Hunting season may only last a little over two weeks but many people count down the days all year until they can break out their hunter orange clothes.

While we are just a little more than a week into the 2024 Michigan firearm deer hunting season, unfortunately it hasn’t been all bucks and beers for multiple Michigan hunters.

According to an Associated Press story, at least three Michigan hunters have died from heart attacks while hauling heavy deer out of the woods.

“I’ve never seen three people die in 48 hours from heart attacks while deer hunting before,” said Dr. William Morrone, the medical examiner for Bay, Midland, Tuscola, Arenac and Iosco counties.

He said hunters need to better prepare themselves for the rigors of the outdoors.

“Deer season comes and bam: I have a rifle, I have a backpack and I’m trudging through the woods,” Morrone said.

The hunters — men ages 57, 65 and 83 — died in Arenac and Tuscola counties. They’re just a fraction of the thousands of people participating in the traditional firearm deer season, which began Dec. 15.

It may seem to the uninitiated that hunting is all just sitting in a blind and enjoying beverages but its clear that heavy physical exertion can take a toll while trudging through heavy snow or hauling a 150-plus pound deer out of the woods.

It’s vital that hunters make sure that someone knows where they are at all times while out in the bush and that they have help to carry any trophy bucks back to camp.