- Well, hey everybody.

Welcome to "Michigan Out of Doors."

Thank you so much for joining us this week.

We have a brand new show this week, and it's all about deer hunting and all about you, the viewer.

Gabe VanWormer was able to take a camera with him and capture a couple of really cool hunts with his kids.

Then Jason Allen is gonna show us a couple of really cool hunts, but also a brand new event aimed at getting more people into the out of doors.

And we're gonna have a bragging board to see what you, the viewer, have been up to.

Lots of good stuff on this week's show.

You stay tuned.

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

♪ From the first spring rains (turkey gobbling) ♪ To the soft summer breeze (waves hissing) ♪ Dancing on the pine forest floor ♪ ♪ The autumn colors catch your eyes ♪ ♪ Here come the crystal winter skies ♪ (elk hooves rumbling) ♪ 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 (waterfall burbling) ♪ The wonder and the love of Michigan ♪ ♪ As the wind comes whispering through the trees ♪ (duck call rasping) ♪ 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 the love of Michigan we all share ♪ - [Announcer] "Michigan Out of Doors" is presented by... By Country Smokehouse, a sportsman's destination since 1988, featuring varieties of homemade sausage, jerky, brats, and gourmet entrees.

Holiday gift boxes can be assembled in store or online.

Details at countrysmokehouse.com.

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(dramatic music) (machinery clattering) - [Announcer] At Boss Shotshells we make all our shotshells right here in Michigan and deliver them direct to your door.

(contemplative music) (bluesy rock music) (mellow rock music) (performer whistling) (upbeat rock music) - I like it.

- What do you think?

- I like it.

- You think you'd be able to shoot down there towards our truck and all the way up to the apple tree up here?

- Yeah.

- What do you think?

(Brooke sighing) - I think it's really cool.

- [Gabe] You're not excited, are you?

- I am excited.

(mellow rock music) - [Gabe] Why are we doing this?

- So then the deer can scrape and lick the branch so we can kill it.

- Oh, so we can get a picture of it, right?

There's a camera.

- [Gabe] After months of anticipation, hard work and practice.

The youth weekend was upon us and the whole VanWormer crew would be out in the field.

Reed would be taking his sister out to one of his spots and Brooke would be with me.

It's always so much fun to watch your kids enjoying hunting as much as you.

You haven't even been in the stand for a minute yet, and you're already eating your (indistinct).

- I gotta finish my food before deer comes.

- [Gabe] Although the morning was slow for both spots Brooke and I started seeing deer almost immediately in the evening after we climbed into the stand overlooking a bean field.

- So we're hunting again because we not got nothing in the morning and we're sitting in different spot and we have a good, really good chance of seeing good bucks.

- [Gabe] Why?

- Because I cross the river in the morning.

- [Gabe] They probably come back this afternoon.

- Yeah.

- You think so?

- Yeah.

- [Gabe] How big's it gotta be for you to shoot it tonight?

- I don't know, above a four.

- [Gabe] Above a four?

- I see a spike.

It a two point.

I'm not gonna shoot it.

I have all year to shoot a buck.

- [Gabe] Last year, Brooke shot a spike on the first day of the youth hunt and was determined to wait for a little bigger buck this year.

She has way more resolve at age eight than I did when I was 14 when I got started gun hunting.

Although the scope looks blurry, I had changed the zoom for Brooke and forgot to refocus the trigger cam.

- I could shoot that, but it's a four and I don't wanna shoot it.

I wanna let it grow bigger.

Yeah, I'm steady, I want to let it grow bigger.

- [Gabe] The bucks just kept feeding right to us and as the night wore on, they were getting more and more tempting.

- Ah, yup, that's a four.

I think I'm gonna shoot the four.

- You can keep on shooting.

- I don't know, maybe I'll wait a couple more minutes.

I think I'm gonna wait a couple more minutes and see if anything bigger's gonna come out.

It's looking back like something else is coming out.

(insects calling) (distant traffic rumbling) The one over there is so stupid.

It's so close to us it can't hear us where our smell us.

Yeah, buddy.

I just called you stupid.

This is Clips (mellow music) and he's, he's blind in one eye, so he only gets one glimpse of the world.

(Brooke chuckling) - [Gabe] Is that the one that you wanna shoot?

- Yeah.

- [Gabe] Finn and Reed were seeing a few deer as well, but all were out of range.

The next evening, they decided to sit in an old building on the property that overlooked a field where the deer traveled to get to an apple orchard.

- So we're out on the second day of the youth hunt and so hopefully a big buck comes out from the woods and I get to shoot a big one.

- [Gabe] Reed had brought along his buddy Austin Boyer to help him spot and run a camera.

It wasn't long before the deer started moving out of the bedding area and towards the apple trees.

Finley had the green light on any buck she wanted, but decided to let these bucks pass.

With about 15 minutes of legal shooting time left and camera light fading fast, they spotted a big buck headed their way.

- [Redd] Alright, he's coming.

- [Austin] He turns broadside.

- [Reed] Just let him, he's comin' right at us.

(insects calling) old doe over behind him.

Make a good shot, put it right one his shoulder, okay.

All right, Finley.

(safety clicking) (gunfire popping) You dropped him!

Finley you dropped him.

(Reed laughing) That's that big 10 point.

(Reed laughing) You dropped him.

Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh, you dropped him, Finely.

I am shaking like a leaf.

Good job, Fin.

- Amazing.

- [Reed] Good job.

Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness.

You got him.

Finley, that is a monster.

Almost every night he's been coming in here.

What happened?

- So we were in there and all these deer came out.

One of them was a small buck and I said I wanted to wait.

Then he came out over there and then he was walking up and I waited for him to turn broadside and I shot him.

- [Reed] No way.

Nice job.

That is sweet.

Two years in a row you sat with me and killed a buck.

- Wow.

- [Reed] Congratulations, Finley.

Look at that buck.

- [Gabe] All of Reed's hunting buddies showed up to congratulate Finley.

And while they had that big buck coming in for her, Brooke and I were also having a great evening.

(insects calling) - [Brooke] I think I'll go with the spike.

He's a pretty big.

- [Gabe] What?

- He's pretty big, but he's a four.

- [Gabe] What do you think?

Two fours equal... Two fours equals an eight.

So there's two deer and it equals eight antlers.

And it equals equals.

One of them's big and one of them small.

As we just got some river pictures and there's this nice wide buck and it's coming and dad thinks that it's gonna come out where the other ones came out the other night.

And that's a good place.

Hopefully it doesn't take forever to get On the other side of the tree because last time they took forever.

It's a spike.

- There's another one.

- Oh.

- Yeah, I see him, I see him.

- What is he?

- See him right there, right there.

- Yeah, I see him.

I don't know where to look.

- [Gabe] Can you see him right there?

- Oh, oh yes, yes.

- [Gabe] Then get on him.

- I'm so excited.

I can't see his shoulder.

- [Gabe] You can see a shoulder right there.

- Yes, OK.

(safety clicking) - Your time.

- Okay.

And I good?

- [Gabe] Wait for him to turn just a little bit.

Get your finger on the trigger and be ready.

Okay.

When he turns.

Okay, are you solid?

- No, not yet.

- [Gabe] Are you solid, are you comfortable?

- Yes.

- Okay, you wanna take the shot.

(gunfire popping) - I think I got him.

Yes.

Oh, that's way bigger than I've ever shot.

(Brooke sighing and trembling) - What just happened.

- I shot the biggest buck that I've ever shot.

(mellow guitar music) - That was awesome.

What happened?

- So I didn't think he was gonna come out for a second and then we just saw him.

You're like, "Oh, oh, Brooke."

And I was like, "Oh, there, there's a spike right there."

And then we saw him and then it took a while for him to get good and then we saw him and then I got him.

He, he ran a little bit, but I'm still so excited.

I feel happy tears.

- [Gabe] What?

- I feel happy tears.

- [Gabe] You've got happy tears?

Good.

That's, that's awesome that you have happy tears.

- This is way better than I've ever shot before.

Wow, that one has blood.

Blood, blood.

See the blood over there?

- [Gabe] Oh good.

- [Brooke] Oh, that one has a lot down there.

- [Gabe] That is a lot.

(Brooke gasping) - Oh, I see it.

(Brooke squealing) Oh my goodness.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Does this count as one?

- [Gabe] Absolutely we'll count that.

- [Brooke] It's an eight.

(Gabe chuckling) (Brooke gasping) - [Gabe] Sit down behind him and hold him up.

- Oh, he's pretty heavy.

(Brooke grunting) Oh crud.

(Brooke grunting) Oh, he's heavy.

- [Gabe] Look at how his antlers almost touch in the front.

(Brooke grunting) - [Brooke] That's cool.

- [Gabe] What do you think?

- I think he's a giant, the biggest that I've ever shot.

- [Gabe] You're not excited, are you?

- Yes, I am.

- [Finley] Hi dad.

- [Gabe] What's up?

- [Finley] I just shot a 10 point.

- [Gabe] You just shot a 10 point?

- I just shot an eight.

- [Reed] Brooke shot an eight, no way.

- Yeah!

- Dropped right in its tracks.

- [Gabe] Really?

Nice job, Finley.

Congratulations.

- [Finley] Thank you so much.

- [Gabe] That's awesome.

Tell her congratulations.

- [Finley] I was shaking the whole time.

- Congratulations.

I was shaking too.

His, his belly is huge.

- [Gabe] To experience the excitement of hunting with my kids each year is priceless.

There's nothing like watching them tell their stories over and over the next few weeks, memories that'll last a lifetime, made in Michigan's out of doors.

- I feel happy Tears.

- Well special thanks to Gabe for sharing his footage with us.

And what we're gonna do right now is tag along with another sportsman, Jason Allen, who was recently a part of a really cool event aimed at getting more folks into the out of doors.

Just a few weeks back a pretty cool thing was happening around the youth season.

The newly formed Great Lakes Sportsman's Association was having a deer camp/hunting tournament all in hopes of getting some new folks into the outdoors.

- So this is a full weekend experience and we're starting off with our hunt camp we call it on Friday night.

It's a Sunset Place in Mason, Michigan.

Hunters that enter the contest don't have to come, but we're really encouraging them to come to that because we're so excited to bring back that old hunt camp experience that a lot of us experienced as children.

And it's kind of went away with the decline in hunter participation.

But we wanna bring that back.

We're gonna have a bonfire, camping, out-of-state kids are gonna camp with us.

Music, telling all kinds of stories.

We're bringing flu-flu arrows and shooting styrofoam disc out of the air.

We're gonna make that a big, exciting, fun event that people can come.

We're having a meal catered by the Wooden Nickel II from Evansville, Michigan.

They're catering a nice meal for everybody and so we're really excited about that too.

- The morning of the opener found Lainey Fanson and her dad Tyler, looking at some nice bucks to start off the morning.

Jason told us a little bit more about how this competition part of the event works.

- [Jason] The scoring system itself is a basic one that a lot of people use.

We can't really do for time purposes, a lot of mass measurements like the typical Pope and Young scoring or Boone and Crockett.

But we're gonna do outside spread, antler length and then the weight of the deer.

For our antlerless deer though, we're gonna do, you know, biggest doe, smallest deer.

We've got some unique prizes and categories like longest tail on a doe, antlerless, longest ear, nose.

We've got all kinds of prizes.

- [Hunter] Let's go baby.

- [Jimmy] After some nice bucks that were too far off, moved away, the crew had another nice buck working its way in.

But just as quickly as they come, this buck slipped right back into the cover before the crew could get a shot.

But back at the headquarters, some dandy bucks we're rollin' in.

- Well, we're really excited.

We started a sportsman's association back in February and it's brand new to the mid-Michigan area, but we're gonna make sure we try to make it grow through the Great Lakes.

That's, that's why we call it the Great Lakes Sportsman's Association.

And we've actually had three events, well two, and this is gonna be our third one.

We had our spring turkey hunt, which was very successful.

We had 20 some kids and then we did an archery camp also back in July.

But now we're super excited, especially since the great state of Michigan has put the antlers back in to allow 'em to shoot a buck.

That's made it really exciting for our kids to participate in this youth hunt.

And it's not your regular youth hunt, it's a deer contest.

So they are donating money to be a part of a payback.

Some of the kids might get a lot of money back.

- [Jimmy] There is some prize money available and some very nice giveaways for all the kids.

This was hopefully just another reason that might push someone to join the weekend.

The goal here is really for folks to enjoy the outdoors.

- [Jason] So the way our youth hunt works, we have kids coming from all over the state of Michigan and primarily they'll be hunting their own properties.

You know, their dads I'm sure are out scouting, looking for the right deer for them already.

But we're also excited to have a group of people coming from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, the some of 'em were here for our spring Turkey hunt and they're coming back and so we're gonna put them on some ground too in the mid-Michigan area.

So I'm really excited about that.

In fact, next week I'm starting all the prep, food plotting, getting stands ready.

A lot of work involved, getting it ready.

- We didn't hunt this morning 'cause we were hunting a a bean field that butts up to a thick, a thick chunk of woods and swamp grass.

And I didn't wanna risk blowing the deer out on our way in and spooking him and not having them come back tonight.

Its a real wide- - Well, it was looking like Brandon and his son Landon had made the right choice to wait 'til the evening hunt.

This nice buck was working his way in as the sun was setting.

Now they just needed the buck to present the right shot.

(insects calling) - Did you see those ear plugs.

Did you want to wear 'em?

(gunfire popping) - [Landon] Dropped him.

- [Jimmy] Well, Landon made a great shot and with a few guys coming in to help us out, the crew started to head in to find the buck.

Jason is pretty excited about this newly formed group and all of its volunteers.

- [Jason] The Great Lake Sportsman Association, the group that I'm a part of, we started back in February of this year and it's been tremendous.

We've had so many volunteers step up and provide so much.

Either like physical prizes, donations, their time, our archery camp was a big success.

We had that at Sunset Place there in Mason, where a hunt camp's gonna be that Friday night, the 12th September.

- Congratulations my man.

- [Jason] And it's just been a tremendous outpouring of people that really see the future of something growing that kids can get excited about.

And then you get parents excited about it.

One of the most exciting parts of this whole thing is getting non-hunting families involved.

You know, throughout Michigan, throughout the country with a decline in hunting.

We always talk about trying to get people involved.

How do we do it?

Well, you provide programs like archery camp, these hunts, and we're not just catering to people that are hardcore that do this no matter what.

We've actually sought out people that don't have any experience and we're actually getting those, some of those parents, you know, and we're hooking some of them.

- [Jimmy] That is the goal.

Get a few new folks to see what the outdoors has to offer.

Thanks to all who made this happen, and congrats to all the successful youth hunters right here in Michigan's out of outdoors.

(mellow country music) (mellow country music continues) (mellow country music continues) - Thank you so much for joining us this week for "Michigan Out of Doors."

Make sure you stay tuned in the upcoming weeks because everything is happening right now.

We'll show you how archery season is going so far.

We will check out some dog training tips and hopefully a bear hunt from the Upper Peninsula.

Both my husband and I drew tags for the western part of the U.P.

this year.

If you'd like to see where we are and what's happening on more of a daily basis, you can always do that online.

- That's right, online is a good way to see what we're up to on a day-to-day basis.

Probably Instagram and Facebook are the best two ways for that.

If you miss part of this week's show or you wanna see something, again, you can always check us out at michiganoutofdoorstv.com.

Full episodes of the show there, some brand new merchandise as well.

Make sure you are joining us over the next several weeks.

So much is happening around our state.

Get out and enjoy it.

And if we don't see it in the woods or on the water, hopefully we'll see you right back here next week on your PBS station.

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To learn more about all the product options available for your food plots, visit dairydoo.com.

- [Announcer] Closed captioning, brought to you by DD Ranch Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) foundation, working to make hunting and fishing accessible for those with disabilities.

(mellow music) (bright 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 trout in a hidden stream ♪ ♪ The whitetail deer in the tall pine trees ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ I am, I am a Michigan man ♪ Ask me where I'm from, and I'll show you my hands ♪ ♪ Lord above I love this land ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ From the- (gentle tones)