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Deer hunters who would like to harvest two bucks in the Upper Peninsula this season will need to abide by additional antler point restrictions approved by the Natural Resources Commission at its June meeting in Lansing. The change affects how the regular tag on the combination license can be used in the U.P. and limits hunters with archery or firearms licenses to one buck per year.

The new regulations pertain to hunters who purchase a deer license on or after June 12, 2008. Hunters who purchased their license prior to June 12 will hunt under the same regulations as hunters in the Lower Peninsula.

Under the new regulations, which apply to the U.P. only, the regular buck tag of a combination deer license purchased beginning June 12 must be used to tag a buck with at least three antler points (a minimum of one inch long) on one side. The restricted tag must be used for a buck with a minimum of four points on one side.

"Our surveys show that many deer hunters want the deer herd to have more mature bucks in the population," said DNR deer specialist Rod Clute. "By restricting the use of the regular deer tag on the combination deer license to a buck with three or more points on at least one antler, it may be possible for more yearling bucks to survive to an older age."

Hunters in the Lower Peninsula may harvest any legal buck with the combination deer license regular buck tag.

Hunters who choose not to purchase the combination tag are restricted to one buck only in the U.P., all seasons combined, even if they purchase both archery and firearms licenses.

Sportsmen and sportswomen who hunt in both peninsulas are governed by the rules of the peninsula in which they harvest their bucks. A hunter can take a buck in the U.P., for instance, and still take a buck in the Lower Peninsula.

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