- Hello, everyone.

Welcome to "Michigan out of Doors."

We are so glad you're here this week.

I'm Jenny Ciolek, and we've got a brand new show headed your way.

I'll introduce you to one of our nation's heroes, who was serving our country while battling Parkinson's disease.

We are gonna follow him along on a deer hunt that happened last week.

You won't wanna miss that story.

And Jordan's got some bear hunting action in store for us this week.

- Well, that's right, our own Jordan Browne was able to go above the bridge, head a little east, and then take the ferry to Drummond Island for a very exciting bear hunt.

Lots of great hunting action on this week's episode.

You stay tuned.

I'm Jimmy Gretzinger, and it's time for "Michigan out of Doors."

♪ From the first spring rains to the soft summer breeze ♪ ♪ Dancing on the pine forest floor ♪ ♪ The autumn colors catch your eyes ♪ ♪ Here come the crystal winter skies ♪ ♪ It's Michigan, Michigan out of doors ♪ - [Hunter] What a beautiful day in the woods.

♪ Some day our children all will see ♪ ♪ this is their finest legacy ♪ The wonder and the love of Michigan ♪ ♪ As the wind comes whispering through the trees ♪ ♪ The sweet smell of nature's in the air ♪ ♪ From the Great Lakes to the quiet stream ♪ ♪ Shining like a sportsman's dream ♪ ♪ It's a love of Michigan we all share ♪ - [Jenny] Michigan out of doors is presented by.

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(dramatic music) (mellow music) - A couple of weeks back, I had the opportunity to head north to Drummond Island to film a bear hunt.

Over the years, I've filmed several segments on the island, but I've never had the chance to tag along with a bear hunter, and I was looking forward to spending some time in the tree stand, and hopeful we could see a few bears.

(lighthearted music) I was able to get up to the island a day before the season started, and tag along on one final bait run with the hunter I would be filming, Eric Knop.

Everything was going according to plan, until we headed into one of the bait sites, and were surprised by a sow and three cubs that were a little too friendly.

(Eric clapping) - Well, this is definitely a first.

We came in here to put this bear bait to freshen things up, and there was a bear on it, which isn't too crazy abnormal, but the bear won't leave.

Actually came towards us carrying a load of bait, and it's currently eating the load of bait that we are carrying in, and we can't get it to leave.

So we've been watching it for 15, 20 minutes.

It's still eating, probably halfway through the bucket, and I guess we're just gonna leave it, come back tomorrow.

It's a sow with a couple cubs so we don't wanna get too close, but pretty, pretty wild.

I mean, it's still only, I don't know, you see the guys back there?

It's probably only 40 yards from us right now.

40 yards from me.

I mean, I could see it clear as day.

Yeah, definitely a different experience, but I don't think we're gonna mess with her anymore.

Just get outta here and have to bring some extra bait in tomorrow.

But season opens tomorrow, good start.

After a while, the sow and three cubs finally did leave.

We were able to retrieve what was left of the bait and get it where it needed to go.

All in all, we watched these bears for over a half hour, making for a pretty unique experience.

- Tried to get down, there was some bait.

40 yards from it, bear walked up the trail to the barrel.

Didn't think much of it.

Three cubs came out behind it.

Set the bait bucket down The bear came up to the bait bucket by the tree stand and ate all the marshmallows while we watched it and sweated.

Heart's beat.

Waited a while, they moved off.

We were actually able to get the rest of the bait into the barrel, and up and out of there.

Now tomorrow.

Hopefully a big one.

- [Jordan] After finishing up our bait run, we headed back to camp for the night.

We were all excited to see what the next day would bring, and started off the following morning with bear breakfast burritos for good luck.

(oil sizzling) - [Eric] Better eat something before we go out.

(mellow music) - I think we're as ready as we could be.

- [Jordan] How we feeling?

- Pretty excited, I'm ready to go watch some bears.

Hopefully get one.

(car beeping) Oh, no blue.

(Eric laughing) Alright, let's do it.

- [Jordan] Eric decided that we would spend opening day at the same bait site where we had the encounter the night before.

He had several pictures of big bears in the area and we were hopeful that one of them would show up, but I think we were both less than surprised when the first bears that came out were the sow and three cubs from the night before.

After watching the sow and cubs for about 20 minutes, we caught some movement behind the tree stand and got a glimpse of a solo bear circling around us.

A few minutes later, he popped out at the bait.

Although it was nice to see a different bear, this one wasn't what Eric was looking for.

However, we were both about to be surprised by another much bigger bear.

- [Eric] Oh, there's another one.

Another one, it's bigger.

That's the one with the white patch.

That's the one with the white heart.

Are you on it?

I'm shooting that bear.

- [Jordan] He's calm, just take your time.

- I'm gonna wait for it to turn.

(Eric breathing heavily) Oh my God.

(Eric breathing heavily) It's the one with the heart.

It's okay, he's not going anywhere.

I gotta wait for it to turn a little.

Deep breath.

You ready?

Ready?

(gunshot blasting) - [Jordan] That's a big bear, buddy.

- [Eric] That's big bear.

- [Jordan] That's a big beer.

- It sounded good, it felt good.

- [Jordan] It looked good through the camera.

- Okay.

- [Jordan] I like you center masked him right in there.

- I took my time, I focused.

I squeezed down bold.

I mean, I tried to do it alright.

(gunshot blasting) - [Jordan] After reviewing the footage, we were confident that Eric's shot found its mark, and we climbed down to start the track.

(mellow music) - [Eric] And there's first blood.

Here he is.

- [Jordan] What's that?

- [Eric] He's right here.

We got him, Jordan.

(Eric groaning) Oh man.

Thank you, buddy.

I'm sorry, but thank you at the same time.

Oh my gosh.

Look at that.

Spotted a bear behind us.

It went around, popped out of the barrel, we had kind of a tough time saying if it was much bigger than the sow that was there where her cubs earlier.

Probably ate for just under 10 minutes.

This one came walking down the logging road right toward the barrel.

The one that was there left immediately.

And when I say left, I mean it left.

It ran out of here.

I seen the white patch on this one's chest as soon as it came around the corner, and that got my heart racing like crazy.

Told Jordan right away.

I said, I'm shooting that bear.

Didn't really hear a peep out of him.

- [Cameraman] Jordan was already ready.

(Eric laughing) - But we had plenty of time anyway, 'cause then we probably watched it for at least two, if not three minutes before it to possibly turn to the right position, actually kind of stand up, gimme the shot I wanted.

Held my breath, squeezed it and pulled.

Went through everything in my head, and here we are.

My dad bought me this knife when I was 14.

He did it on a mail order, 'cause of course there was no internet then.

It used to have my name on it, but it's got so much use on it that the name is gone.

But it's a frost blade.

It's seen a lot of game.

If it could talk.

Well, it's pretty surreal to be using it right now on this experience.

I would like to think that if it happens that way, that my dad is looking down, smiling.

- [Jordan] A special bear in a special place.

This bear weighed in at over 300 pounds, and Eric and the guides made the most of it, keeping all of the meat, along with the heart, liver, and fat.

Thanks to Eric for inviting me up to be a part of this hunt.

It's one I'll never forget.

It was a very memorable couple of days here on Drummond Island.

- In this next story, we're gonna meet a man who sacrificed quite a bit to serve our country while battling a disease.

We'll also follow along on a hunt, and learn a little about a foundation that made it all happen.

(upbeat music) - Well, we're back here at Double D Ranch, in the town of Lake.

We're about 20 minutes kind of northwest of Mount Pleasant.

This has kind of become an annual thing with the Double D Ranch Foundation, At the foundation, what we do is we've got the ranch here.

We're designed to take people out with special needs, handicaps.

It doesn't matter what your disability is.

If you're in a wheelchair, even if you're a quadriplegic, we can get you out hunting.

We have the equipment and capability to get you into a blind, safely take you out, and hunt with the Be Adaptive system we have.

They use a sipper puffer adapter.

So they just have to suck on a straw to, in essence, fire the gun.

So it doesn't matter what your handicap or your abilities are, we have the stuff to be able to get it done.

We built this place back during COVID in 2020.

We have nine bedrooms, six bathrooms here.

Everything is fully handicap accessible here, even to get out back where the patios are, the fire pits are, so they don't have to have help to come out there.

They can just, if they're in their bedroom, wanting to come out back where everybody's around the campfire, they can wheel themselves out there.

And actually, going back to one of our, the first year we were out here, one of our clients, I believe her name was Michelle, sat down and spoke with you.

She says, as we get older, people tend to forget about us.

And you might have disabilities that as a child might qualify you, but as you get older, they still have those, they still need the help.

And people tend to forget about 'em.

We're out here, we bring kids in, but we'll bring adults, older people.

It doesn't matter if you're eight years old or 80 years old.

We can help you.

There are no abilities or disabilities out here.

We're just whatever it takes to get it done.

You're just gonna be one of the hunters, one of the guys, one of the gals.

That doesn't make a difference.

We're gonna get you out, we're gonna take you hunting, and we just don't worry about what things you might not be able to do, because we're gonna focus on what you can do.

- [Jenny] The hunters here at camp were Bill Horan from Saginaw, Josh Katranza, and 11-year-old Ian McCracken, both from St.

Clair County, and there was a fourth hunter here as well.

- This year is kind of a special year, because the hunter we selected for the hunt this year, amongst all the other ones, is my brother.

My brother is a veteran.

He served over in the Gulf Wars.

He's an army ranger, and on top of everything, not only serving the country, he has Parkinson's now.

And my brother and I have never hunted together our whole lives.

This is gonna be our first time actually hunting together.

And with everything he's got going on, we don't know how many more years we have to be able to do this.

So we just thought the time was right to bring him out here and take him on a hunt.

- [Jenny] Years ago, Adam was the first patient to receive a surgical procedure that involved implanting electrodes in his brain to help intercept the irregular brain signals caused by Parkinson's disease, and help improve symptoms like tremors, stiffness, and slow movement.

Amazingly, Adam was still serving in the Army at the time and wrote a book about his entire experience.

So you were in the service.

Tell me about that.

- 25 years.

- [Jenny] 25 years?

- Yes ma'am.

- [Jenny] Right outta high school?

- Yep, since 17 years old.

- [Jenny] Wow, what did you do?

- Infantry.

I was Airborne Ranger.

- [Jenny] Okay.

Is that in the Army?

- Yes, yes ma'am.

- [Jenny] Okay, cool.

What was your title?

- Infantryman.

- [Jenny] Okay.

So how long have you been hunting?

- Well, I started out at age 16, but I haven't really had a chance to hunt a lot, so.

First time up here in Michigan hunting again.

- [Jenny] Oh, okay.

- [Adam] Since I was 16.

- [Jenny] Wow.

And Dennis is your older brother?

- [Adam] Yeah, my older brother.

- [Jenny] Sorry to hear about that.

- [Adam] Yes.

(Jenny laughing) - [Jenny] So you were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, correct?

- [Adam] Diagnosed in 2004, and my symptoms started in 2000.

- [Jenny] 2000?

- [Adam] Yep, diagnosed in 2004.

- [Jenny] 2004, okay.

So what did that look like?

What kind of limitations do you have that you used to be able to do?

- [Adam] Well, I can't hardly walk anymore, I can't hardly talk anymore.

I had brain surgery in 2012.

2012 I had it, and that's helped a lot, so.

Diagnosed for 25 years, so I'm doing pretty good.

- [Jenny] Wow, awesome.

Adam has dealt with Parkinson's for most of his adult life now.

How old are you now?

- [Adam] I'm 54.

- [Jenny] 54, so how old were you when you were diagnosed?

- [Adam] 29.

- [Jenny] 29?

- [Adam] Yep.

- [Jenny] That's pretty young, right?

- [Adam] Yep.

- [Jenny] What does it mean to you to be here and to see what Dennis has done?

- [Adam] What he's done is an amazing thing, you know?

He's bringing people from all over the state, and country now, and bringing them to hunt and chase trophy bucks.

It's amazing.

So, I'm very proud of him.

- [Jenny] What would you say to other people watching this that maybe have a similar diagnosis, and are discouraged about it?

What would you tell them?

- Don't be discouraged.

Get the surgery, do yoga, eat well, exercise every day, and I mean, that's what I do to keep me going.

- [Jenny] Adam has the heart of a soldier and an incredibly positive outlook on life.

His story is absolutely amazing and he's an inspiration to many.

It was an honor to share a hunting blind with him.

Speaking of which, we were watching some monster bucks working their way to the water hole near the blind, and Dennis had his eye on one of these trophies for his brother.

Now it was just a matter of watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity.

It's worth mentioning the background noise that occasionally made its way to the blind.

It was the neighboring farmers taking the silage off their cornfield, but it didn't seem to affect the hunt for Adam.

Now it was just a waiting game.

(mellow music) - Get up on top and get the right side.

Take him right there.

(gunshot blasting) Smoke him, smoke him, get another, get another one.

He's going down, he's going down right there.

Clear it.

Good.

Good deal.

What do you think?

(Jenny laughing) That's a good deer.

- [Adam] Cool.

- [Dennis] That's a really good deer.

(Jenny laughing) - [Jenny] Wow.

He made you watch him for a while, didn't he?

- [Adam] He did.

(Jenny laughing) - [Dennis] This is what most guys dream about.

- [Jenny] Sweet, nice shot.

Beautiful buck.

What do we think he is, a big wide?

- [Dennis] He's a 12 point, for sure.

Yep, he's probably 160, maybe 165 inch, 12 point.

- [Jenny] Whoa.

Both Adam and Dennis were enjoying the celebration of a successful hunt together, and after a quick photo session in the field, it was time to bring Adam's trophy back to camp to tell the hunt story, and to check out the other bucks that were harvested tonight.

It's that time of year where some bucks are still in velvet and some are freshly rubbed down to hard antlers.

Josh was able to connect with one of the biggest bucks he's taken, a nice 10 point, and I don't think anyone was more excited with the hunt than Ian, who couldn't wait to get his buck back to camp to show it off.

What just happened out there?

- I smacked this down.

(Jenny laughing) - [Jenny] So tell me what happened.

- Well, first I hit him in the shoulder.

But he didn't go down, he just ran for a little bit, and he stopped, standing there, until his neck, the second shot took him down.

- [Dennis] Count him!

- I got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.

11, 12.

I got a 12 point.

- [Jenny] Is this your biggest buck ever?

- Mhm.

Thank you for the deer.

- You're welcome.

- Thank you too.

- You are very welcome.

- [Dennis] Tonight we're gonna have a band out here, good friends from the Family Traditions band are gonna be out here, and they come out here just to help entertain these people.

So we really wanna make it a once in a lifetime experience for 'em.

Just give them something that they just can't get anywhere else, and just we try and go all out for everybody when we have them.

(upbeat music) (guests clapping) - [Jenny] The night wrapped up with a great performance from the guys from Family Tradition, and a little ceremony where they honored Adam with a dog tag from the Joshua19 Foundation, a great honor to show their appreciation for his service.

The next morning, hunter Bill Horan pulled off a great shot in the fog to drop his monster buck of a lifetime.

All of the hunters and their families left the ranch with a lifelong memory, tucked away to tell and tell again.

Special thanks to Double D Foundation for making it all happen, and to Adam Dobson for his strength, resilience, and courage while serving our great nation.

- Well, hey everybody.

Thank you so much for watching "Michigan Out Of Doors" this week, and special thanks to Jenny for bringing us that story, and the whole idea of Parkinson's hits a little close to home.

Some of you may know this, some of you may not, but about a year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with early stage Parkinson's, and I'm doing very well.

Medication is working great for me right now, and hopefully it will be, but we wanted to share that with you.

And I thought it was only fitting to bring it up on a show where we were kind of talking about Parkinson's anyway.

So appreciate your prayers for our family, and we'll keep you posted as we go, and if the camera looks a little shaky sometimes, that might be the reason why.

Thanks so much for joining us this week for Michigan Outdoors.

We'll see you right back here next week on your PBS station.

- [Narrator] Michigan out of Doors is presented by.

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Information about pricing and products available can be found online at greenmarkequipment.com.

(lighthearted music) ♪ When I wander far away ♪ A dream stays with me night and day ♪ ♪ It's the road that leads to my home state ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ Changing seasons paint the scene ♪ ♪ Like a rainbow child in a hidden dream ♪ ♪ The white tail deer in the tall pine trees ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ I am, I am a Michigan man ♪ That's where I'm from, and I'll show you my hands ♪ ♪ Lord and Father, love this land ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ From the Keweenaw down to St George ♪ ♪ Kalamazoo, east to Munro ♪ To St Maria and back again (dramatic music)