Deer numbers are lower in the eastern U.P. than the west. The overall bow kill actually declined by 6.1 percent in that district from 2006, but bowhunting effort went down by 8.2 percent, so the success rate is still good. An estimated 24.9 percent of the bowhunters who tried their luck in the east U.P. during 2007 were successful. Therefore, an average of one out of four archers bagged a deer with bow and arrow in this district. There were an estimated 1,875 whitetails tagged by bowhunters in that district last fall compared with 1,997 the year before.

Drummond Island is a popular east U.P. bowhunting destination because of an abundance of public land. Bucks must have at least 2 points on one antler to be legal. This antler restriction hasn't seemed to significantly improve the quality of antlers grown by bucks on the island.

The total bow kill in Region 3 increased by 1.1 percent during 2007 (79,131 versus 78,259), according to preliminary DNR figures. The tally of bucks was down 2.7 percent (47,869 compared to 49,190), and the number of antlerless whitetails increased by 7.5 percent (31,263 and 29,071). The best districts in that region for bowhunting, in terms of success, are south-central, southwest and Saginaw Bay.

Archers who hunted the south-central counties of Lenawee, Hillsdale, Washtenaw, Jackson, Livingston, Ingham, Eaton, Shiawassee, Clinton, Ionia, Gratiot and Montcalm experienced the highest success rate in the state during the 2007 bow season at 36.5 percent. The success rate on bucks was also the highest in the state at 25.3 percent. The number of deer bagged by bowhunters in that district declined by 4 percent last fall (29,081 and 30,280). The buck kill was down by 8.5 percent (17,420 versus 19,030), but the antlerless harvest during bow season was up by 3.6 percent (11,661 and 11,251).

Scott Norkey from Tecumseh is one of the bowhunters who was successful in the south-central district last fall. He bagged a trophy 9-pointer with a 21-inch inside spread in November in Lenawee County. He did some calling with doe bleats, grunts and growls to lure the whitetail into bow range.

Norkey passed up a yearling buck with a rack before shooting the much larger deer that had a dressed weight of 193 pounds.

Bowhunters who spent time in the other two top producing districts in Region 3 did almost as well. The success rate for deer of either sex was 33.6 percent in the southwestern counties of Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Barry, Allegan, Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon. Success on bucks was the second highest in the state in this district at 24.6 percent. The bow kill went up by 4.1 percent in this district (22,446 and 21,553). The tally for bucks was 4.4 percent higher (14,200 and 13,604) and the total of does and fawns increased by 3.7 percent (8,247 and 7,949).

Book buck production has been exceptional in most counties of the southwestern district during recent years. The chances of seeing a trophy buck are excellent in all but the three northernmost counties of Muskegon, Ottawa and Kent.

Bowhunters who spent time afield in counties comprising the Saginaw Bay District experienced a 33.4 percent rate of success. The rate of success on bucks in this district is 21.5 percent. The counties that make up the district are Saginaw, Isabella, Clare, Gladwin, Midland, Bay, Arenac, Tuscola, Sanilac and Huron. The northern counties of that district (Arenac, Gladwin and Clare) are actually part of Region 2, but most of the counties in that district are in Region 3.