Bowhunters who scout the areas they will be hunting have an excellent chance of success this fall. Photo by Windigo Images.

Bowhunting success in our state will be similar this fall to what it was a year ago. Approximately one out of every three archers should tag a whitetail. For the 2007 season, 34.6 percent of bowhunters bagged at least one deer, according to preliminary harvest figures provided by DNR statistician Brian Frawley.

On a regional basis, bowhunting success was highest in the southern third of the state (Region 3) at 35 percent but only slightly lower in the Upper Peninsula (Region 1) at 33.1 percent. In the northern Lower Peninsula (Region 2), archers had an estimated 27.8 percent rate of success.

There was a slight increase in the overall archery harvest during 2007 from 2006 even though the number of bowhunters declined by a wider margin, which means those who hunted had a higher rate of success.

Bowhunters bagged an estimated 126,060 whitetails in Michigan last fall, according to Frawley's preliminary figures, about 1,000 more than the 125,035 reported taken in 2006. An estimated 300,249 bowhunters tried their luck in the state last fall, a decline of about 9,000 from the 309,140 who spent time afield the previous year.

If the number of archers continues to decline, there will be more deer to go around for those who hunt. If that happens, hunting success could go up even more for 2008.

One factor that could negatively affect bowhunting success in Region 3 and the TB Zone in the northeastern counties of Region 2 is a proposed five-day firearms antlerless-only hunt during late September or early October. Deer with confirmed cases of bovine tuberculosis were harvested by hunters in Iosco and Shiawassee counties -- outside the TB zone -- last fall. Deer numbers are also higher than desired levels by the DNR in much of Region 3. The early antlerless-only firearms hunt is being proposed to address these issues.

Early bow season is a month and a half long (Oct. 1 through Nov. 14). If a five-day gun hunt is held before or during bow season, it certainly won't affect deer activity during the rut in late October and early November. Bowhunters who hunt smart by thoroughly scouting the area or areas they will be hunting, and hunting as often as they can, still have an excellent chance of success this fall.

On a regional basis, the 2007 archery harvest experienced the greatest increase in the Upper Peninsula when compared with numbers from 2006. The kill increased 12.3 percent in Region 1. An estimated 10,504 bucks and does were taken by hunters who tried their luck in the U.P. last fall versus the 9,354 that were tagged in that region the year before.

The number of antlered bucks bagged in the U.P. was almost the same between both years, but up slightly (4,764 versus 4,613). The tally for does and fawns was responsible for most of the change since 2006 (5,739 compared with 4,740). Deer numbers were certainly higher in the U.P. last fall after experiencing the second mild winter in a row. The winter of 2006-2007 was a record mild one, which really boosted the number of whitetails available to hunters.

The winter of 2007-2008 was tougher on U.P. whitetails in terms of longevity and snow depth. Consequently, there were some fawn losses, but I don't think losses were high enough to make a significant difference in the number of deer available to hunters this fall. Two factors helped more deer than normal survive winter.