How do you hunt american woodcock in Michigan?

How to hunt american woodcock in Michigan

Last updated 2026-09-24 · from MDNR data · 2025–26 licence year

American woodcock in Michigan is hunted in wet alder runs, damp aspen bottoms and shrub swamp. Hunt the low wet ground inside grouse country, and hunt it again after a cold front: this is a migratory bird and a covert that was empty on Tuesday can hold a flight on Friday. Birds sit tight and flush straight up through the alders. MDNR describes the cover as: Damp alder and dogwood bottoms with soft soil to probe, and open field edges to roost in at dusk. Dogs are legal for this species in Michigan. Michigan's 2025–26 american woodcock season runs September 15, 2025 to October 29, 2025 — 45 days afield.

The cover

Wet alder runs, damp aspen bottoms and shrub swamp — soft ground the bird can probe for worms. Woodcock cover is often two hundred yards of a creek bottom rather than a whole block of forest.

MDNR on the cover: Damp alder and dogwood bottoms with soft soil to probe, and open field edges to roost in at dusk.

How it is hunted

Hunt the low wet ground inside grouse country, and hunt it again after a cold front: this is a migratory bird and a covert that was empty on Tuesday can hold a flight on Friday. Birds sit tight and flush straight up through the alders.

Dogs

Pointing dogs shine on woodcock — the bird holds for a point far better than a grouse does, which is why so many dogs are finished on them.

Dogs legal: Yes, for this species in Michigan.
Dogs closed: April 16 – July 7
Dog training: July 8 – April 15. The closed season needs a DNR Wildlife Division permit.

Equipment

Legal devices: Bow, Crossbow, Firearm, Slingshot
Gauge: not regulated
Choke: not regulated
Shot: not regulated
Capacity: Plugged to three shells total. Woodcock is a migratory bird, so the shotgun must be plugged so its total capacity does not exceed three shells — a stricter rule than the six that covers the rest of this list.

Prohibited: Snares, traps, cages, nets, pitfalls or deadfalls
Prohibited: Spears, fully automatic firearms, airbows, or mechanical devices other than bows, crossbows, firearms and slingshots
Prohibited: Cartridges containing tracer or explosive bullets
Prohibited: Drugs, poisons, anticoagulants, stupefying substances, smoke, gas or explosives

Read from 2026 Michigan Small Game Hunting Regulations Summary, Equipment regulations pp. 34-38, Hunting methods pp. 40-42.

The cover, tactics and dog notes above are written for this app — not an agency description and not a regulation. Everything that is a rule carries the page it was read from.

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