Report Nr. 2912 1981 Deer Season Preliminary Report

This report is a very quick summary analysis of the 1981 firearm deer season based on an early sampling of data collected at five highway check stations from field reports, counts of deer on vehicles moving homeward, and from highway traffic counters. The preliminary estimate of the firearm deer kill suggests that the harvest was about as expected. This provided Michigan's second largest firearm deer harvest, second only to 1952's harvest of 162,160. The relatively mild weather during much of the season provided ideal conditions to spend time in the woods resulting in an outstanding recreational experience for Michigan's deer hunters.