harvested when opening day falls on each day of the week to numbers of people hunting and days hunted.

That analysis shows moving it, either to a weekend or other set day of the week, would likely have little impact, Stewart said.

"Deer hunting is so important for so many Michiganders that they are going to prioritize getting out on Nov. 15, whether that Nov. 15 is a Monday, a Thursday or a Saturday, they're going to make that happen," Stewart said.

Come on, is opening day really that big of a deal?

Ketelaar is a school teacher. But his administrators and students know he won't be in the classroom Nov. 15.

"Besides, you know, my family and friends and God, deer hunting's a huge part of my life and something that I care about deeply," Ketelaar said.

"I've taken that day off the last 16 years I've been a teacher."

He's not the only one: every year for the last six decade, the generally full-time Michigan Legislature stops working for part of November. Although lawmakers don't directly attribute it to deer season, the typically two-week break always covers opening day, as reported in 2018 by MLive.

In rural parts of Michigan, life can essentially grind to a halt on opening day — a 1976 edition of the Ludington Daily News notes a local school lists "no school, deer hunting season" on a lunch menu for the week of Nov. 15.

"Some communities are a little bit more supportive of making that happen by shutting down school, basically not having work open, whatever. They might facilitate that, make it a little bit easier," Stewart said.

He pointed back to data, collected for the first time last year, of the number of deer harvested each day during the firearm season. It showed more than 45,000 taken on Nov. 15 — that's more than one every second of daylight, according to a Stewart analysis.

Michigan hunters are going to get in their blinds on Nov. 15, whatever it takes.

This is fascinating? How do I start hunting?

You'll need to take a hunter safety lesson and learn a bit more about the licenses needed to legally hunt deer. Learn more at https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/hunting/deer.

Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on Twitter, @Dave_Boucher1.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan deer hunting season opens Nov. 15: Here's why