Included in the latter group will be members of Michigan's whitetail deer herd.

Wednesday is the first day of Michigan's 2008 archery deer season. For those who believe the woods is never more beautiful or alive than during those early days of autumn, Oct. 1 each year marks the opening day of a hunting experience that is profoundly special. For most archers, it is a hunting adventure that transcends the firearms season, which begins Nov. 15 and, because the participant numbers are so great (more than 600,000 compared with just under 300,000 archers), is considered the pre-eminent "deer season" in Michigan.

"I enjoy time in the woods more these weeks of the year than during the firearms season," said Charlie Kehr, 57, and a dentist from Beulah who bow-hunts whitetails on private property in Benzie County, in the Lower Peninsula's northwest region. "The deer get so much closer. It's simply more exciting."

"Last year, I had dozens of deer pass within 15 yards of me," said Kehr, who hunts from four different locations, which include two tree stands and two ladder stands. "I even had deer walk between my ladder stand and my tree."

"You're just sitting there, frozen, afraid to move a muscle as they walk by. And because you have to be so super-careful about movement, it can be hard to get a shot. I didn't take a single shot last year."

Michigan's archery deer season is split, running from Oct. 1-Nov. 14, just ahead of the Nov. 15-30 firearms season. Archers can resume hunting Dec. 1, 2008 to Jan. 1, 2009.

It is the archer's methodology that makes the sport so challenging, and so fulfilling, to those who view bow-hunting more as a calling than a pastime. Unlike firearms season, when visibility is premier and blaze-orange is worn by hunters bent on staying clear of a rifle or shotgun's line of fire, the archer attempts to blend with the terrain's natural colors and contours. Camouflage is generally worn, head to foot.

Hunters tend to be as anxious about scent as about visibility. It explains why so many archers opt for apparel made with Scent-Lok (tr), a technology that uses scent-absorbing carbon to mask a human being's odor, which will generally send deer scrambling. Necessary equipment is in step with what most deer hunters would spend on rifles or shotguns. A mainstream bow can run $400-$1,000. Tree or ladder stands are $150-$300. Camouflage apparel can run another $200 or more. But sporting goods dealers agree that a tighter budget is no barrier to easing into a different brand of hunting experience.

You can forego the camouflage and opt for simple earth colors. A tree or ladder stand is by no means essential. A nicely concealed area of ground cover can be surprisingly effective. And a bow, with arrows, can be purchased for much closer to $400 than $1,000, with no negatives.

The trick is to make the deer so unaware of your presence that they move within range, which is the single biggest difference between archery and firearms hunting. Most archers want a shot within 15 yards. More skilled hunters can push distances to 25 yards or more. But the level of accuracy needed, and the need for drawing a bow quickly and without the deer detecting movement, generally calls for a close shot.

"It's not the taking (harvesting) of a deer that excites me," Kehr said. "To me, it's the excitement of seeing the deer and seeing them so close. If I take one, fine. But it doesn’t have to be a monster buck -- any deer taken with a bow is a trophy."

"Last year, I saw deer probably 75 percent of the time I hunted, and generally more than one. It's amazing how quietly deer can get in on you. All of a sudden, you're sitting over a couple of does, or maybe an eight-point buck."

"That's why people who get into it tend to be so passionate," Kehr said of Michigan's deer archers. "They're either into it, or they're not. But once you've experienced it, it's difficult not to be hooked."

This article was written by Lynn Henning of the Detroit News and is reprinted with his permission.

The Saugatuck-Douglas Area is also ranked #5 in the list of the 100 Best Small Town Getaways published in the June 2007 issue of Midwest Living Magazine.