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Schoolcraft County, Michigan
Hunting on Bullock Ranch State Wildlife Management Area: units and rules
DMU 048 and 021, bear and turkey units, closures, licenses and the nearest towns and services.
Photo: ksblack99 (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Getting to Bullock Ranch State Wildlife Management Area
Parking, trailheads and gates near Bullock Ranch State Wildlife Management Area
- Parking areaParking · 0.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 3.4 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 3.7 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
Bullock Ranch State WMA, the essentials
Bullock Ranch State Wildlife Management Area is a DNR wildlife management area (a flooding or marsh unit) in Schoolcraft County. Wildlife Division region: Upper Peninsula Region. The rules on site come from the DNR Wildlife Division. Size ranking: 3rd of 72 wildlife management areas, with 12,681 acres. A named polygon in the DNR boundary layer, it has no row on the list page. From Grand Marais it is about 23 miles south.
From the source page (MI DNR Wildlife Property Boundary GIS Acres field); region from the DNR wildlife region layer. Checked October 22, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Bullock Ranch State Wildlife Management Area
Bullock Ranch State WMA pinned among its neighbors
The bold pin marks Bullock Ranch State WMA, ringed by 10 other public tracts. Neighboring public acres on the map: 559,819.
| Area | Category | Acreage | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seney | Wildlife refuge | 95,238 | 6.7 mi | south |
| Little Fox River / Stanley Lake Flooding Wildlife Area | Flooding or WMA | 2,549 | 11 mi | northwest |
| Shingleton Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | 375,050 | 13 mi | southwest |
| Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore | National lakeshore | 73,235 | 19 mi | northwest |
| Melstrand | GEMS | 1,221 | 19 mi | west |
| Black Creek Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 2,777 | 20 mi | southeast |
| Cusino | Research area | 1,537 | 20 mi | west |
| Dollarville Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 3,013 | 22 mi | east |
| Blind Sucker River Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 5,084 | 24 mi | northeast |
| Rainey Wildlife Area (State Wildlife Management Area) | Flooding or WMA | 115 | 26 mi | southwest |
Points from the DNR wildlife, GEMS, parks, forest, USFS, USFWS and NPS layers (MI DNR Wildlife Property Boundary GIS (polygon centroid)). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
Access, rules and licenses for Bullock Ranch State WMA
Bullock Ranch State WMA: open to whom
Built around a flooding or waterfowl marsh, Bullock Ranch State WMA sits in or beside state forest land. Hunting and trapping follow the state seasons; posted refuges and closed areas are the exceptions.
Stands, orange and reporting at Bullock Ranch State WMA
- On public ground a tree stand must be portable and labelled, may stand from Sept. 1 to March 1, and may not penetrate the bark.
- Ground blinds: Sept. 1 through the deer seasons, no cutting of plants, and no constructed blinds on Zone 3 game areas, parks or recreation areas.
- Hunter orange is required from Aug. 15 to April 30 while taking game in daylight hours; archery deer and bear hunters, turkey hunters and migratory bird hunters other than woodcock are exempt.
- Mandatory harvest reporting: 72 hours for deer and turkey, by app or online.
- No firearm hunting within 150 yards (450 feet) of an occupied building without the occupant's written permission.
- No food plots or artificial gardens on public land.
- Bait for deer is allowed in the Upper Peninsula Sept. 15-Jan. 1, capped at 2 gallons.
- Bear bait here must be placed on the ground without containers.
- ORV and snowmobile limits, Nov. 15-30: 7-11 a.m. and 2-5 p.m.
The license bill for Bullock Ranch State WMA
Licenses sell through DNR eLicense, license agents and the Hunt Fish app; the base license comes first. Universal antlerless licenses are capped at 10 a year and limited by county or UP DMU.
Access from the source page; public-land stand, blind, safety-zone and food-plot rules from the DNR deer regulations summary; hunter orange from MCL 324.40116; prices from the 2026 license fee tables. Checked October 22, 2026.
Which animals Bullock Ranch State WMA offers
The agency names no particular game for Bullock Ranch State WMA; read every open season as applying within its rules.
Read the Schoolcraft County dates: 37 rows and 22 species, including White-tailed deer, Black bear, Wild turkey and Ruffed grouse.
Species from the source (No species list published; open seasons follow statewide/zone regulations.); bag limits from the DNR regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Bullock Ranch State WMA by zone and unit
For hunting and trapping it lies in Zone 1 (Upper Peninsula). DMU 351 appears on the layer but was rescinded for 2026. Universal antlerless licenses cannot be used in DMU 048 and DMU 021. In the Newberry BMU, 200 licenses go out for hunt 0016; residents needed 9–10 points in 2025. The DNR turkey layer gives spring unit M and fall unit M; no spring 2027 dates are out. For ducks use the North Zone splits, Sep 26-Nov 22 and Nov 28-Nov 29.
DMU details for Bullock Ranch State WMA
| DMU | Name | Status | Use limit | Restriction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMU 048 | Newberry unit | Closed | Closed | No |
| DMU 021 | Manistique unit | Open | Closed | No |
Bear hunting units at Bullock Ranch State WMA
| Unit | Hunts | License quota | Points 2025 | Registered 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newberry | 3 hunts | 880 | 9–10 | 334 |
Bullock Ranch State WMA: spring and fall turkey units
| Unit | Birds | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spring M | 1,254 | Whole unit, spring 2026 |
| Fall M | 124 | Fall 2026, unit |
Zones from the DNR 2026 zone layers as recorded in lands.json; DMU status and APR from the Wildlife Conservation Order; use limits from the 2026 deer summary; BMU hunts and quotas from the 2026 bear summary and bear registration data; turkey from the DNR turkey harvest report; CWD lists from the DNR CWD rules. Checked October 22, 2026.
What is open in Bullock Ranch State WMA this season
Archery and the Nov. 15 rifle opener are statewide, but bear units, fall turkey units, waterfowl zones and bobcat units decide the rest for Bullock Ranch State WMA.
| Species | Season | Applies | Opens | Closes | 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 | Newberry BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Newberry BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Newberry 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.
Bullock Ranch State WMA: reported deer, turkeys and CWD tests nearby
Hunters reported 790 deer in Schoolcraft County in 2025: 652 antlered and 138 antlerless. High year: 2022 at 928; low year: 2023 at 710. 2026 so far: 111 deer reported, season in progress. Schoolcraft County CWD results (2025): 0 positives from 61 tests. Schoolcraft County hunters reported 41 spring turkeys in 2026, the first year of mandatory turkey reporting. Harvest and CWD figures describe the county as a whole.
Schoolcraft County deer by year
| Year | Bucks | Antlerless | Deer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026* | 55 | 56 | 111 |
| 2025 | 652 | 138 | 790 |
| 2024 | 661 | 108 | 769 |
| 2023 | 580 | 130 | 710 |
| 2022 | 760 | 168 | 928 |
DMU harvest around Bullock Ranch State WMA
Schoolcraft County deer heads tested
| Year | Deer tested | CWD positive |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 61 | 0 |
| 2024 | 34 | 0 |
Turkey numbers near Bullock Ranch State WMA
| Measure | Turkeys |
|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | 41 |
| Fall 2026, partial | 3 |
| 2025 fall survey | 13 |
| Hunters (2025) | 46 |
Deer from the DNR Harvest Report Summary (mandatory reporting; 2026 season to date); CWD from the DNR CWD testing data; turkeys from the turkey harvest report and the 2025 fall survey. Checked October 22, 2026.
Where to stay and shop on a Bullock Ranch State WMA hunt
Start with a town, then line up a cooler, a processor and a mount.
| Town | County | Miles off | People | Public acres, 10 mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Marais | Alger | 23 mi | – | 38,149 |
| Newberry | Luce | 26 mi | 1,390 | 112,544 |
| Munising | Alger | 28 mi | 1,948 | 98,634 |
| Manistique | Schoolcraft | 28 mi | 2,871 | 57,864 |
County-level pages to read next: Schoolcraft County.
Where Bullock Ranch State WMA hunters get a deer cut or mounted
Bullock Ranch State WMA: the nearest agency desks
For Schoolcraft County, the DNR points to DNR Newberry Customer Service Center.
Towns and populations from Census 2024 estimates; public acres within 10 miles from the land layers; businesses from store locators and listings (license-only agents left out); offices from DNR, USFS and USFWS pages. Checked October 22, 2026. Call ahead.
Range time before hunting Bullock Ranch State Wildlife Management Area
Skoglund-Erickson Shooting Range (Marquette County) is the closest DNR range, 69 miles away. Two closer club ranges follow.
Shoots: handgun, rifle, shotgun, archery
Shoots: trap, shotgun, skeet, 5-stand, rifle
From the DNR shooting page and its range pages, checked October 22, 2026.
Opening and closing minutes for Bullock Ranch State WMA by zone
The DNR hunting-time map splits the state into Zones A to D from east to west. Each step west adds 6 minutes to the Zone A times below.
| Date | Season point | Zone A | Zone B | Zone C | Zone D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Bullock Ranch State WMA FAQ for 2026-27
Which licenses work on Bullock Ranch State WMA?
No special permit for most of it; the base license and the species license are enough.
Is there a second spot near Bullock Ranch State WMA?
Try Seney National Wildlife Refuge (7 miles), Little Fox River / Stanley Lake Flooding Wildlife Area (11 miles) and Shingleton Forest Management Unit (State Forest) (13 miles), measured in a straight line.
What kind of public ground is Bullock Ranch State WMA on paper?
It is a DNR wildlife management area (a flooding or marsh unit), run by the DNR Wildlife Division.
Is Bullock Ranch State WMA large enough for a full day afield?
About 12,681 acres.
Which covered town is closest to Bullock Ranch State WMA?
Base in Grand Marais, 23 miles away; it lies in Schoolcraft County.
Does Bullock Ranch State WMA publish a species list?
The record lists none, which means all open seasons, within the area rules.
How many antlerless licenses can I use at Bullock Ranch State WMA?
Units: 048 and 021.
Which BMU do I apply for to hunt Bullock Ranch State WMA?
The bear unit is Newberry. The bear drawing uses preference points; Newberry hunt 0016 has a quota of 200.
Is there a fall turkey season at Bullock Ranch State WMA?
Spring unit M, fall unit none.
What duck dates apply at Bullock Ranch State WMA?
The North Zone. Lead shot is not legal for waterfowl.
Can I scatter bait for deer on Bullock Ranch State WMA?
Yes within the 2-gallon UP limit. This county has no positive wild deer on the DNR list.
Does the Aug. 15 to April 30 orange rule cover Bullock Ranch State WMA?
Yes from Aug. 15 to April 30 while taking game, with exceptions for archery deer and bear, turkey and most migratory birds.
When must I report a turkey from Bullock Ranch State WMA?
Turkeys: within 72 hours, online or app (mandatory from 2026).
Heading to Bullock Ranch State WMA? Read this first
Print the Bullock Ranch State WMA map, carry your licenses, and check the agency page the week you go.
Sources for this page: DNR GIS · experience.arcgis.com: 433c5780079640079aecadd04b4fdc29; regulations from the 2026 Michigan hunting regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Other photos on this page: YoungSue (Public Domain Mark 1.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region (Public domain).