- Hey, everybody, welcome to "Michigan Out-of-Doors."

Thank you so much for joining us.

This week, we've got a brand new show for you and we're gonna kick things off by doing a little squirrel hunting with air guns, it's actually a squirrel camp, we're also gonna stop in at a really cool gun shop up in the Traverse City area, it's one of the longest-running gun shops here in the state of Michigan, you won't wanna miss that, and we're going to have time for a really good venison recipe for you as well as we're right in the middle of bow season and gun season, it's just a few short days away.

Make sure you stay tuned, I'm Jimmy Gretzinger, 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" ♪ What a beautiful day in the woods.

♪ Someday 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 ♪ - [Narrator] "Michigan Out-of-Doors" is presented by... - [Narrator] 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.

(upbeat guitar music) - [Narrator] By Great Lakes Firearms & Ammunition, a family-owned and operated firearm manufacturer in Sparta, Michigan offering a wide variety of calibers and colors backed by a lifetime warranty.

More information available at glfallc.com.

- [Narrator] By B&T Logging.

Forestry management is about protecting your forest for the future while maximizing timber value.

Through sustainable practices, B&T Logging works to improve forest health, wildlife habitat and the long-term value of your land.

For more information, visit btlogging.com.

(dramatic booming) (sparks crackling) (dramatic booming) (gun firing) (upbeat rock music) (relaxed guitar music) - [Jimmy] When Dave Wildrum, a bird-hunting buddy of mine, told me about his squirrel camp, well, I had to come check it out.

So here we were last week at the Ludington State Park getting ready to chase some squirrels with air guns of all things.

Well, I just had to see how this all works.

- We've been doing it, me and my friend Bill, which is out here today too, since third grade, and, of course, we have much better guns now, we have guns that are capable of shooting much longer distances and hold a lot of PSI air pressure in here, so we're able to get up to velocities of close to a .22 short or .22 rifle at close range, so... But you're pretty safe past I'd say, you know, 200, 300 yards is about the maximum that the pellet's gonna go, and then, it's gonna stop, but yeah, it's definitely capable of... At 100 yards, guys shoot the bench-rest air rifles and they're hitting bullseyes the size of your pinky nail, so that's amazing if they can figure the wind out.

So yeah.

- [Jimmy] I have seen some of these higher-end air guns in action before, and they are incredibly accurate.

Just a couple hundred yards into the park, the area open to hunting is marked, and funny how well these squirrels can read, because on one side of the marked area there was a lot of squirrels, and on the other, well, he had to work a little bit harder.

- [Dave] It's a fun sport, it's quiet, you know, sometimes you're just tired out from hunting the waterfowl and walking through the thick stuff and you just wanna relax on the side of a hill and just practice your marksmanship and, you know, just... - [Jimmy] Have good training for dear season.

- Yes, yes, you know, I recommend it to... A lot of older guys are buying 'em and, you know, they're getting into hunting, like, you know, some woodchucks around their farms and starlings and feral pigeons that are getting into their dairy farms and stuff.

It's just you can take care of a lot of pests without doing damage to the buildings, you could turn it down, this one has a power gauge, so I can turn it all the way down to, like, 300 feet per second by just turning this nob, but I'm on high power today for these squirrels 'cause they're pretty tough, they got some thick skin, so yeah.

(wind blowing) (indistinct) (wind blowing) (gun firing) Wow, I got him.

- [Jimmy] Did you get him?

- [Dave] Yeah, that was a long shot.

- [Jimmy] (laughs) Yeah, it was.

- [Dave] They're always moving, but... - [Jimmy] That's 75, 80 yards.

- Yeah.

(laughs) Wow.

I was a little... I aimed a little high, just about a quarter-inch over 'em.

Wow.

I'm happy with that shot, James.

- (laughs) Yeah, I would say so.

(indistinct) (leaves crunching) That was a pretty good poke right there that Dave just made.

We're setting up on these ridges and looking... We're so high, we're... In some cases, we're halfway up the tree or more, but yeah, that's at least 80, close to 100 yards he just shot that squirrel at.

Wow.

What a fun, beautiful day, this is just a fun thing to do, squirrel hunting, but like Dave was just saying, it's kind of a good practice for deer hunting because you get to spot and stalk a little bit and get used to getting on the trigger kinda quick and beautiful day.

- [Dave] Shot right where I put it.

- [Jimmy] Dude.

- A quick shot.

There is another... Oh, there's a black squirrel.

Can you see him up on that plain?

- [Jimmy] Oh, yeah.

Hold on... (indistinct) It's just over there?

- [Dave] Yeah.

(wind blowing) (gun firing) - [Jimmy] I was impressed with Dave's shooting.

His close to 100-yard shot, well, it was a clean headshot and this black squirrel here was beyond 50 yards for sure.

What a fun low-stress hunt.

Dave and Bill, his buddy, have gotten back into squirrel hunting and used a variety of air guns as you'll see here shortly.

It was midday, so we headed back to camp for a lunch over the fire.

These guys will get their limit most days and just hang out at the campsite.

As we got the dogs on the fire, I had the guys run me through the different kinds of guns that they like to use.

So explain to me what are we looking at here, boys?

What do we got?

- Okay.

We're looking at a Czech Republic gun, a Taipan Veteran, a .25-caliber, and that's shooting about 70-foot pounds with a slug, so that's capable of hunting, like, medium-sized game like fox, coyotes, raccoons, and yeah, that shoots about a 45-grain slug, I think it can, anywhere from 33-grain to 40.

This is a Scout semi-automatic .22-caliber, so this is a gun that holds 15 in the mag, and as fast as you can pull the trigger, it will shoot the mag empty.

You can outrun it if you really go crazy on the trigger super fast, but it's a fun gun for shooting cans, targets and real quick, you can hunt with it also, but it's more of a tactical style.

And then, you get into, like, more of a hunting rifle here, this is a BRK, which is also tied in with Daystate Guns and that comes from... BRK is from, I believe, Italy and they pair with Daystate, which is in England, and they use a lot of the same parts and put 'em together, really nice gun, it's got a carbon-fiber bottle on here, so we're... It's in a high-performance, probably about 45 foot-pounds with about 45 shots with that bottle.

And then, you got your lightweight, traditional Daystate Revere Huntsman, and this is a great gun for shooting offhand, walking through the woods, real lightweight, very quiet, shoots about 30 foot-pounds, so it's got a range of probably, what?

65 yards, I would say.

- 65, 70 yards effective range.

- Effective range and .22-caliber.

Side levers, and then, we got a Daystate Wolverine R, which has a bottle on it, it's sort of similar to the Revere, but a step up with a fancier stock.

- [Bill] Yeah, it's got the... - [Dave] It's got a bottle.

- [Bill] Yeah, it's got the... (indistinct) - It's got 30 foot-pounds, what?

Bill, 180 shots, you'd say?

- About 180 shots and you can effectively shoot 75, 80 yards with this gun.

- So silent that... - [Bill] It's very quiet.

- You can take out, like, you know, crows and stuff, they don't even know where it's coming from, and then, we got a JTS kind of .25-caliber kind of... What do you call that?

Bench-rest stock, I would say, on it for... You know, you could shoot up to 100 yards with that and a .25-caliber... - We have been small-game hunting with it, it's a little heavier gun, but it actually... It shoulders good and the impact is incredible because of the .25-caliber pellet.

- [Jimmy] A squirrel camp with air guns, who would've thought that was even a thing?

But like most camps, the real reason they are so much fun is the camaraderie of the folks who are there.

- We've reunited, we both had children, kinda grew apart a little bit, raised our families, and now, they're all grown up, we've came back together and we're like kids again.

- Just like kids again, chasing bushy-tails on the ridge tops.

Well, it's about as good as it gets right here in Michigan's out-of-doors.

Well, I had a lot of fun learning a little bit more about air guns and what they can do, it's pretty impressive.

There's some really good high-end air gun shops here in the state of Michigan, and speaking of gun shops in Michigan, there are a lot of 'em, one of the longest-running ones here in the state of Michigan is in the Traverse City area.

(upbeat guitar music) - This is Hampel's Gun Shop, and I've been working with these people for a few years now.

We've had a few different issues with some gunsmithing problems throughout the years and it's very, very hard to find a good gunsmith, and I found one over here and we've been working together with Hampel's, and this is Rodrigo and Maria, and we've been together for a couple years now doing that and we actually compliment each other, both small-time gun shops.

They've been taking care of this area for 100... - 107 years now, so currently... - [Jenny] Wow.

You haven't been around that long.

- No.

- He's looking pretty good.

- We bought 10 year... We bought a shop 10 years ago from Carl Hampel, third generation of the family in the business.

The family is not out, you are going to see Joe in a while, his... Son-in-law to Carl, but we are very, very proud to be able to acquire a company that has been... That today is probably the oldest continuously-operated gun shop in the country.

It's an honor, you know.

- [Jenny] There's other gun shops that have been around as long as they... - Oh, yeah, there are gun shops that predate our 1919 birthdate, but they have closed for 10, 20, 30 years, sometimes, they just... The name went somewhere, but we have been continuously operated, never closed except for Sundays.

- And always out of Traverse City.

- And always out of Traverse City.

- [Jenny] Wow.

Randy and Rodrigo met through a mutual friend, another gun shop owner in Kalamazoo.

Randy's hunting center in Bad Axe doesn't have a gunsmith on staff, and Hampel's has a guy who brings a lifetime of knowledge and experience.

- We are gun people, and we try all the time to see what people need that is not being met today, so back in 2017 or '16, Randy came up with the 450 bolt-action rifle, which has been a major success, right?

So how do we continue to see what our customers need and how we can supplement that?

That and combining our experiences and our capabilities, we are just better able to serve the whole state.

- [Jenny] For over 20 years now, Hampel's has been selling parts on eBay for guns that are no longer in production or hard to find.

They buy entire lots of firearms at estate sales and many are broken down for parts.

With nearly 8,000 unique gun parts for sale, they have quite an extensive catalog.

- Basically, there are guns that it's... They are either unsafe to shoot or undesirable, and we take the gun apart, we catalog each component of that gun and we list online, you know?

And that allows us to serve a need back there because especially nowadays, a lot of people have sentimental value to the guns and they want their grandfather or great-grandfather gun repaired with original parts, and it's very... A gun that has not been in production for 60, 70 or 100 years, it's hard to find parts too, and that's where we come, we salvage all of that, we turn this crap into something that's valuable, that people really appreciate and look for in order to have a family heirloom return to them in close-to-original condition.

We serve the market in a quite unique place because it's not only the part that's listed, but we have the knowledge to tell you exactly which part goes where, if it's the right fit or not, and we stand behind it, if we ship a part and for some reason, the customer cannot fit it, we take it back.

- [Jenny] Cool.

That's amazing.

- And that's a big thing, is having somebody that knows exactly where that part went and whether that part's gonna fit on your gun or not, and you're talking to the actual person that tore the gun down and could tell you that.

So one of the guns I brought over, somebody disassembled this at home and can't get it back together.

We're gonna bring it over here and have Jamie and Joe take a look at it and a couple other things I brought too.

- Well, today, we're gonna be working on a Marlin.

It's a typical problem that we see every deer season with Marlin 336s and the lever won't actuate, so they can't load a round into the chamber.

So it's a simple fix and what we usually find out is the reason that it's not opening up, won't pull, you can't cycle a round in because your loading gate is loose in there, stopping the lifter from coming up, so the solution to this is you tighten your loading gate screw and all as well, yes.

- [Jenny] You're giving away your trade secrets.

- Yeah.

They're simple ones, but sometimes, it'll save a trip to the shop, so that should take care of it.

(gun chamber clattering) - [Jenny] Wow.

- Sometimes, they're real simple fixes and those are the ones we like.

- One of the reasons I'm here today over in Traverse City is because of some of these stocks that are on different rifles and they actually break loose, both in the back lug and the front lug.

So the recoil goes into here, comes back and actually breaks where it's so thin right here, so over here in Traverse City, they've actually come up with a solution of getting everything back in place, drilling in a jig a series of three brass screws that go all the way through the action, and by doing that, and then, grinding 'em off, this can no longer move and you've got a solid action to put your rifle back together.

That one cracked on a 243, a 65 is here today to get fixed, so it's just wood is wood and it isn't as strong as synthetics or composites or metal, and that's what happens, so that's why we need to modify it to make it stronger.

- [Jenny] Over the years, is it fun, like, solving problems and puzzles?

- Oh, yeah, yeah.

Yep.

- [Jenny] Tell me about that.

- For sure, it's... I just love troubleshooting stuff and it's always a challenge.

Randy brings me challenges all the time, so... - So if you remember a little while ago, you dropped this off at Mag-Na-Port with Kenny, and of course, Kenny got it to me and this is Matt's stock that he was given as a gift, and we're looking at it not knowing what it is because it's got a little bit of a funkiness back here by where the trigger is, but it does have this inlet right here which leads us to believe it's either a pre-64 Model 70 or a Remington 721.

When I got it here this morning to ask the experts, Joe said, "Yeah, it looks like a 721," so we grabbed an action and we now know that's exactly what's gonna fit, so now, we can make a gun up for Matt in whatever Caliber he wants as long as it's a Model 721 Remington.

(people laughing) - [Jenny] Perfect!

In addition to the thousands of guns, parts and gunsmithing projects here, there's a really cool piece of history that Rodrigo proudly displays behind the counter.

- Okay, so this is a blunderbuss, and it is from the Lewis and Clark era.

The lock is marked 1790, made in London, barrel is naval brass, and we believe this may be the only surviving artifact from the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Carl Hampel bought it from a collection back in the '80s and the previous owner bought it from a direct descendant of William Clark, so all the evidences that we have point in the right direction, however, we do not have a proof beyond a reasonable doubt that it's the right gun, but it matches all the descriptions in the journals.

It's actually a 12-gauge, you just have a very big barrel there to help load, and there were two guns like this taken in the expedition, one of them was broken around the wrist area by a... When it was stepped on by a bison and it was repaired with rawhide, clearly not this one, and they carried it all the way to the Pacific, they used it to protect their forks when they wintered, and eventually, when they came back to St.

Louis in 1804, all the items of the expedition were auctioned away and it might as well be that William Clark kept this or not, but there was a fire in the 1970s that destroyed all those records, so the documents, we just cannot find it.

If we could ever confirm, this could potentially be one of the most historically valuable guns in the country, and it's nice, really an honor to have a piece like that in our shop.

- [Jenny] And you love history, eh?

- I like history, I love history, you know, it's... If you don't learn from it, you are going to repeat it for sure, so you better learn.

(Jenny laughing) - [Jenny] Wise words of advice.

Special thanks to Rodrigo, Maria, Randy and Joe for showing us around and for keeping part of our firearms history alive here in Michigan's out-of-doors.

(upbeat guitar music) (relaxed guitar music) - [Jimmy] Well, we are here today in Greenville, Michigan, I'm just outside of Greenville, we're at the Applewood Kitchen and Bar with Jim Wood, chef extraordinaire.

Jim, what are we cooking?

It looks like... I'm guessing that's venison backstrap.

- It is, we're coming into the fall, so I figured why not?

And this is a one-pan dish, so it comes together pretty quickly.

Some pretty fairly common ingredients and not a whole lot of 'em, normally, this entire bar is stacked with ingredients, but not today.

- Yeah, what have we got here?

- So we've got, you know, your basic salt, pepper, oil, we've got some fresh tarragon, Dijon mustard, some stock, this is apple brandy just because it's fall, why not?

You can use regular brandy, this one's just gonna give it kind of an apple flavor, and, you know, on game, there's nothing wrong with that, so... - Sure, so how do we get started here?

- So we're just gonna get some oil in our pan.

- And what kinda oil are we using?

- This is just what's known as salad oil, so canola oil essentially, you can use, like, light olive oil, you don't wanna use extra-virgin olive oil 'cause the smoke point's really low and you're gonna burn everything, which is no bueno.

(venison sizzling) I don't know about you, but the smell of venison loin in a pan is... I mean, it's one of the greatest smells on the planet.

- [Jimmy] It's pretty good, especially in the morning, kind of new.

- And I get to cook a lot of it.

So you're gonna see how you've got that caramelization on there, and that's exactly what you're looking for.

(venison sizzling) And since we're doing it on both sides, you're gonna get a little more fond.

For the record, fond stands for foundation.

(Jimmy exclaiming in realization) The foundation of every sauce.

- Huh.

You learn something new every day.

- You're welcome.

(Jimmy laughing) We're gonna give these, like, 10 more seconds, and then, we're gonna take them off to rest a bit.

- [Jimmy] And then, just eat those as is?

- If you would like, yeah, for sure.

Whatever.

- No, we gotta do your fancy sauce.

- That's right, we do, we have to.

So yeah, they're about rare right now, so we're just gonna take them off.

Now, we're gonna add our onions.

(onions sizzling) - And is this set at kind of a medium heat?

What's that?

350°-ish is what it is?

- I would call this medium high.

- Medium high, okay.

Nice.

- Okay, so now, we can de-glaze with our brandy.

(brandy hissing) And then, what you wanna do is you want to scrape that, and see how it's... - Yeah, coming off there.

- All coming off.

That's all flavor.

So now that that's reduced by I'd say 75%, now, we add just a little bit of stock.

And we're gonna let that reduce by, I don't know, two-thirds.

(upbeat guitar music) So now that that's getting pretty thick, add our cream.

(upbeat guitar music) Same thing, we're just gonna let this reduce down.

- [Jimmy] Okay.

- [Jim] Now, as this is kind of reducing down, we will add our venison back to it, which is gonna help give the sauce a little more flavor as well.

- [Jimmy] Wow.

(upbeat guitar music) And what's the name of this dish?

- [Jim] The name of this dish is venison with a black pepper cream.

(upbeat guitar music) - Tastes really good.

I wanna get some more of that sauce in there.

(upbeat guitar music) Well, hey, everybody, thank you so much for watching "Michigan Out-Of-Doors" this week.

If you missed part of this week's show or maybe last week's show, you can always check us out online.

You can do that at our website, michiganoutofdoorstv.com, full episodes of the show there, and we have brand-new stuff coming over the next several weeks, lots more bow hunting, we're getting ready for the gun season, small game, waterfowl, everything is kicking in right now so make sure you are getting out and enjoying everything our state has to offer, and if we don't see you in the woods or on the water, hopefully, we'll see you right back here next week on your PBS station.

- [Narrator] "Michigan Out-of-Doors" is presented by... - [Narrator] Get away from it all to your own place.

With GreenStone's recreational land loans, we'll help you finance acreage of any size so you can own your own place in the great outdoors.

GreenStone.

(upbeat guitar music) - [Narrator] By ShowSpan, producing consumer shows, including the Ultimate Fishing Show Detroit at Novi Suburban Collection Showplace.

The show features fishing tackle, trips, boats and seminars from top pros.

The Ultimate Fishing Show, Novi.

(upbeat guitar music) (machinery clanging) - [Narrator] At Boss Shot Shells, we make all our shot shells right here in Michigan and deliver them direct to your door.

(upbeat rock music) - [Narrator] By Saab, providing defense and civil security products and services for over 85 years and now part of the Grayling community with our new advanced munitions facility.

Career opportunities are available.

More information at saabinc.com.

(upbeat guitar music) (upbeat guitar music continues) (upbeat guitar music continues) ♪ When I wanna fire away ♪ ♪ A dream stays with me night and day ♪ ♪ It's the road that leads to my home state ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ (upbeat guitar music) ♪ Changing seasons paint the scene ♪ ♪ Like rainbow trout in a hidden stream ♪ ♪ Whitetail deer in the tall pine trees ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ (upbeat guitar music) ♪ I am, I am a Michigan man ♪ ♪ That's where I'm from and I'll show you my hands ♪ ♪ Lord above, I love this land ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ (upbeat guitar music) ♪ From the Keweenaw... ♪ (ethereal piano music)