We loved getting to interact and talk with so many fellow hunters and outdoorsman (and women, too), and it was great to get to experience the outdoor show “circuit” for the first time.  We loved getting to hang out with our fellow vendors, and we had a blast talking to old friends, and making new ones as well.

We managed to pick up some new Dead Ringer gun sights, we finalized our plans to participate in an Upper Peninsula triathlon, we talked to many vendors and some wonderful people, and we got to pick up our new Darton Archery DS-3800 bows.  We also found some awesome Devastator game calls, and found a pretty unique way to easily drag a deer out of the woods.

Overall, the weekend was a success and we had an absolute blast.  It was the perfect way to spend a weekend, and it got all of us fired up for the upcoming hunting seasons.

If you stopped by and said hello, we appreciate it.  And if you bought a DVD or a t-shirt, we thank you for supporting us.  It was our pleasure to be there, and you can bet that, come next year, we’ll definitely be back.

It’s official:  Michigan does not have an age restriction for hunting and/or fishing!!!

On February 10, Michigan’s Natural Resource Commission approved Michigan’s new Mentored Youth Hunting Program.  As of March 1st, 2012, Michigan’s youth will be able to – for a mere $7.50 – purchase a Mentored Youth Hunting License.  The license is a “package” license, and will include small game, spring and fall turkey (public or private), two deer tags (any deer), a furbearer trapping permit, and an all-species fishing license.  And, as if it needed to get any better, this license also has a nice little provision, which allows 10-year-olds to hunt big game with a firearm on private land.

And what about the mentor?  Well….the mentor must be at least 21 years old, have previous hunting experience and possess a valid Michigan hunting license.

Here are some other important regulations within the new law:

• No limit on the number of youth a mentor can have with him or her in the field, leaving it at the discretion of the mentor.
• A limit of two hunting devices ? bow, crossbow or firearm ? per mentor.
• The youth in possession of a hunting device and engaged in the act of hunting must be within arm’s length of the mentor.
• The mentor shall ensure that the hunting device is sized appropriately to fit the physical abilities of the youth to ensure safe and responsible handling.
• The mentor will be held responsible for the youth’s actions.
• The issued deer tags under the Mentored Youth Hunting license can be used for either sex (antlered or antlerless), are not subject to antler point restriction regulations in certain parts of the state and can only be used on private land, consistent with current state law.

I think this is absolutely awesome news, and I can’t wait for the day when I can take my kids hunting for the first time.  Though I think Abby is still a little young to actively shoot at a live animal – with any weapon – I love the fact that I get to make the decision as to when she’s ready – that a politician doesn’t make that choice for me.

This is truly a win for all of the kids in Michigan, and it’s a win for Michigan’s hunting heritage.  By allowing children to hunt at an earlier age, they are much more likely to continue to hunt into adulthood.  And, by allowing them access to the hunting past time at an earlier point in their life, it will provide parents and mentors with an opportunity to show these kids what hunting and fishing is all about, before they’re whisked away by Ipods, the internet, and video games.

It’s a great day for hunting in Michigan.  And I cannot wait to get my kids in the outdoors!

Note:  If you’d like to read the entire press release, you can do so here.  And if you’d like to learn more about being a mentor, you can do so here.

What a hunter I am.

But venison burger wasn’t exactly the first thing I wanted to use the Skeeter’s Batter it Up mix on.  I really would have preferred to try it on fish – fish I had caught myself – but since January feels more like April around here, and lakes can’t freeze enough for me to be comfortable fishing on them, there wasn’t any fish fillets to use either.

So I would have to settle for trying it out on some Tilapia fillets my wife had already bought at the store.

Honestly, the batter mix is very good.  You can really cover the fish in it, if you want, or you can lightly bread it, as my wife did.  I don’t really care for a fish fillet with a ton of batter on it, so cooking up the fish this way was excellent; it gave the fish a little zip to it, while keeping the batter to a minimum.

And it’s very good.

You can use the batter on pretty much anything you choose.  So far I’ve taste-tested it on venison and the fish fillets, and both were equally as good.  And though I don’t really prefer any heat to my food, Skeeters Batter it Up also has a cajun variety as well.

Now, if I can just put some turkey breast in the freezer, I’ll try it out on those, too.

Note:  Obviously, I did not pay for this batter mix, nor am I trying to claim that I did.  It was given to me for free, as they are now one of our new sponsors.  But it’s damn good, and I’m not lying about that at all.

In this episode we take you down south to see if Brent’s cousin can get his first bow kill; Brent takes his 13 yr. old niece on two different hunts; and Jeff and I have one of the most interesting days we’ve ever had in the deer woods.  It’s a unique episode, and one of our favorites so far.

Jeff initially came up with the idea, created a Myspace page (remember Myspace? Oh how times have changed), and that is where SimplyOutdoors initially started. 

After I took a look at the Myspace page, however, and noticed how weird some of the layouts looked, I started looking into creating a new site.

And that is where SimplyOutdoors began.

At first, it was just a means to share a few pictures, to share some stories about our love of the outdoors, and see where it took us.  And as the years passed, I discovered that I really loved to write – and that was really the main focus of the site for a few years.

Underneath the blog, however, was Jeff’s passion for hunting.  And, though it took a little while for it to reach the surface, Jeff’s true goal of having an outdoor website – to share our love of hunting, fishing, and all around being outdoors -has really taken shape in the form of SimplyOutdoors TV.

The last four and half years have been a blast, and we’ve loved sharing our outdoor pursuits with all of you.  And now, being able to share even more of those experiences through your television, and through this new site, is just another dream come true.

SimplyOutdoors.net has definitely morphed throughout the years, and, as you can see with the new site, is definitely more focused on our new approach to sharing our hunting lifestyle with everyone:  through motion picture. 

But the blog is still there, too, the passion for the outdoors is still there, the passion for getting kids involved in the outdoors is still there, and we’re still the same guys who started this site back in 2007.

We can’t wait to share all our upcoming hunts with all of you – in whichever way you choose to enjoy them – and we’re looking forward to everything that is in store for the SimplyOutdoors crew.

We thank each and every one of you for coming along for the ride.

In this episode, the SimplyOutdoors crew chase after some Michigan Whitetails.  And, in case you didn’t know, Michigan Whitetails are some of the hardest hunted deer in the country.  It could be interesting.

Watch along, as Barry, with many of his family members in tow, chases Whitetails in the foothills of Tennessee.  It ends up being a very memorable trip for all involved.

Join the SimplyOutdoors crew, as they head to woods during Michigan’s archery season opener.

Some evidence:

• I never posted a few of the deer that Justin shot.
• I didn’t post anything about Jeff, Barry, Erin, and Josh heading down to the ATA show in Columbus a little over a week ago.
• And I’ve never posted anything about the fact that SimplyOutdoors TV will be airing on the Pursuit Channel starting in January 2013.

I have all kinds of excuses for my neglectfulness – helping the wife tend to a colicky baby, and working on some up and coming website revamping – just to name a few.  But the fact of the matter is that I’ve been a complete slacker when it comes to this blog.  I can’t really deny it.

SimplyOutdoors has a lot of very cool things in the works right now, and though I’ve been a little preoccupied with raising two little girls, and all the responsibilities that go with it, hopefully – very soon – I will be able to put more time back into this blog again, and make it what it used to be – a place to write, to vent, to share ideas, and, most importantly right now, a place to share all of the cool things that are coming down the pipe for the SimplyOutdoors crew.

And…since I’m turning over a new leaf….I might as well share the fact that this weekend, on Saturday, a bunch of us will be at the Huntin’  Time Expo in Grand Rapids.

So, even though, lately, you can’t read many of my ideas and thoughts, you can at least stop by the Proc’s Hunting Buddy booth and say hello.