I for one have become more and more wary of buying beef in grocery stores. I listen to health podcasts, read packaging, and study the faces of the people working behind the meat case. Who is really telling me the truth? Which brands use hormones and methane-reducing additives? Which processors use dyes, ammonia, pink slime, and other enhancers and chemicals? Unless you buy from a local farmer, how do you really know what you’re serving your family? There’s not a lot listed on that little product label.
What if I told you all that guesswork could go away, and you could have lean red meat that has never been subjected to hormones, antibiotics, or food additives? All you have to do is step outside into God’s grocery store (the great outdoors) and help yourself—once you’re properly licensed and have some practice hours under your camouflage belt, that is. The season opener is just around the corner.
Imagine the boost to your mental health as you prioritize uninterrupted, quiet time in the woods with a family member every night, perhaps sitting in a tree admiring the fall colors and soaking in the season. Once you develop your marksmanship and start carving out time to hunt, those hours in the woods will clear your head, improve your patience, and elevate your peace. All this for a few upfront gear and clothing costs (hello, Marketplace), plus an annual $30 license.
With hunting comes the added value of disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with nature and your family—plus the inherent satisfaction of providing for your table and teaching your kids how to one day do the same.
My husband, an avid hunter, remembers taking our then-young son along on an evening hunt. He knew the chance of shooting anything was slim to none and instead relished the time watching our little guy toddling along stuffing his pockets with acorns.
Beyond the family time and adding to your food supply, hunting helps the community. Michigan’s lower peninsula has a problem with an overabundance of deer. Farmers are fairly helpless when it comes to deer that think of the farmers' fields as all-you-can-eat buffets. Deer can scale up to—and sometimes higher than—a seven-foot fence. Fencing is expensive not only to put in but to maintain. Occasionally, in order to protect their livelihood, farmers feeling overrun will get permission from the DNR to have hunters harvest deer on their property out of season.
In addition to assisting farmers, hunters contribute to the safety of drivers by reducing the number of deer running around and crossing roads at inopportune times. In 2024, there were 1433 car-deer accidents in Ottawa County alone.
According to Chad Fedewa, Acting Deer Management Specialist for the Michigan DNR, there has been a steady decline in the number of hunters over the years—not only in Michigan, but across the country. He said the baby boomers grew up with hunting as part of their upbringing, and that the younger generations are not replacing them. With society becoming more urban and less rural, kids aren’t getting introduced to hunting as much as they used to be.
The DNR and Natural Resources Commission have tried different initiatives to increase the numbers of hunters, such as incorporating a youth season and doing away with the minimum age requirement. They’ve also added a late season in December, and last January was their first attempt at an extended late season—all in an effort to get more people into the woods. The hope is that once they experience hunting, they will make a tradition of it.
That’s how it was for Fedewa’s family. He grew up hunting with his dad, uncles, and cousins. It was a tradition in my own family as well. My grandpa hunted rabbits and always had a beagle. My dad grew up learning from him and soon branched out to hunting pheasants and deer. Though I sometimes would tag along, it wasn’t until my teen years that I announced I wanted to hunt with him for real. He bought me a bow and outfitted me with his old clothes and a few camouflage pieces from the boys’ rack at Meijer. (There were no offerings for women at the time.) I was a sight.
Here’s what I remember most about what hunting taught me as a 16-year-old girl.
I learned to be still, to become one with my surroundings because deer can detect the slightest movement. I learned to dress for warmth and for camouflage, not for fashion or attention. I learned to listen to delicate sounds, determining deer from squirrel from dropping acorns. I learned to climb trees, balance on a tree stand, and ignore my fear of heights. I learned to read deer signs like rubs and scrapes. I learned persistence and patience—I had time to think, really think, and to talk to God. I learned to sit quietly without a word, no matter the weather, and not complain, because I wanted to be invited back—I wanted that time with my dad. I learned to walk through the woods in the dark and only be kind of afraid.
With the busyness and stress of school during those teenage years, sitting in a tree was peaceful. It was also beautiful, the fall colors, the field of deer, the occasional ice crystals on our windshield. When I smell wet leaves I think of those crisp evenings and frigid mornings.
It’s not as unusual to find women hunters as it was when I was starting out. For that I give no credit to the DNR or the Natural Resources Commission. Instead, I give it to the clothing manufacturers for coming out with pink cameo.
However, I’m living proof that it’s not the clothes or the perfect weather or having every season end with meat in the freezer, it’s being with family in God’s creation that makes the experience.
Hunting is a tradition that feeds your family well, keeps the local deer herd managed, and creates lasting memories no matter your age.
Ready to learn?
Information you need to know to get started can be found on the DNR Learn to Hunt page or stop into your local sporting goods store to get started.
Liberty (youth) hunt: Sept. 13–14, 2025
Early antlerless firearm: Sept. 20–21, 2025
Independence hunt: Oct. 16–19, 2025
Archery: Oct. 1 – Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 – Jan. 1, 2026
Extended archery: through Jan. 31, 2026, for select counties
Regular firearm: Nov. 15–30, 2025
Muzzleloading: Dec. 5–14, 2025
Late antlerless firearm: Dec. 15 – Jan. 1, 2026 on private and public lands in Lower Peninsula DMUs
Extended late antlerless firearm: Jan. 2–11, 2026
Krista Yetzke is a native of Ottawa County. A jeep-driving, guitar-playing wife, mom, and everyday adventurer, Krista was raised on the love of Jesus, the great outdoors, the arts, the value of frugality, and the beauty of food as medicine.
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