09/02/2026
September has arrived! This month, deer hunting kicks off with the Liberty Hunt and early antlerless seasons, opportunities for hunters with disabilities, youth hunters and antlerless deer hunters to get some venison. Before the seasons begin, here are some reminders.
To start, this year we have electronic harvest tags for deer. If you purchase on the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app, your deer tag will be electronic. This means when you harvest your deer, you will digitally notch the tag (no cell service required) and then report your harvest as you've done in the past.
Additional changes for deer hunting regulations are also in place this year. A few of the bigger changes:
🔶 Removal of the limited firearm deer zone, allowing hunters to use the same hunting equipment throughout the state.
🔶 Early antlerless deer season has moved to Sept. 12-13 to coincide with the Liberty Hunt.
We will add additional resources in the comments for hunting regulations summaries and additional adjustments to the 2026 deer season.
As always, we hope you see success if you're joining in on these early seasons and please remember to report your harvest. Harvest reporting is required, and helps provide real data that tracks impacts of hunting regulations and provides guidance for recommendations for future changes.
