Hurley girl bags 2 bucks on opener of U.P. hunt

WATERSMEET - Following two severe winters, with a third one in the making, deer of either sex are scarce in the western Upper Peninsula.

Some hunters consider it a success if they even see a deer, let alone harvest one.

But a 14-year-old girl from Hurley had no trouble bagging a buck on opening day of Michigan's gun-deer season last Saturday.

In fact, Lexi Swanson downed two bucks.

The daughter of Nikki Swanson and Bruce Swanson, of Hurley, was hunting at the Bob D'Antonio camp in the Watersmeet area.

"She outgunned five men that day and filled the two tags. The men saw nothing," said D'Antonio, of Ironwood.

He said Lexi's intense preparation for the hunting season paid off. "She attributes her success to early scouting and shooting practice," D'Antonio said on Tuesday.

A slow start

As of Monday, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources had registered only 25 deer at Baraga and six at Wakefield check stations.

Registration is voluntary in Michigan.

DNR wildlife biologist John DePue said hunting conditions "were very difficult. With most roads covered with two to three feet of snow, getting into camps and blinds is difficult, and all-terrain vehicles are useless."

That report was before the last 15-inch blast of snow fell.

DePue added, "The deer are migrating and hunters that have found migration trails have been successful. Many of the bucks registered have been very nice 2- to 4- year-old, eight-pointers."

Gun-deer season runs through the end of the month in Michigan, while Wisconsin's season begins on Saturday.