JACKSON COUNTY -- Legendary rocker and avid hunter Ted Nugent talked exclusively with NBC25 about the opening week of 2010 firearm hunting season and praised the NBC25 and Jay’s Sporting Goods Trophy Deer Pole. Go here for a 60-minute interview with Nugent.

“It’s a wonderful tradition that you engage them and that they get to participate and they get to get those bucks up on that poll,” he said enthusiastically to NBC25’s Mark Torregrossa, Dave Kinchen, Dillon Collier, and Jeff Reinarz while on location at his 300 acre property in Jackson County.  

Though he lives in Texas now, Nugent said he continues to monitor Michigan’s outdoors and that state leaders should take batter advantage of its assets. 

“There are so many inconsistent regulations in Michigan,” he said.  “(My friends) think Michigan is silly.  I love Michigan.  I am a lifetime birthright Michiganiac and I will never miss my sacred season in Michigan.”

”Michigan is doing good but not good enough.  We should become a destination state,” he said.  “Michigan has better opportunities (than other states including Illinois, Iowa and Kansas) and better resources but they have been mismanaged.”

In Part 2 of our series airing Thursday night at 6 and 11, Nugent talks about the controversy over hunting the Feral Pig and discusses regulations he would like to see removed.