131 hunters find success during December elk hunt in Northern Michigan

Elk

Brent Tackett with the cow elk he took during the December 2020 elk hunting seasonMichigan DNR

LANSING, MI – Ideal weather conditions contributed to a successful Michigan elk hunt in December.

According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 131 state hunters harvested elk (46 bulls, 72 cows and 13 calves), and one Pure Michigan Hunt winner harvested a bull during the season; the second of two scheduled this fall and winter.

The first elk season took place in September and October 2020 and is designed to target elk outside of their traditional range.

The December season is used to manage overall elk numbers, including those in the core elk management area, which includes Presque Isle, Montmorency, Cheboygan, Otsego, Alpena, Oscoda, Charlevoix, Alcona and Crawford counties

In total, hunters in hunt periods 1 and 2 harvested 214 elk, and all three Pure Michigan Hunt winners harvested bulls.

The weather during the nine-day December season was nearly ideal for hunters afield with temperatures consistently below freezing with multiple fresh, light snowfalls. The snow cover remained throughout the entire hunt, providing excellent tracking conditions, according to the DNR.

“This was truly the experience of a lifetime, plus, I was blessed that I shot my elk successfully,” said hunter Brent Tackett.

Tackett is pictured above with guide Mike Krupnek and the cow elk he took.

“You will see the woods in back of the picture, that is the type of woods I shot through, over 120-yards up on a hill where the elk was momentarily standing,” he said.

“I really didn’t know Michigan had so many steep hills and that I would have to track elk over hundreds of them. The prize was getting my elk in a successful hunt, it was an amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Elk licenses are very limited in Michigan and only available through drawing. For more information about future hunts, click here.

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