Michigan’s 2026 Liberty Hunt Harvest Is In, and One County Dominated

Michigan deer season is underway, which means somebody's kid already has a hunting story that will torment Uncle Dave through Thanksgiving.

Good. Dave's been telling the same eight-point story since 1997.

Michigan's 2026 Liberty Hunt Opened Deer Season

A graphic showing the statewide total for white tailed deer harvested during Michigan's first season of 2026, the Liberty Hunt.

Michigan’s 2026 Liberty Hunt ran September 12–13, giving hunters age 16 and younger and people with qualifying disabilities an early opportunity to hunt whitetails. The early antlerless firearm season ran the same weekend, too. These numbers specifically cover the Liberty/Youth Hunt.

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According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) online harvest reporting tool, 5,260 deer were harvested statewide, including 4,198 antlered deer and 1,062 antlerless deer.

That puts bucks at nearly 80 percent of the total, roughly four for every doe. Antlered deer dominated this opening-weekend report. One wrinkle in the bucks-versus-does comparison: "antlerless" can include young bucks, so those categories aren't a perfect male-versus-female comparison.

Which Michigan County Led the Liberty Hunt?

Photo Credit: Canva

Montcalm County claimed the largest reported harvest and the highest antlered total. This means, somewhere, a Montcalm hunter is preparing to bring this up at every family gathering until Christmas. Possibly longer.

RELATED: Michigan Deer Hunters Face Major Rule Changes in 2026

The report also includes three counties with zero reported deer. That could change as late reported harvests are added to the system.

How did your county stack up against the rest of Michigan? Scroll on for a complete look at the 2026 Liberty Hunt.