Kyle Schafer’s buck was one of about 272,000 deer that Michigan sportsmen bagged this firearm hunting season.

“I shot a seven-point with a ten-inch spread,” said the Weidman sophomore, who sat with a friend who bagged a six-pointer on opening day.

The kill count was slightly lower than last year according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The drop was slight, approximately 1,000 below the 273,000 total in 2007.

Numbers for 2008 were expected to be lower because of the new baiting laws, said DNR Northwest Wildlife Manager Larry Visser.

The state banned all deer and elk baiting in the Lower Peninsula in August to prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease after an infected deer was discovered in Kent County.

“We didn’t see a significant change in the harvest because of the new baiting laws,” Visser said.

Many hunters felt the DNR overreacted to the disease and worried the ban would make it difficult to get a deer within shooting range of blinds and tree stands. At least one lawsuit was filed challenging the ban.

Mid-Michigan had a nearly 6,000 deer harvest increase over 2007 according to the DNR. The southern Lower Peninsula had the largest harvest at 149,000, while the Upper Peninsula – where there was no baiting ban – had the only decrease this year, down nearly 22 percent.

“It seems like southern Michigan harvest numbers were up a little bit, but it was definitely up in our area,” Visser said.

Schafer said he was pleased with not only the hunting season, but with the results around mid-Michigan.

“I didn’t expect to see that many deer, and areas with more crops were better this season due to the new baiting laws,” Schafer said. “A lot of local areas shot decent bucks.”

Archery deer season ran Oct. 1 through Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 through Jan. 1. Firearm season was Nov. 15 through 30.

Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said it was a good hunting season from his standpoint.

“This is one of the few years that I can recall that there were no injuries to report,” Mioduszewski said. “Previous years, we had people fall out of their tree stands.”

Law enforcement and DNR officials had to deal with a minimum number of law violations as well, Visser said.

“There were some violations and tickets were written like always,” he said.

Visser also said tickets written dealt with common violations during the hunting season including license issues, trespassing and a few baiting violators.

“We had a few trespassing calls, but from a law enforcement perspective, it was a great season,” Mioduszewski said.

Waterfowl season open until Feb. 1

The DNR announced on Dec. 29 that the late Canada and Michigan goose hunting season, which began Jan. 3, will end Feb. 1.

This is only in effect for the southern zone of Michigan, which is south of M-20, and excludes Allegan and Muskegon County’s Goose Management Units.

The daily bag limit will be five. For more information, visit michigan.gov or contact any DNR station. The Bay City DNR office phone number is 989-684-9141.

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E-mail the author: Edward Schutter