Lawyer's first deer was driving force
Inspired by boyhood in Michigan's UP, Hupy a staunch supporter of shooting sports
Editor's note: To accompany Deer Camp '09, we've asked athletes, prominent figures and outdoorsmen to relate their first deer kill .
It's not surprising that Milwaukee attorney Michael Hupy cannot remember a time when he did not hunt.
Growing up in the town of Menominee in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, he began hunting at age 5, following his father through oak and spruce thickets on grouse hunts.
When he was 12, he shouldered his first shotgun, a .20-gauge, joining his father in pursuit of grouse, or as the "UPers" call 'em, "pats."
The first year that Hupy went deer hunting was 1960. He was 14.
"I hunted really hard and did not get a shot. I was really disappointed," he said, recalling that a license in those days cost $5.
The following year, 1961, Hupy returned to the woods near Spalding, Mich., to try again.
"My father and his friends set up a drive and put me on a stand along a river and beside a road. I had this hunch to move a little from where they first placed me," he said. "As the drivers approached from the east to the west, I saw something moving. Then I saw that it was buck.
"I had my gun up, a Winchester Model 100, .308. The deer emerged from the cover and I could count his points — six. He was a heavy deer. He was 40 yards away and moving. I was excited and took the shot. I hit him in the neck and he dropped. You could say that it was a 'lucky shot.' I do not usually take running shots, but I was very proud of that buck and still am. I have that rack on my wall."
Hupy not only has a picture with he and his brother Tom and that first deer, but he has returned to hunt the UP woods with that same rifle for 49 years. He says that he has not killed "that many" deer over the years, as he likes to only shoot big bucks. "For me, hunting is challenging and relaxing," he said.
A graduate of Marquette University, Hupy's legal specialty is personal injury, especially for motorcyclists. He has practiced that area of the law for over 35 years and has tried and settled numerous million-dollar personal injury cases including a slip and fall case, which at that time was the largest verdict in the State's history — $9.5 million.
His success in the legal arena is what led me to meet Hupy in the 1990s, where he was one the celebrity hunters at the Missouri Celebrity Turkey Hunt. At the MICTH event, Hupy was honored not only for his achievements as a lawyer, but for giving back to the community, including supporting America's Second Harvest of Wisconsin, the YMCA, the Boy Scouts, scholarship programs, safety programs for bikers, and fingerprint programs.
In December 2008, Michael Hupy was honored by Wisconsin Governor James Doyle with a Certificate of Commendation for his community service work.
Inspired by his boyhood in the UP, Hupy is a staunch supporter of shooting sports, especially celebrity shooting events that promote a positive image of shooters and hunters. A regular at many charity shoots around the U.S., for five years Hupy was a primary sponsor of the Hollywood Celebrity Shoot that was originally started by Charleton Heston.
Hupy's support for the HCS included his office staff handling all the mailings, and then a week before the event, Michael flew two of his secretaries — Kelly Sura and Teresa Janusz — to Hollywood to run the administration of event.
On his trophy room walls you'll not only find mounted trophies of many critters — he has taken elk at the ranches of Rick Schroder and Ted Turner — but also photos of Michael with celebrities. He is very proud of a photo of himself with Chuck Yeager and astronaut Walt Schirra at the Big Country Celebrity Quail Hunt, as well as his many photos with celebrities at the Hollywood Celebrity Shoot.
Hupy also puts the celebs to work. When they put you on hold on the phone at Hupy's office, you hear the voice of actor Marshall Teague (Armageddon, Road House). TV commercials for Hupy's law firm feature Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy).
In addition to his annual UP Michigan deer hunt, Michael Hupy enjoys hunting all kinds of game from deer, elk and bear to turkeys and especially grouse — ruffed grouse in the woods of Michigan and Wisconsin, and grouse shooting in Scotland.
This fall Hupy plans to visit his daughter, who is studying in Spain. True to his nature, when he is there he plans to go out on a driven hunt for red-legged partridge, but he will be back home in plenty of time for his annual deer hunting pilgrimage to the UP.
