Outing 2 Date Is Set!!!!! Check this out!

[Hunter333]

Well, things are getting rolling now! August 25 and 26 are ours at the club in Durand. We havent gotten any of the details other than that but now we can all take the time off of work!! Check back here for info or to share your ideas. You can also reach me through private messages.

[pegasus]

Since I am a newer member to this board I was just wondering what type of events do you have at this outing? What, if any cost is involved?
Since most of the people are here are Michigan Sportsman has anyone thought about having an event on the west side of the state for people located on this side of the state?

[Sarge]

Last year we had Trap shooting, Skeet shooting, Rifle, pistol, ML, etc. shooting, and a ton of food.

My personal favorites are the food, rifle shooting, and the food. Next comes Trap and the food.

Special thanks again for last years cooks, which were Hunter333, Trout, Curdog, ???. And Bowdad sent salmon, all selections were excelent. I was a little sneaky and took home the leftover salmon and chowed well another time.

I suspect the events for this year will be determined by quantity of people and quantity of helpers. You want more or different events it would be appropriate to volunteer to help.

Count me in as a helper and as a participant.

Even if there weren't events, I met fun people of the highest calibre last time.

[boehr]

I will try to be there, had a good time at Cabela's and wouldn't mind the pistol shooting at all.

[Hunter333]

Alright, another response!! All are welcome to come for whatever reason, be it pistol, shotgun, rifle, or just to come eat!!! I am hoping that things will heat up here a bit in the future............. if not, I guess we will have a nice intimate gather like last year :) Spread the word!

[Salmonsmoker]

At the Lansing Deer and Turkey show, several people indicated that they would like to have a cooking contest at one of our outings. If there is interest, I will set up something for the August Outing.

Salmonsmoker

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I put in for those dates off from work. Still waiting to hear; also, the wife wants to take vacation the two weeks prior, but I told her I would really like to attend since I didn't get to go last year.
I don't know about a cooking contest, but you can sign me up for an eating contest;)
Will know better whether I can make it or not as it gets closer, and I am sure a lot of others are in the same boat.

[BowDad]

The family and I will be there! Let me know what I can do to help.

[Hunter333]

Glad to see that others are planning on attending! As for a cooking contest....Salmonsmoker, if you want to organize, run, reward, etc go for it! As for myself. I have enough to try to figure out with all of the shooting that will be going on :) I dont want to make this too much work for people, the goal is to go and have a great time. I am however, offering my services as official taste tester :)

[Salmonsmoker]

I have worked on setting up cooking contests in the past and can draw on much of that to work out the details.

The most difficult part of such an event is finding non-biased and effective judges. It would be ideal to have them from the cooking profession - chef's or restaurant owners, cooking school instructors, TV Personalities (good for a lot of promo for the event) etc. I will make some contacts along that line. In the mean time, if any of you know someone in the above catagories that would be willing to be a judge (for recognition only since we do not have funds to hire them) then let me know. We will need three judges.

Having a cooking contest is just another activity - another something for participants to enjoy - it might encourage members to attend the outing if they have a special recipe to enter into the contest - mostly it will be lots of fun and lots of good food.

If there is general agreement to do a cooking contest - and if we can work out some preliminary details here in the next few days, then I will start a new thread under this forum with some early details.

Salmonsmoker

[Sarge]

I guess I can't be a judge. (heavy sigh) After all, my philosophy is:

Food is good. Good food is great. Great food is heaven.

[Hunter333]

A cooking contest sounds like a great idea Salmonsmoker! Maybe for the first run, we could make it not so technical ie have some of us be judges. Once we see how it goes and what needs to be changed, then we could make it more "official." Just an idea............. However, if you are able to get someone outside the group and someone in TV, I say take the bull by the horns!! keep us informed of your thoughts on the idea.

[Salmonsmoker]

Hunter333,

There are several questions that will make putting together a cooking contest easier - and even help members who will be traveling to the outing.

What organization or club is Hosting our outing? Can members camp at that location? Do we have electricity at that location? Do we have access to a kitchen (or at least a refrigerator)? Do we have access to restrooms?

Thanks

Salmonsmoker

[Sarge]

There is a small kitchen and fridge. Last year it had just been robbed and only had electric griddles and a microwave. We did the main meal cooking outside on grills. Yes there is electric, and I'm convinced that there will be no problem using the kitchen and stove etc. Camping is available within 5 miles at Walnut Hills campgrounds. Hunter 333 and Jen camped there with Ruth and I last time and it was really nice.

There is a wilderness (primitive) area on the grounds that I think (not sure) they said we could have camped at. I prefer my luxury when I camp so I probably wouldn't anyway.

Yes to the restrooms also.

[northern_outdoorsman]

I'm a new member, but I'd be glad to help and will definately attend. Where is Durrand?...Don

[Salmonsmoker]

Maybe I missed it somewhere along the way, but I still don't know who is hosting this event - what club - do we have a name for the organization that own the property?

Salmonsmoker

[Hunter333]

SS and others...... Durand Sports Club. Yes there is restroom access, electric hookups, etc. No there is not camping there but there is a place nearby that we and sarge camped at last year. Last year when were there trying to make breakfast, we had to use electrical hotplates etc because someone had broken in the night before and vandalized the kitchen :( it worked but it wouldnt have been OK if there had been many more people. maybe Trout could check into us using the kitchen and find out what equipment is available. For dinner, Trout brought his gas grill and I will hopefully be able to bring mine this year as well.
More details to follow as they become available.

[Hunter333]

Here is the site for the place that we stayed at last year and plan to this year as well.

http://www.michcampgrounds.com/walnuthills/

[Sarge]

I think the full name of the place is The Durand Sportsman's Association. I tried to find it in the phone book and so forth last year and had no luck. Its 3 miles south of durand and 1/4 mile east. I will look up my stuff from last year and post web addresses and such with maps right to the place. The Campground is just 4 miles I think from the club. Its a very nice place (both club and campground) and I'd like to see us kick it off with a live campfire like Hunter333 and us did last year.

Stay tuned, there will be more after this commercial message.

[Hunter333]

A fire the night before is a great idea!! I look forward to it all so make sure to spread the word!!

[Hope]

Is this only for guys? Sounds like you all are staying the night? Camping? Is it family stuff or man stuff? LOL! Let me know. :)

[Hunter333]

Men, women, children, dogs, whomever cares to attend. My wife is coming again this year and is really excited about it! little does she know that I plan to have a new 20 guage for her to use when we get there :) we will be camping at the place that is mentioned in earlier posts, its a pretty nice place.

[Salmonsmoker]

This is a michigan-sportsman.com outing. If you are a member, you need to be there. We need to have representation from any and all aspects of the site. Just look through the titles of the forums. They all need to be well represented.

Salmonsmoker

[Hunter333]

Spread the word, responses have been a little slow to this point. I am sure that as the time gets closer, more will post. I hope that we can get an idea of how many plan to attend sometime in the next month, August isnt that far away.

[midwestfisherman]

I am planning on being there with the wife and family. Looking forward to meeting all of you. Looking forward to the trap shooting too. ;) :p

[midwestfisherman]

Forgot to say: Let me know if there's anything that I can help with. WARNING! I'm not much of a cook.......:D

[Moe]

I'm going to try and drag my family up there. I'm really into bowhunting and was wonding if there is an archery range there also? I'm trying to get my little sister into hunting too and if she sees how much the women are having, maybe she'll join in on the fun too!

[Neapolis]

I have to change my vote from I'll try, to can't make it. My plans for a trip to Colorado are getting firmed up and I will be out west.

Hope you all have good weather for the great outing you will have.:cool:

[Sarge]

Who all has reservations for Walnut Hills already? Ruth and I are still debating. We can't stay for sunday, so a one nighter and loading up after Saturday's activieies sounds like too much. On the other hand if there is going to be a party atmosphere Friday night, it might become worth it again.

[Hunter333]

Jen and I will be there Friday night, or maybe Thursday. I got some mail about having a get toghether Sunday morning for church's sake and that sounds like a cool idea. What better place than to have a service around a campfire with family?

[NEMichsportsman]

Is there a map or other details posted somewhere? Or can someone e-mail me? I just joined but think it might be a great way to get to meet...

thanks
jp

[BowDad]

Welcome JP! Check the Michigan Sportsman Outing Forum and scroll through the posts, you should be able to find all the info you need. Hope to see you there, I guarantee you'll have a great time.

[Neal]

I sure would like to attend and meet the faces behind the names, but I am on call for a Caribou hunt in Quebec Late Aug.~Early Sept. When the herds are in Camp I will get a call and have about 2 days to get to Motreal, to catch a plane into camp. So that situation will determine my participation..........I sure would like to be there if just for a few hours.....I will try.

Neal

[Sarge]

When it comes to raw pure excitement, I don't think I could possibly fault you for going for the caribou hunt. On the other hand if it comes to raw pure fun,, maybe you'd be better off at the outing. If you can possibly make both, you are in the best of all worlds.

Bowdad and I and my wife (and someone?) are charting with Gold Coast Charters about 2 weeks before the outing and should bring some nice Salmon or Lakers to share. ( unless I eat them all before the outing):rolleyes:

[Hunter333]

Just realized that I had made reservations the wrong weekend!! I got them changes and the same site was available, thankfully. Looking forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks!!

[SUPER-X]

Originally posted by Hunter333
Well, things are getting rolling now! August 25 and 26 are ours at the club in Durand. We havent gotten any of the details other than that but now we can all take the time off of work!! Check back here for info or to share your ideas. You can also reach me through private messages. HEY 333 SOUNDS LIKE FUN I ONLY LIVE ABOUT 5 OR 6 MILES AWAY.THE GIRLFRIEND AND I WILL BE THERE ON SAT.MAYBE ON SUN.HAVE TO CHECK THE WORK SCHEDULE.IF YOU NEED VOLUNTEERS TO DO ANYTHING DON'T BE SHY JUST ASK. SUPER-X

[Stalker]

I be there on Sat. There will be 5 total. My wife and 3 children. See you there. Sorry about not vol. for helping. It was the only way to get the whole family to go. Did I miss the cost per person?

[Hunter333]

As far as I understand it, we only have to pay for our clay pigeons. The club is not charging us! :) Dont forget your favorite wild game to share!!

[stelmon]

Does anyone know how far this off of I-75. MIGHT be going up to west branch to do some scoutting that weekend and if I can I would be happy to stop by and meet some faces behind the screen names. Is there a cost? What time can we start showing up?

[Hunter333]

Good question about what time............... Hey Trout, did we suggest a time to start getting there or did the club give us a time?

[stelmon]

No can do. My family has planned a vacation either to the PM or sturgeon river. Hope you all have a fun time

[Hunter333]

Stelmon, sorry to see that you cant make it, we plan to have a great time!! Look for some pictures to be coming shortly after the weekend.