Big Rapids — Last October, I was deer hunting just outside of a swamp, bow nocked, waiting for a big buck to make a bad decision. Then the wind shifted, and that buck was gone, as was my patience.
That’s what it’s like to hunt in Michigan. One bad move, or a bit of bad luck, and you’re eating tag soup. But what if you got it all right? What if one ambitious hunter pulled off the perfect season, filling every tag from ducks to deer? He’d be dragging home 1,200 pounds of lean, wild, pure Michigan meat for about 37 cents a pound. That could easily feed a family of five for a year.
Here’s the breakdown for a Michigan resident crazy enough to chase this dream.
You’d have to start with the Base License, $11, which gets you small game like pheasants and grouse. Then come the big tickets:
- Deer Combo License: $20 for two bucks.
- Universal Antlerless Deer Licenses: Up to 10 at $20 a pop, so $200.
- Elk Tag: $100 if you win the lottery, plus a $5 application fee.
- Bear Tag: $25 if luck’s on your side, plus another $5 to enter the draw.
- Turkey Tags: $15 each for spring and fall, $30 total, maybe $10 more for draw applications.
- Waterfowl Licenses: $12 for Michigan’s stamp, plus $25 for the federal duck stamp.
Total tag cost: $413. Not bad for a shot at half-a-ton of meat. But the real cost is in time, sweat, gear, gas, ammo, and patience.
If you’re some kind of hunting savage or savant, here’s what you could bring home if you fill all your tags:
- Deer: 12 (2 bucks, 10 does) × 60 pounds each = 720 pounds. Venison steaks for days.
- Elk: 250 pounds. A freezer-filling beast.
- Bear: 125 pounds. Smoky and rich—better than you’d think (bear grease is delicious).
- Turkey: 2 × 12 pounds each = 24 pounds. Thanksgiving, sorted.
- Ducks: 20 × 1.5 pounds each = 30 lbs. Pluck ‘em and roast ‘em.
- Geese: 5 × 5 pounds each = 25 pounds. Greasy, but delicious.
- Pheasants: 10 × 1.5 pounds each = 15 pounds. Fancy dinner material.
- Grouse: 10 × 0.75 pounds each = 7.5 pounds. Tiny, yet tasty.
The grand total would end up somewhere around 1,196.5 pounds of wild game. That’s a chest freezer (or two) stuffed full for just $413 in tags—37 cents a pound for meat.
Compare that to $5-a-pound grocery-store beef, and it seems like a compelling idea. But it’s called hunting, not harvesting, for a reason. This endeavor wouldn’t be a simple shopping trip at Meijer.
First, you’ve got to beat the lottery odds. Since there are so few elk in Michigan, you have to enter a lottery system just to pull a tag. Drawing an elk tag in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula is currently less than a 1% chance of success. Bear tags are a bit easier, but still a coin flip. If you miss either, your perfect season is over.
Next is the cost of the gear. You’d need a bow or rifle (or both); camo and gear for several different seasons and species; and ammo, the price of which is certainly keeping up with inflation. As any hunter’s wife will tell you, hunting isn’t cheap.
And don’t forget the gas it takes to haul your sorry self all over the state to hit all the seasons. And if you get this far, don’t forget about the butchering, which is at a minimum $100 for a pro to process a deer, and much more for an elk or a bear. You could do it yourself, but you’d need a complete butcher setup, with knives, grinders, and vacuum-sealed bags, not to mention you’ll be elbow-deep in raw meat for hours at a time.
Then, there is the time cost. You’re talking about spending months in the woods, 4 a.m. wake-ups, frozen boots, and long hikes through rain, snow, and mud. You’d need the stamina of a wolverine and the patience of a saint to pull something like this off.
Most hunters will never come close to the perfect season. A good season for a Michigan hunter is typically a few deer and geese, and maybe a turkey. But in my heart, I’m an optimist. I’m rooting for the next Michigan legend, like Fred Bear or Ted Nugent, to step up to the plate. It’s extremely unlikely, but greatness always is.
Michigan’s woods are pretty generous when it comes to wildlife, but they don’t hand out free lunches. If you are ambitious and crazy enough to go for the perfect season, I’m rooting for you. But you’re going to have to earn it.
Tom Zandstra is a passionate outdoorsman and CEO of The Fair Chase. Follow him on X @TheFairChase1.
