Richard P. Smith

Caledonia, Mich. — The list of Bone and Crockett caliber bears  shot last year in Michigan continues to grow. What may have been the largest of them all, in terms of skull size, was recently measured. A bear that Jeff Kresnak from Caledonia shot with the help of hounds in Manistee County last September has

Marquette, Mich. — Most of the 184 deer fitted with radio collars last winter in the western UP for a deer migration study survived winter, according to reports on the project. Overall survival of all whitetails was 73 percent, but adults had better survival (81 percent) than fawns (64.6 percent). According to study results, adult does

Ann Arbor, Mich. — The typical 12-pointer that 78-year-old Cary Shear from Ann Arbor shot with a crossbow on Nov. 11, 2017 in Washtenaw County is officially a new state record among typical crossbow kills after being panel measured by three Commemorative Bucks of Michigan scorers, but by only 1⁄8-of-an-inch instead of 3⁄8. CBM bylaws

Powers, Mich. — Matthew Veeser from Powers shot his first black bear while hunting over bait on Sept. 17 in Menominee County. The bruin was large enough to qualify for national records maintained by the Boone and Crockett Club. Also of interest is the fact that Veeser killed the bear the first day it visited

Marquette, Mich. — If not for Gary Shear, we probably wouldn’t have known that his twin brother, 78-year-old Cary from Ann Arbor, shot a pending state record typical crossbow buck last fall in Washtenaw County. “My brother talked me into having the antlers scored by Commemorative Bucks of Michigan,” Cary Shear said. “I wasn’t even

Marquette, Mich. — Upper Peninsula deer hunters saw and shot more deer during the 2017 firearms deer season than the year before, according to last fall’s Upper Peninsula Deer Camp Survey compiled by DNR wildlife biologist Dave Jentoft. However, fewer fawns were seen. For the entire UP, the number of deer seen per hunter day

Marquette, Mich. — There are benefits of marrying into a bear hunting family such as shooting a black bear that will likely qualify for national recognition by the Boone and Crockett Club. That’s what Todd Brelage from Neenah, Wis., did on opening day of bear season in the UP. After applying for 13 years for