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Deer Zone 1 · Upper Peninsula
Ontonagon County Hunting
Ontonagon County sits in the Upper Peninsula, deer Zone 1. This guide covers its 3 deer units, universal antlerless limits, CWD and baiting status, bear and turkey units, public land with acres and the 2026-27 season table.
Photo: Curtis Abert (CC BY 2.0)
Out in the Upper Peninsula, Ontonagon County spreads across 1,311 square miles around Ontonagon. The 2024 population stood near 5,824, up 0.2% on 2020. The whole county is Zone 1 for deer, with 3 DMUs drawn over it. Hunters here line up at the Baraga customer service counter for DNR business. Conservation officers work it from Law Enforcement District 1. 2 public properties on the state and federal lists sit at least partly inside the line.
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 Ontonagon County
Ontonagon County season dates for 2026-27
22 species and 43 dated segments apply in Ontonagon County; the last column checks each against today.
| Quarry | Season | Zone | From | To | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Muzzleloader | Upper Peninsula | Dec 4, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 | Amasa BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 | Baraga BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 | Bergland BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Amasa BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Baraga BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Bergland BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Amasa BMU | Sep 25, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Baraga BMU | Sep 25, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Bergland BMU | Sep 25, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Fall unit M | 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 | |
| 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 | North Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 2 | North Zone | Nov 28, 2026 | Nov 29, 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 | North Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 1 | North Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 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 A | Jan 1, 2027 | 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.
DMUs that overlap Ontonagon County
No universal antlerless license may be used in DMU 027, DMU 066 and DMU 131. Ontonagon County, like every UP county, has no early or late antlerless hunt. Point rules are tighter north of the bridge, with 3 and 4 point minimums on combo tags.
| DMU | Called | Type | UAL limit | APR | 2025 reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMU 027 | Watersmeet unit | UP unit | Closed | UP rules | 507 |
| DMU 066 | Ontonagon unit | UP unit | Closed | UP rules | 392 |
| DMU 131 | Twin lakes unit | UP unit | Closed | UP rules | 343 |
Firearm dates
Long guns and slugs from Nov 15 through Nov 30; the UP muzzleloader weekend is Dec 4 to Dec 6, 2026.
Bows and crossbows
Two bow segments: Oct 1 to Nov 14, 2026, then Dec 1, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027.
Youth and disability hunts
Liberty Hunt Sep 12 to Sep 13, 2026, Independence Hunt Oct 15 to Oct 18, 2026.
Baiting and feeding
Deer baiting is legal in Ontonagon County Sept. 15-Jan. 1, up to 2 gallons per hunting site, scattered.
Deer unit index · Antlerless rules
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.
Ontonagon County public hunting land
The list holds every game area, flooding, park and refuge touching Ontonagon County, 2 in all, largest first within each type. 16,253 acres of state forest lie inside the county (Baraga Forest Management Unit). National forest land in Ontonagon County: 290,069 acres. Open Commercial Forest acreage here: 227,171.
- State parks (1 here)Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (59,561 acres*)
- Grouse sites (GEMS) (1 here)Norwich Grouse Enhanced Management Site (GEMS) (4,400 acres)
- State forest FMUsBaraga Forest Management Unit (16,253 acres in county)
- National forest and districtsOttawa National Forest (290,069 acres in county), Bergland Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest), Kenton Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest), Ontonagon Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest), Watersmeet Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest)
Neighbouring-county options: Pike Lake Flooding Wildlife Management Area 130 acres, 21 miles out; Hazel Swamp Grouse Enhanced Management Site (GEMS) 2,377 acres, 26 miles out; Baraga Plains State Wildlife Management Area 13,361 acres, 36 miles out; Sturgeon River Sloughs Wildlife Management Area 8,964 acres, 38 miles out; Blue Bill Creek Grouse Enhanced Management Site (GEMS) 9,491 acres, 38 miles out.
Agate Falls Scenic Site and Bond Falls Scenic Site do not allow hunting or trapping.
Michigan land hub · State forest system · National forests and refuges · 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.
Ontonagon County antlered and antlerless harvest
The 2025 total for Ontonagon County came to 712 deer, 12% of them antlerless. Across the four full years on file, 2022 was the high mark with 1,002 deer. 67 deer are in for 2026 to date, before the Nov. 15 opener.
| Year | Antlered | Does and fawns | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | 43 | 24 | 67 |
| 2025 | 625 | 87 | 712 |
| 2024 | 617 | 59 | 676 |
| 2023 | 507 | 93 | 600 |
| 2022 | 892 | 110 | 1,002 |
DNR Harvest Report Summary (reported deer by county, all seasons, read October 22, 2026; 2026 is in progress). Checked October 22, 2026.
Ontonagon County: CWD and TB
Ontonagon County has no confirmed CWD case in free-ranging deer. DNR testing data list 5 tested and 0 positive in 2024 and 7 tested and 0 positive in 2025. No disease test is needed to donate a Ontonagon County deer through Hunters Feeding Michigan.
| Year | Tested | Positive |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | 0 |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 |
Testing kits and drop boxes · LP bait ban, UP bait rules
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.
Bear, turkey and bird units in Ontonagon County
Bear drawing and harvest
Bear licenses for Ontonagon County are drawn by unit: Bergland, Baraga and Amasa. Those units registered 801 bears in 2025 (preliminary), unit-wide.
| BMU | Period | 2026 dates | Quota | Nonresident max | 2025 applicants | 2025 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergland | 1 | Sept. 9–Oct. 21 | 170 | 8 | 606 | 3–4 |
| Bergland | 2 | Sept. 14–Oct. 26 | 230 | 11 | 522 | 0–1 |
| Bergland | 3 | Sept. 25–Oct. 26 | 435 | 21 | 466 | 0 |
| Baraga | 1 | Sept. 9–Oct. 21 | 305 | 15 | 1,147 | 3–4 |
| Baraga | 2 | Sept. 14–Oct. 26 | 435 | 21 | 884 | 1–2 |
| Baraga | 3 | Sept. 25–Oct. 26 | 830 | 41 | 1,049 | 0–1 |
| Amasa | 1 | Sept. 9–Oct. 21 | 120 | 6 | 464 | 5–6 |
| Amasa | 2 | Sept. 14–Oct. 26 | 110 | 5 | 390 | 3–4 |
| Amasa | 3 | Sept. 25–Oct. 26 | 280 | 14 | 641 | 1–2 |
| Unit | Registered, 2024 | Registered, 2025* | Success rate 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bergland | 252 | 247 | 43% |
| Baraga | 352 | 349 | 33% |
| Amasa | 179 | 205 | 44% |
Wild turkey
For spring turkeys Ontonagon County is unit M; the 2026 hunts below are the latest published, and 2027 dates are not out yet. Fall turkey is unit M, Sep 15 to Nov 14, 2026, quota 2,200. Reported 2026 turkeys in Ontonagon County: 55 spring, 8 fall to date. Survey estimates for fall 2025 in Ontonagon County: 34 birds taken.
| Unit | Season 2026 | Quota | Hunt number |
|---|---|---|---|
| M | April 18–May 31 | 6,000 | 0110 |
| Statewide | May 2–May 31 | Unlimited | 0234 |
Upland and waterfowl
Bear drawing by unit · Turkey unit details
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.
Ontonagon County legal hunting light
Ducks and geese stop at sunset and early teal and woodcock start at sunrise; these deer times are for big game and most small game.
| Date | Moment | Zone A hours | Zone B hours | Zone C hours | Zone D hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Ontonagon County town guides and adjacent counties
Ontonagon County has 7 town guides, each with the public land within reach, nearby services and daily shooting hours.
- Ontonagonseat · 1,262 residents (2024) · 15,089 public acres close by
- Bergland77,415 public acres close by
- Bruce Crossing104,836 public acres close by
- Ewen87,502 public acres close by
- Mass City57,310 public acres close by
- Rockland65,727 public acres close by
- White Pine93,132 public acres close by
Cross the Ontonagon County line and you are in one of 4 Michigan counties, or in Ashland (WI) and Cook (MN).
Towns: Census 2024 Gazetteer and Vintage 2024 estimates; adjacency from the Census county adjacency file.
Ontonagon County processors, taxidermists and shops
Listings with a Ontonagon County address lead each group, and shops just over the line fill it out.
DNR and agency offices
Wildlife field offices keep short hours and share one DNR phone line; call first.
Meat processors
Taxidermy
Preserves and guides
Gun and bow shops
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.
Fires, permits and bans around Ontonagon County
See the Michigan county list for Ontonagon County today.
- Burn permit: 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): Ontonagon County is not on this list.
- Who sets a ban: (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.
Places to shoot in Ontonagon County
The first six Ontonagon County ranges are cards; any others are in the table.
Takes rifle, handgun, archery, trap, shotgun
Ranges from the DNR shooting page, the DNR range list and directory listings, checked October 22, 2026.
Ontonagon County hunting questions
How do I report a deer shot in Ontonagon County?
Online or in the Hunt Fish app within 72 hours of recovery, before you hand it to anyone.
Which state game areas are in Ontonagon County?
None; the public land here is other types.
How many bucks can I take in Ontonagon County?
Two antlered deer per license year statewide.
Is hunter pink legal in Ontonagon County?
The statute lets the commission authorize other colors such as hunter pink.
How many DMUs touch Ontonagon County?
3 units: DMU 027, DMU 066 and DMU 131.
How does a Ontonagon County hunter give a deer to Hunters Feeding Michigan?
Take it tagged and reported to a participating processor; Christnsen Dnald Cstm Btchring is the closest name we list.
How does Ontonagon County rank for deer harvest?
77th of 83 counties in 2025 (712 deer).
What is the antlerless use limit in Ontonagon County?
Zero; the county's units are closed.
Does the Lower Peninsula bait ban cover Ontonagon County?
No; the county is in the Upper Peninsula, where limited baiting is legal.
How many CWD deer has Michigan found?
389 confirmed since 2015, statewide.
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.
Ontonagon County trip checklist
DMU lines in Ontonagon County follow roads and rivers as well as county borders, so confirm your unit on the DNR map before you buy licenses.
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: Jim Sorbie (CC BY 2.0); USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain); USDA Forest Service Eastern Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0); AdamB1995 (CC BY 2.0); Yellowstone National Park (Public domain); A. Drauglis (CC BY-SA 2.0).