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Southwest Michigan
Ingham County Hunting
What Michigan sets for Ingham County: deer Zone 3, its DMUs, baiting status, bear unit none, spring turkey unit ZZ, plus harvest history and public ground.
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
By the Census measure, Ingham County holds 556 square miles of land; its seat is Mason. Around 290,427 people lived there in 2024, 1.8% more than at the 2020 base. Every acre falls in Zone 3; 4 deer units cover it. License questions go to the DNR Lansing Customer Service Center, about 9 miles away. It sits inside DNR Law Enforcement District 8. Our land list holds 2 properties with ground in Ingham County, led by Dansville State Game Area at 5,003 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.
Ingham County openers and closers in one table
Private ground and public ground share these dates in Ingham 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 | |
| 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 3 | Oct 20, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Pheasant | December | Zone 3 | Dec 1, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| Bobwhite quail | Fall | Open quail county | 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 | South Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 2 | South Zone | Dec 26, 2026 | Dec 27, 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 | South Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 2 | South Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 3 | South Zone | Dec 26, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 4 | South Zone | Feb 6, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 1 | South Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 2 | South Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 3 | South Zone | Dec 26, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 4 | South Zone | Feb 6, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 Ingham County deer rules work
A hunter may fill at most 5 universal antlerless licenses in Ingham County; the statewide purchase cap is 10. Ingham County is on the early and late antlerless firearm list: Sep 12 to Sep 13, 2026 and Dec 7, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027. No 3-point rule in these units.
| Unit | Name | Type | Antlerless use limit | Antler rule (single license) | Reported deer 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMU 033 | Ingham county | County unit | 5 | Statewide only | 5,420 |
| DMU 333 | Core CWD area | Overlay unit | 5 | Statewide only | — |
| DMU 419 | CWD Management Zone | Overlay unit | 5 | Statewide only | — |
| DMU 486 | Southern Lower Peninsula multi-county | Overlay unit | 5 | Statewide only | — |
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 Ingham 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.
Ingham County public properties with acreage
Ingham County counts 2 public properties open to hunting; posted safety zones and refuges inside them still apply. 3 HAP properties in Ingham County add 479 leased acres.
- State game areas: 2Dansville State Game Area (5,003 ac), Grand River Gale Road State Game Area (143 ac)
Outside the line but near: Rose Lake State Wildlife Area 4,089 ac, 14 miles out; Windsor Township State Game Area 328 ac, 16 miles out; Lake Interstate State Game Area 122 ac, 16 miles out; Malan Waterfowl Production Area 141 ac, 18 miles out; Gregory State Game Area 2,706 ac, 18 miles out.
Leave the guns home at Meridian-Baseline State Park and Mike Levine Lakelands Trail State Park: the DNR marks them closed.
Land across Michigan · About game areas · HAP farms
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 Ingham County, 2022 on
Mandatory reports show 5,420 deer for Ingham County in 2025, 1.8% of the statewide 295,847. Compared with 2022 (4,803 deer), 2025 was +13%, and the best full year is 2024 (5,502). 2026 so far: 332 antlered, 566 antlerless.
| License year | Antlered | Antlerless | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to Oct. 22) | 332 | 566 | 898 |
| 2025 | 2,664 | 2,756 | 5,420 |
| 2024 | 2,659 | 2,843 | 5,502 |
| 2023 | 2,502 | 2,207 | 4,709 |
| 2022 | 2,719 | 2,084 | 4,803 |
DNR Harvest Report Summary (reported deer by county, all seasons, read October 22, 2026; 2026 is in progress). Checked October 22, 2026.
Ingham County deer disease status
Ingham County is a CWD management zone county. Ingham County has had at least one CWD-positive wild deer since 2015. There is no separate Ingham County line in the DNR test tables for 2022-2026. CWD testing is required before donating a Ingham County deer.
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.
Ingham County: bears, gobblers and birds
Black bear
The DNR sets no bear season for the Dansville unit that covers Ingham County.
Turkey hunts
The spring unit is ZZ. 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 Ingham County stands at 430 (fall still open). Fall 2025 survey: 213 hunters, 29% success.
| Unit | Spring 2026 dates | Licenses | Hunt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide | May 2–May 31 | Unlimited | 0234 |
| ZZ* | April 18–May 31 | Unlimited | 0301 |
| ZZ | April 18–May 1 | 8,000 | 0302 |
| ZZ | May 2–31 | 8,000 | 0303 |
Small game and birds
Look for released pheasants at Dansville.
Bear management units · Turkey 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.
Ingham 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.
Ingham 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.
- Masoncourthouse town · 8,314 inhabitants · 4,972 public acres within 10 miles
- Dansville525 inhabitants · 4,836 public acres within 10 miles
- Haslett3,970 public acres within 10 miles
- Lansing114,336 inhabitants · 1,375 public acres within 10 miles
- Leslie1,936 inhabitants · 4,974 public acres within 10 miles
- Stockbridge1,298 inhabitants · 35,850 public acres within 10 miles
Ingham County borders 5 Michigan counties.
Towns: Census 2024 Gazetteer and Vintage 2024 estimates; adjacency from the Census county adjacency file.
Venison cutting and mounts in Ingham County
Michigan publishes no list of taxidermy permit holders or guides, so those rows come from directories.
Ingham 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.
Burn bans and permits in Ingham County
Ingham County status today: open the Michigan county list.
- When a permit is needed: 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): Ingham County is 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).
- Campfires while hunting: Campfires for cooking or recreation need no DNR permit.
Ingham County ranges, clubs and shoots
This guide counts 6 ranges in Ingham County, and Dansville Shooting Range is a DNR range.
Set up for trap, shotgun
Set up for handgun, smallbore rimfire, archery
Set up for archery, 3D archery
Set up for rifle, handgun
Dates in this county
| Day and event | Discipline | Enter |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22-23, 2027 ▸ Okemos 3D Tournament | NASP | Match details |
| Feb 19-20, 2027 ▸ Okemos Battle of the Bows | NASP | Match details |
| Mar 5-6, 2027 ▸ MI NASP State 3D Championship | NASP | Match details |
| Mar 5-6, 2027 ▸ MI NASP State Bullseye Championship | NASP | Match details |
Ranges from the DNR shooting page, the DNR range list and directory listings, checked October 22, 2026.
Ingham County on the Michigan events calendar
On file for this county: 1 upcoming event (outdoor show).
Scheduled
| On | Event | Where held | Sign-up | Found at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 2026 | Hunter Appreciation Day (Michigan DNR, statewide drop-in) / Outdoor show | Lansing (Ingham Co.) | Event details | Source |
What Ingham County hunters ask the DNR
Do bear hunters in Ingham County bait?
There is no bear season in the county.
Does Ingham County get a bear license quota?
No. Dansville, its bear unit, has no 2026 hunt.
How many turkeys were reported in Ingham County?
414 in spring 2026.
Which Ingham County public tracts should a first-timer scout?
The three largest on our list: Dansville State Game Area and Grand River Gale Road State Game Area.
Do I need a confirmation number for a Ingham County deer?
Yes. Keep the number from the online or app report.
What orange counts in Ingham County?
A cap, hat, vest, jacket or rain gear of hunter orange; camo needs 50% or more orange.
When is firearm deer season in Ingham County?
Nov 15 to Nov 30, 2026, then December firearm Dec 4 to Dec 6, 2026.
When is the Independence Hunt in Ingham County?
Oct 15 to Oct 18, 2026, for qualified hunters with disabilities.
Who cuts venison for Ingham County hunters?
Our closest listings are Mark's Deer Processing, Custom Meat Cutters and Great Lakes Custom Meats & More; ring before you drop off a deer.
Do several DMUs overlap in Ingham County?
Yes, 4 of them: DMU 033, DMU 333, DMU 419 and DMU 486.
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 Ingham 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: Dextera Photography (CC BY-SA 2.0); RTD Photography (CC BY-SA 2.0); Ligocsicnarf89 (CC BY 4.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0); robin_ottawa (CC BY-SA 2.0); Greg Schechter (CC BY 2.0); USFWS Mountain Prairie (CC BY 2.0).