An eight-point buck on the prowl for does in northern Dickinson County. Michigan's firearm deer season opens Saturday and extends through Nov. 30. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Michigan’s firearm deer season opens Saturday with highs in the 50s expected in the Dickinson County area, along with a 30% chance of rain.

Cooler weather — highs near 40 — should follow for a few days, without precipitation, the National Weather Service predicts. The first two days of the season might be breezy.

Last year, hunters in Michigan harvested nearly 180,000 deer during the 16-day regular firearm season, which was about half of the total deer harvest from all seasons combined.

Locally, more than half of the 2024 harvest came during the firearm hunt. Dickinson County’s total from all seasons in 2024 was 2,181, including 1,404 antlered deer, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ online harvest report. The regular firearm season total was 1,274, including 951 antlered deer.

The highest deer numbers in the Upper Peninsula are expected in the southcentral portion, the DNR said in its 2025 hunting preview.

During the early segment of the archery season that opened Oct. 1, Menominee County shows the highest harvest in the U.P. at 1,113 as of Wednesday afternoon. That figure includes 735 antlered deer.

Delta County is second in the U.P. at 700 deer, including 513 antlered. Dickinson is third with 503 deer taken, including 344 antlered.

Iron County stands fourth in the U.P. archery harvest to date with 225 antlered deer taken in a harvest of 346. Marquette County follows with a total harvest of 295, including 263 antlered.

Hunters in the U.P. are allowed to use bait, limited to 2 gallons of volume spread over a minimum 10-foot-by-10-foot area. To minimize exposure of deer to diseases that may be present, the DNR recommends not placing bait repeatedly at the same point on the ground and only baiting when actively hunting.

The DNR is conducting focused testing for chronic wasting disease this year in nine counties in the U.P. — Baraga, Chippewa, Dickinson, Houghton, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Ontonagon and Schoolcraft.

CWD testing is free for deer harvested in these counties when submitted through DNR drop boxes or staffed sample submission sites.

In Dickinson County, the DNR’s Norway Field Office, 520 W. U.S. 2, Norway, is scheduled to be staffed from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday of next week, as well as the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A 24-hour drop box is also available at the site.

Deer heads are tested for CWD, a contagious illness that affects the nervous system of deer and elk. Hunters who would like to keep the antlers should remove them from the head.

Results of CWD testing are posted to the DNR’s lab results webpage. More information can be found at https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/hunting/deer.

On Monday, the DNR is hosting a “Deer Drop-In” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Crystal Falls Field Office, 1420 W. U.S. 2, Crystal Falls. This is a chance to bring in a deer or lower jaw for aging, or just connect with DNR staff and fellow hunters.

Similar events will place Monday at DNR service centers in Baraga, Escanaba, Marquette and Newberry.

A Hunters Feeding Michigan deer donation deer drive will take place next weekend at Buried Stone Farms, 1519 Sheridan Road, Escanaba. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time Friday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 22; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23.

All deer must be whole, with head attached, harvest-reported and field-dressed before donation. Donated venison will be distributed to Michigan food pantries.

Soderman’s Processing at 6207 Days River 24.5 Road, Gladstone, is another participating processor in the donation program.

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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.