Additional Hunting Rules

• Assist a tribal member engaged in treaty-authorized hunting unless the non-tribal member assisting: 1) has a state license for that activity and complies with all state laws including season dates covering that activity, or 2) is the spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling of the tribal member who is present during the activity, and as long as such assistance by the family member does not include using a firearm, crossbow or bow.
• Hunt or pursue wild animals or birds from a car, snowmobile, aircraft, motorboat, personal water craft, ORV or other motorized vehicle, or by a sailboat. Exceptions: See 2012- 2013 Michigan Waterfowl Hunting Digest; special permits may also apply.



• Set fires to drive out game.



• Use snares, traps, cages, nets, pitfalls, deadfalls, spears, drugs, poisons, chemicals, smoke, gas, explosives, ferrets, weasels or mechanical devices other than firearms, crossbows, bows and arrows, or slingshots to take wild birds or animals, except as provided by trapping rules or special permit.



• Buy or sell game, except as provided by the Wildlife Conservation Order 4.3.



• Destroy the identity of game or evidence of the sex of game while in the field or when transported in a motor vehicle. Exception: See Transportation of Game for deer, bear and elk.



• Hunt from a tree, raised platform or scaffold with a firearm. Exceptions: See Raised Platforms and Tree Stands for rules when hunting bear, deer, fox and coyote. Also see the 2012-2013 Waterfowl Hunting Digest for waterfowl hunting blind regulations.



• Hunt while under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or controlled substances.



• Use cartridges containing tracer or explosive bullets. A silencer or similar apparatus on a firearm is illegal.



• Camp on state land without a permit. Permits are free and are available online at www.michigan.gov/stateforestcampgrounds or at any DNR office. They must be posted at your campsite. A fee is charged for camping at designated campsites in state parks, recreation areas, state forest campgrounds and some state game areas.



• Make use of a dog in hunting deer or elk except that a dog may be used to locate a down or mortally wounded deer or elk if the dog is kept on a leash and no persons in attendance possess a firearm, crossbow or bow.
  Exception: If accompanied by a licensed dog tracker, a hunter may possess a firearm, a cocked crossbow, or a bow with nocked arrow, only at the time and point of kill. If the tracking is done at night, artificial lights ordinarily carried in the hand, or on the person, may be used. A dog that barks while tracking the deer shall not be used on public lands.



• Harm or harass a deer or bear when it is swimming in a stream, river, pond, lake or other waterbody.



• Kill or wound any game without making a reasonable attempt to retrieve the animal and include it in the daily bag.



• Shoot reptiles and amphibians with a firearm (including spring, air or gas propelled).