Elk hunting in Michigan: the rarest tag in the state

These are the 2026 rules. Hunt periods and quotas change every year — confirm in the official DNR elk regulation summary.

The short version

Yes, Michigan has wild elk — about 1,000 of them in the northeastern Lower Peninsula, descended from seven animals released near Wolverine in 1918. An elk tag is the rarest prize in Michigan hunting. Recent drawings have seen on the order of 45,000–50,000 applicants for a few hundred licenses. Hunters have famously waited decades — including one who finally drew after applying for some sixty years.

How it works

• Apply May 1 – June 1, $5, one application per year. The license is essentially a Michigan-resident opportunity.
• Elk uses a weighted lottery. Every unsuccessful year multiplies your chances, but it’s never a guarantee — that’s how sixty-year waits happen.
• Hunts take place in the elk range — portions of Otsego, Montmorency, Cheboygan, Presque Isle, and neighboring counties around the Pigeon River Country — in hunt periods from late summer through December.
• If you’re drawn: a mandatory orientation, an assigned hunt period and unit, and a $100 license.

The Pure Michigan Hunt

For $5 a chance — buy as many as you want, all year — three winners get the package: elk (for residents), bear, spring and fall turkey, antlerless deer, first pick at a managed waterfowl area, and a gear prize. It doesn’t affect your regular points or odds. It’s the closest thing Michigan hunting has to a lottery ticket, because it literally is one.

The signpost

Rules change every year. Applications, hunt periods, and the current elk summary live at Michigan.gov/Elk; the Pure Michigan Hunt is at Michigan.gov/PMH.

New to hunting, or returning after years away? Start with Hunting in Michigan, explained and the rules of the woods.