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The northern Lower Peninsula
Missaukee County Hunting
What Michigan sets for Missaukee County: deer Zone 2, its DMUs, baiting status, bear unit Red Oak, spring turkey unit NN, plus harvest history and public ground.
Photo: zenmasterdod (CC BY-SA 2.0)
By the Census measure, Missaukee County holds 565 square miles of land; its seat is Lake City. Around 15,239 people lived there in 2024, 1.2% more than at the 2020 base. Every acre falls in Zone 2; 1 deer unit cover it. License questions go to the DNR Cadillac Customer Service Center, about 17 miles away. It sits inside DNR Law Enforcement District 5. Our land list holds 7 properties with ground in Missaukee County, led by Houghton Lake State Wildlife Research Area at 12,131 acres.
Census 2024 Gazetteer and Vintage 2024 estimates (population), DNR region from the DNR wildlife region layer, deer zones from the DNR zone layer, law enforcement districts from the DNR district layer, customer service centers from the DNR contact page. Checked October 22, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Missaukee County
Missaukee County openers and closers in one table
Private ground and public ground share these dates in Missaukee County; a state park, refuge or national lakeshore can set its own limits.
| Animal | Segment | Area | Starts | Ends | Open now? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Early antlerless firearm | Listed antlerless county | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Liberty Hunt | Statewide | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Archery, early | Statewide | Oct 1, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Independence Hunt | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Regular firearm | Statewide | Nov 15, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Archery, late | Statewide | Dec 1, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| White-tailed deer | December firearm | Lower Peninsula | Dec 4, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Late antlerless firearm | Listed antlerless county | Dec 7, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 (firearm/bait/dogs) | Red Oak BMU | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 22, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 (archery only) | Red Oak BMU | Oct 2, 2026 | Oct 8, 2026 | |
| Elk | Hunt period 1 | Elk unit X | Sep 23, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 | |
| Elk | Hunt period 2 | Elk unit X | Dec 1, 2026 | Dec 15, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Fall unit I | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Ruffed grouse | Fall first part | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Ruffed grouse | Fall second part | Statewide | Dec 1, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| Woodcock | Fall | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Oct 29, 2026 | |
| Pheasant | Fall | Zone 2 | Oct 20, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Fox and gray squirrel | Private-land season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 14, 2026 | |
| Fox and gray squirrel | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Cottontail | Private-land season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 14, 2026 | |
| Cottontail | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Snowshoe hare | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Crow | Summer | Statewide | Aug 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Crow | Late winter | Statewide | Feb 1, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Teal | Early teal | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 9, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 1 | Middle Zone | Oct 3, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 2 | Middle Zone | Dec 12, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Waterfowl | Veterans days | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Waterfowl | Youth weekend | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 1 | Middle Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 2 | Middle Zone | Oct 3, 2026 | Dec 18, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 1 | Middle Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 2 | Middle Zone | Oct 3, 2026 | Dec 18, 2026 | |
| Raccoon | Management season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Raccoon | Hunting | Statewide | Oct 1, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Red and gray fox | Hunting | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Mar 1, 2027 | |
| Coyote | Management season | Statewide | Mar 2, 2026 | Oct 14, 2026 | |
| Coyote | Regular hunting | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Mar 1, 2027 | |
| Bobcat | Hunting | Bobcat Unit D | Jan 1, 2027 | Feb 1, 2027 | |
| Feral swine | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Opossum | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Skunk | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Woodchuck | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
From the Michigan Department of Natural Resources 2026 hunting regulation summaries (deer, bear, elk, turkey, small game, waterfowl and furbearer editions), checked October 22, 2026.
How Missaukee County deer rules work
A hunter may fill at most 5 universal antlerless licenses in Missaukee County; the statewide purchase cap is 10. Missaukee County is on the early and late antlerless firearm list: Sep 12 to Sep 13, 2026 and Dec 7, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027. Antlered deer in DMU 057 need 3 or more points on one side on a single license or combo regular tag.
| Unit | Name | Type | Antlerless use limit | Antler rule (single license) | Reported deer 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMU 057 | Missaukee county | County unit | 5 | 3+ points | 2,503 |
Nov. 15 opener
Regular firearm runs Nov 15 to Nov 30, 2026, then the Lower Peninsula December firearm hunt Dec 4 to Dec 6, 2026.
Bow season
The October segment is Oct 1 to Nov 14, 2026 and the late one Dec 1, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027.
Early special hunts
Sep 12 to Sep 13, 2026 is the Liberty Hunt weekend; Oct 15 to Oct 18, 2026 the Independence Hunt.
Bait and feed
Deer baiting is prohibited in Missaukee County, part of the peninsula-wide ban.
All units and limits · Antlerless license limits
Units from the Wildlife Conservation Order chapter XII and the county-to-unit list, use limits from the 2026 deer summary, early and late antlerless counties from the WCO list, antler rules from WCO 3.101l, baiting from the deer summary, reported harvest by unit from the DNR harvest report summary. Checked October 22, 2026.
Missaukee County public properties with acreage
Missaukee County counts 7 public properties open to hunting; posted safety zones and refuges inside them still apply. Forest Resources Division parcels in Missaukee County total 102,167 acres. Commercial Forest land, private but open on foot, covers 1,330 acres in Missaukee County.
- Research areas: 1Houghton Lake State Wildlife Research Area (12,131 ac*)
- Floodings (SWMAs): 5Dead Stream Flooding Wildlife Management Area (1,024 ac*), Grass Lake Marsh Flooding Wildlife Management Area (968 ac*), Addis Creek Flooding Wildlife Management Area (438 ac*), Cannon Creek Flooding No.1 Wildlife Management Area (156 ac), Cannon Creek Flooding No.2 Wildlife Management Area (92 ac)
- State game areas: 1Osceola-Missaukee Grasslands State Game Area (1,259 ac*)
- FMUs with land hereCadillac Forest Management Unit (102,167 ac in county)
Outside the line but near: Bear Creek Flooding Wildlife Management Area 942 ac, 13 miles out; Houghton Lake Flats South Flooding Wildlife Management Area 991 ac, 14 miles out; Houghton Lake Flats North Flooding Wildlife Management Area 838 ac, 14 miles out; Wraco Lodge Lake Flooding State Wildlife Management Area 2,018 ac, 17 miles out; Old Fur Farm Flooding Wildlife Management Area 2,063 ac, 19 miles out.
Land across Michigan · About game areas · State forest list · Walk-in Commercial Forest
Public land from the DNR wildlife property, park hunting-land and managed-lands layers and federal records; state forest acres from the DNR state forest lands (LOTS parcels); national forest acres from USFS land statistics; Commercial Forest acres from the DNR Commercial Forest program; HAP from the DNR HAP property list. Acres within 10 miles of the county seat are a GIS measure. Checked October 22, 2026.
Deer reported from Missaukee County, 2022 on
Mandatory reports show 2,503 deer for Missaukee County in 2025, 0.8% of the statewide 295,847. Compared with 2022 (2,899 deer), 2025 was -14%, and the best full year is 2024 (2,967). 2026 so far: 213 antlered, 210 antlerless.
| License year | Antlered | Antlerless | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to Oct. 22) | 213 | 210 | 423 |
| 2025 | 1,213 | 1,290 | 2,503 |
| 2024 | 1,542 | 1,425 | 2,967 |
| 2023 | 1,501 | 1,140 | 2,641 |
| 2022 | 1,505 | 1,394 | 2,899 |
DNR Harvest Report Summary (reported deer by county, all seasons, read October 22, 2026; 2026 is in progress). Checked October 22, 2026.
Missaukee County deer disease status
Missaukee County is not among the 18 counties with a CWD-positive wild deer. Focused surveillance here logged 42 tested and 0 positive in 2023. The donation program needs no disease test for deer from this county.
| Year | Tested | Detected |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 42 | 0 |
Disease testing in Michigan · UP baiting window
CWD areas and county lists from the 2026 deer summary and the WCO; tests by county from the DNR CWD testing data (results current to 10/16/2026 for 2026); TB from the deer summary; donation testing from the Hunters Feeding Michigan county lists. Checked October 22, 2026.
Missaukee County: bears, gobblers and birds
Black bear
For bears, Missaukee County is Red Oak country; each hunt period has its own quota. 282 bears came out of Red Oak in 2025, by the preliminary DNR count.
| Bear unit | Period | Dates 2026 | Quota | NR max | Applied 2025 | Points needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Oak | 1 | Sept. 12–22 and Oct. 2–8 | 685 | 34 | 9,336 | 9–10 |
| BMU | Registered 2024 | Registered 2025 (prelim.) | Success 2024 survey |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Oak | 346 | 282 | 57% |
Turkey hunts
The spring unit is NN. Rows show spring 2026, the most recent published hunts. Fall turkey hunters here use unit I, open Sep 15 to Nov 14, 2026. The 2026 turkey count for Missaukee County stands at 134 (fall still open). Fall 2025 survey: 151 hunters, 0% success.
| Unit | Spring 2026 dates | Licenses | Hunt |
|---|---|---|---|
| NN | April 18–May 1 | 18,000 | 0134 |
| Statewide | May 2–May 31 | Unlimited | 0234 |
Elk units
Missaukee County lies partly in elk unit X; 70 any-elk and 130 antlerless-only licenses were drawn. The 2025 elk hunts here took 161 animals.
| Period | Units | Begins | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunt period 1 | unit X | Sep 23, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
| Hunt period 2 | units H and X | Dec 1, 2026 | Dec 15, 2026 |
| Hunt period 2 | units I and X | Dec 1, 2026 | Dec 15, 2026 |
Small game and birds
Bear management units · Turkey units · Elk units
Bear units from the DNR bear unit layer; quotas, applicants and points from the 2026 bear summary; registrations from the same summary (2025 preliminary) and survey success from the DNR bear harvest reports; turkey hunts from the spring 2026 and fall 2026 summaries, reported turkeys from the turkey harvest report summary, fall 2025 survey from the DNR turkey report; elk from the elk summary and DNR elk report; bird units from the small game, waterfowl and furbearer summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Missaukee County legal hunting light
Every time below comes from the DNR deer table; the B, C and D columns add the offsets printed on the zone map legend.
| When | Event | A zone | B zone | C zone | D zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:59 a.m. to 7:46 p.m. | 7:05 a.m. to 7:52 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 7:58 p.m. | 7:17 a.m. to 8:04 p.m. |
| Oct 15, 2026 | Independence Hunt | 7:15 a.m. to 7:24 p.m. | 7:21 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. | 7:27 a.m. to 7:36 p.m. | 7:33 a.m. to 7:42 p.m. |
| Nov 15, 2026 | Firearm opener | 6:53 a.m. to 5:48 p.m. | 6:59 a.m. to 5:54 p.m. | 7:05 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 6:06 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Firearm close | 7:11 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. | 7:17 a.m. to 5:46 p.m. | 7:23 a.m. to 5:52 p.m. | 7:29 a.m. to 5:58 p.m. |
| Dec 5, 2026 | December hunts | 7:16 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. | 7:22 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. | 7:28 a.m. to 5:51 p.m. | 7:34 a.m. to 5:57 p.m. |
| Jan 1, 2027 | Late archery close | 7:31 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. | 7:37 a.m. to 5:46 p.m. | 7:43 a.m. to 5:52 p.m. | 7:49 a.m. to 5:58 p.m. |
Zone A times from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources deer hunting hours table, zone offsets from the DNR hunting hours map legend, checked October 22, 2026. Hunting hours for every zone.
Missaukee County towns and the counties that touch it
The acreage beside each town is open land inside a 10-mile ring, measured from GIS layers.
- Lake Citycourthouse town · 834 inhabitants · 27,114 public acres within 10 miles
- Jennings30,175 public acres within 10 miles
Missaukee County borders 7 Michigan counties.
Towns: Census 2024 Gazetteer and Vintage 2024 estimates; adjacency from the Census county adjacency file.
Venison cutting and mounts in Missaukee County
Michigan publishes no list of taxidermy permit holders or guides, so those rows come from directories.
Missaukee DNR and Forest Service contacts
For licenses, permits and hunter education tests, start at the customer service center.
Processors nearby
Taxidermy shops
Preserves nearby
Sporting goods
DNR customer service centers and field offices from the DNR contact page; processors from the Hunters Feeding Michigan list, DNR disease sample sites and directory listings; preserves from the DNR game bird preserve directory; shops from the DNR license agent map (license-only counters removed) and directories. Checked October 22, 2026; call ahead. All Michigan hunting services.
Burning rules in Missaukee County
Missaukee County status today: open the Michigan county list.
- Permits: Any time the ground is not snow-covered.
- Counties where DNR burn permits are not issued electronically (southern Lower Peninsula; local fire dept/government issues permits): Missaukee County is not on this list.
- Burn bans come from: (1) The DNR sets daily burn permit status by county and township ('No' = no open debris burning allowed).
- Fires on public land: Campfires for cooking or recreation need no DNR permit.
Missaukee County ranges, clubs and shoots
This guide counts 2 ranges in Missaukee County.
Set up for rifle, handgun, smallbore rimfire, action pistol, silhouette
Supply Road Shooting Range in Grand Traverse County is the nearest DNR range, about 27 miles. See the range
Ranges from the DNR shooting page, the DNR range list and directory listings, checked October 22, 2026.
Smaller public tracts in Missaukee County
1 smaller public area in Missaukee County, 92 acres together, each with its own section below: acres, office, zones, DNR map and the facts its agency documents give.
Cannon Creek Flooding No.2 Wildlife Management Area
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | State Wildlife Management Area |
| Acres | 92 (MI DNR Wildlife Property Boundary GIS Acres field) |
| County | Missaukee |
| DNR office | Cadillac Customer Service Center |
| Map point | 44.4930, -84.9732 (directions) |
| Zones | Deer Zone 2; Bear Management Unit Red Oak; Spring Turkey Hunt Unit NM; Waterfowl Middle Zone |
| Map | Area Map |
| Topic | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| History | Cannon Creek Flooding No.2 was retired, its control structures were removed and Cannon Creek has returned to natural flow there. | DNR area map for Cannon Creek Flooding No.2 Wildlife Management Area |
| Management | The neighboring Cannon Creek Flooding No.1 area is a co-management focus area of State Forest and uses State Forest rules. | DNR area map for Cannon Creek Flooding No.2 Wildlife Management Area |
What Missaukee County hunters ask the DNR
What happens after an elk is killed in Missaukee County?
It is reported the same day and taken to the DNR for sealing within 72 hours.
Who cuts venison for Missaukee County hunters?
Our closest listings are Chupp's Custom Butchering, Swick Custom Butchering and Denslow Processing; ring before you drop off a deer.
Do several DMUs overlap in Missaukee County?
No, just DMU 057.
Do DMA permits count toward the Missaukee County limit?
No. Deer management assistance permits do not count against use limits.
What was the best recent deer year in Missaukee County?
2024, with 2,967 deer reported.
Where can I get a Missaukee County deer tested for CWD?
Report the harvest first; the DNR lists drop boxes, staffed sites and free lymph-node kits on its CWD pages.
Do bear hunters in Missaukee County bait?
Yes, starting 31 days before the unit opener, with deer foods limited.
What are the Red Oak bear dates for Missaukee County hunters?
Period 1 runs Sept. 12–22 and Oct. 2–8; any other periods are in the table above.
How many turkeys were reported in Missaukee County?
129 in spring 2026.
Which Missaukee County public tracts should a first-timer scout?
The three largest on our list: Houghton Lake State Wildlife Research Area, Osceola-Missaukee Grasslands State Game Area and Dead Stream Flooding Wildlife Management Area.
Answers from the DNR 2026 regulation summaries, harvest reporting rules, MCL 324.40116, DNR harvest and CWD data and the sources cited above. Checked October 22, 2026.
Heading to Missaukee County
Dates on this page belong to the 2026-27 license year only; recheck the summaries if you plan ahead.
Sources: DNR 2026 hunting regulation summaries, Wildlife Conservation Order, township restrictions list, Michigan DNR hunting, Census and the agencies linked in each section. Checked October 22, 2026.
Other photos on this page: GerryT (CC BY 2.0); YoungSue (Public Domain Mark 1.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0); YellowstoneNPS (Public domain); San Bernardino Nat'l Forest (Public Domain Mark 1.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain); U.S. Geological Survey (CC0 1.0); rkramer62 (CC BY 2.0); Don Henise (CC BY 2.0).