Michigan’s Liberty Hunt is a two-day statewide firearm deer season held in early September for youth aged 16 and younger and for hunters with qualifying disabilities. In 2026 it runs September 12–13 on public and private land open to firearm deer hunting.1Department of Natural Resources. Hunting Season Calendar Because it falls weeks before the regular archery opener, participants get a quieter, less crowded season that suits mentored hunts and accessible setups.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility runs in two tracks: youth and hunters with disabilities. You qualify if you fit any one of these:2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary
- Youth 16 or younger. Ages 10–16 can hunt with a bow, crossbow, or firearm. Ages 9 and younger must be licensed through the Mentored Hunting Program and accompanied by a qualified mentor.
- Veterans rated 100 percent disabled, or rated individually unemployable, by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Holders of a DNR permit to hunt from a standing vehicle, issued for a permanent disability that prevents walking.
- Holders of a DNR permit to hunt using a laser-sighting device.
- Blind individuals.
- Deaf individuals.
Non-resident youth are also eligible. If you’re a non-resident under 17, you can buy the base license at the resident rate.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary
Licenses and Identification
Every hunter in Michigan needs a base license before buying any species license. Liberty Hunt participants also need at least one deer license: a single deer license (one kill tag) or a deer combo license (a regular tag and a restricted tag). A universal antlerless license also works during this season for antlerless deer in the management unit and land type it was issued for.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary These licensing rules sit under Part 435 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.3Michigan Legislature. MCL 451-1994-III-2-2-435 Hunting and Fishing Licensing
Licenses are sold through authorized DNR agents and the eLicense website. To buy one you’ll need a Michigan driver’s license, a nonresident driver’s license, a Michigan Secretary of State ID card, or a Michigan DNR Sportcard (issued by the DNR to anyone without a driver’s license or state ID).2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary
Disabled veterans must carry their VA documentation of the 100 percent or individually-unemployable rating when obtaining a free license and while hunting.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary Standing vehicle permit holders should keep their permit on them. Every hunter must be ready to show a license to a conservation officer on request.
Adults With Youth Hunters
Youth hunters can’t head into the field alone. A parent or legal guardian must ensure the youth is accompanied by an adult who meets the requirements of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.4State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Commissioner Walters Amendment 2 – Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No 8 of 2025 For children 9 and younger, that adult must be a qualified mentor under the Mentored Hunting Program, and the mentor must stay within arm’s length of the child at all times. A mentor may carry up to two hunting devices.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary
The rule that surprises parents most: an adult accompanying a youth firearm deer hunter generally cannot carry a firearm, crossbow, or bow. Two exceptions apply. The adult is a qualified mentor under the Mentored Hunting Program, or the adult is a 100-percent-disabled veteran hunting under their own Liberty Hunt authority.5State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Commissioner Walters Amendment 2 – Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No 8 of 2025a> If you’re a parent tagging along and neither exception applies, you’re there as a guide and safety supervisor, not as a hunter.
What You Can Harvest
The Liberty Hunt has historically allowed one antlered deer and multiple antlerless deer, each antlerless deer requiring its own valid kill tag from a single deer license, a deer combo tag, a universal antlerless license, or a deer management assistance permit.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary
The Natural Resources Commission adopted a change beginning with the 2025 season restricting both the Liberty Hunt and the Independence Hunt to antlerless deer only. That provision is set to expire on July 12, 2029.4State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Commissioner Walters Amendment 2 – Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No 8 of 2025 Because the DNR regulations summary and the NRC amendment reflect different implementation stages, check the current-year hunting digest before your hunt to confirm whether antlered deer are legal during the 2026 Liberty Hunt.
Firearms, Hunter Orange, and Blinds
Youth aged 10–16 may use a bow, crossbow, or firearm.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary Across most of Michigan, shotguns, rifles, muzzleloaders, bows, and crossbows are legal for deer. In the limited firearm zone covering most of the southern Lower Peninsula, rifles must use straight-walled cartridges of .35 caliber or larger, with a case length between 1.16 and 1.80 inches. Shotguns, muzzleloaders, bows, and crossbows remain legal statewide.
Every participant must wear hunter orange as the outermost layer, visible from all directions. A cap, hat, vest, jacket, or rain coat qualifies. Any hunter orange garment, including hunter orange camouflage, must be at least 50 percent orange.6Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Hunting Safety
If you leave a ground blind overnight on public land, you must affix your name and address, complete driver’s license number, or DNR Sportcard number in legible English readable from the ground.7Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Hunters, Follow Best Practices This Firearm Deer Season Blinds can go up no earlier than 10 days before the season opens and must come down by the end of the season they’re used for.8Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Use of Ground Blinds on Public Land by Hunters With Disabilities The identification tag requirement doesn’t apply on private land, though you still need landowner permission.
Baiting Rules Vary by Peninsula
Baiting and feeding of deer are banned across the entire Lower Peninsula on both public and private land. One exception applies to Liberty Hunt eligibility: hunters with qualifying disabilities—veterans with 100 percent or individually-unemployable ratings, standing vehicle permit holders, laser-sighting device permit holders, and blind individuals—may use bait in the Lower Peninsula. Eligible hunters can begin placing bait for the Liberty Hunt five days before the season opens.9Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Baiting and Feeding
In the Upper Peninsula, baiting is allowed from September 15 through January 1. Bait volume cannot exceed two gallons at any hunting site and must be scattered directly on the ground over a minimum area of 10 feet by 10 feet. Spin-cast feeders are permitted if they stay within the volume limit. Bait includes grains, minerals, salt blocks, fruits, vegetables, hay, and other food materials placed as a hunting aid.9Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Baiting and Feeding
Penalties are steep. Unlawful baiting carries fines of $50 to $500 and up to 90 days of imprisonment, with possible license revocation. If you actually harvest a deer over illegal bait, fines run $200 to $1,000, plus $1,000 reimbursement per deer, 5 to 90 days of imprisonment, and revocation of all hunting licenses for the rest of the year plus three additional calendar years.10Michigan Courts. DNR Penalties
CWD Carcass Movement
Chronic Wasting Disease rules affect how you can move a harvested deer. If you harvest a deer in certain townships within Montcalm, Ionia, or Kent counties, you cannot transport the whole carcass outside those designated areas. You can move deboned meat, quarters without spinal column or head attached, cleaned antlers or skull caps, hides, and upper canine teeth. You can also take an intact carcass directly to a registered processor, or the head directly to a licensed taxidermist.11Michigan Department of Natural Resources. CWD Hunting Regulations Boundaries shift year to year as new detections occur, so check the DNR’s CWD page before your hunt.
For 2026, the DNR is running focused CWD testing in Ionia, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, and Newaygo counties. Testing is free for deer harvested in those counties when submitted through DNR drop boxes or staffed sample sites, and hunters outside those counties can request free self-sample shipping kits.12Michigan Department of Natural Resources. CWD Testing
Reporting Your Harvest
Every successful deer hunter in Michigan must report the harvest within 72 hours of the kill, or before transferring the animal to another person, a processor, or a taxidermist, whichever comes first.13Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Harvest Reporting File the report online at the DNR’s harvest reporting portal or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish mobile app. You’ll need your kill tag license number and date of birth to start, then the date of harvest, location, and physical details of the animal.
Failing to report is a state civil infraction with a fine of up to $150. Biologists use this data to calibrate harvest quotas and monitor herd health across management units.
Independence Hunt: A Separate Season
If you qualify for the Liberty Hunt because of a disability, you may also be eligible for the Independence Hunt, typically held in mid-October. That season is limited to private land and select public lands requiring an access permit. Youth are not eligible. The qualifying disabilities match the Liberty Hunt list, but the bag limit is more restrictive: one deer total, antlered or antlerless.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary Participating in both hunts spreads your harvest opportunities across the fall.