Molly Pavlat of East Lansing tagged an eight-pointer during the early archery season Oct. 4 in Menominee County. (Courtesy photo via Iron Mountain Daily News)

MENOMINEE — Menominee County is showing the second-highest harvest total in Michigan during the first week of the firearm deer season.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Menominee County’s total of 2,137 deer trailed only downstate Sanilac County at 2,567, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ online summary.

The Menominee County total included 1,709 antlered deer and 428 antlerless. Sanilac County’s total was 1,888 antlered and 679 antlerless.

Michigan’s firearm season opened Friday and runs through Nov. 30.

Other Upper Peninsula harvest leaders for the firearm season to date were Delta County at 1,259, which included 1,043 bucks; Marquette County, 746, including 731 bucks; Iron County, 703, including 546 bucks; and Dickinson County 692, including 577 bucks.

Social media showed 11-pointers from Menominee, Dickinson and Delta counties among the biggest bucks taken.

Statewide, the firearm harvest total as of Wednesday afternoon was 81,866, of which 58,966 deer were antlered. The total for all seasons to date was 179,186, including 118,266 bucks.

In 2023, the reported harvest total for all seasons reached 274,299, down from 303,081 in 2022.

As hunters continue to enjoy the firearm season, the DNR reminds them to report their harvest within 72 hours or before they transfer the deer to someone else, such as a processor or taxidermist.

Hunters must add a paper kill tag to the deer and the tag must remain with the head if the deer’s head and body are separated.

Deer harvests can be reported through the DNR’s hunting and fishing app available on the Apple and Google Play stores or through the agency’s website at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport.

Despite no additional cases of chronic wasting disease being detected in Dickinson County since 2018, the DNR is still collecting baseline surveillance data for CWD in many counties across the Upper Peninsula. The DNR encourages hunters to consider submitting a sample for CWD testing from deer harvested in Baraga, Chippewa, Dickinson, Houghton, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Ontonagon and Schoolcraft counties.

The sample submission site in Dickinson County is the Norway DNR Field Office at 520 W. U.S. 2 in Norway. The location will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during the 16-day firearm season.

More information is available at https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/hunting/deer/deer-stations-disease-sample or by calling 906-563-9247.

Wisconsin’s nine-day gun deer hunt begins Saturday, extending through Sunday, Dec. 1. There is a slight chance of snow or rain Friday, while the forecast for Saturday’s opener is mostly cloudy with a high in the upper 30s. Similar weather is expected Sunday.