A big, blank wall in downtown Oxford was transformed last week into an eye-catching mural depicting the State of Michigan and its bountiful selection of game animals.

Designed and painted by Lake Orion artist Kristi Blattel, the mural was created in preparation for the opening of a new hunting specialty store called Beyond the Ears, owned by Craig Schneider, of Lake Orion.

“She did an unbelievable job on it,” he said. “The feedback that both her and I have received so far is tremendously positive.”

Beyond the Ears will be located at 40 N. Washington St. inside a 1,700-square-foot space right next door to the former Oxford Veterans Memorial Civic Center.

“We’re hoping to open in the next two to three weeks. It just depends on inventory at this point,” Schneider said. “We’re waiting for inventory to show up. We’re getting a little bit at a time right now.”

Beyond the Ears is going to carry a wide selection of high-end technical hunting apparel from top manufacturers such as First Lite, Sitka, Kryptek and Predator.

Schneider said this is the type of clothing “they don’t sell in your big-box stores.”

Beyond the Ears will also offer a selection of high-quality archery equipment and accessories.

“We’re carrying the new Bear X crossbow (line). That was one of the hottest products available at the ATA (Archery Trade Association) show,” Schneider said. “We’ve got four different models. The price point on those (goes) from $350 up to $1,049.”

With the exception of a limited number of ready-to-hunt packages, Beyond the Ears won’t be dealing in compound bows.

“I don’t have the space for them and I don’t have the space to hire someone to be a bow tech at this point,” Schneider explained. “That’s probably down the road for us.”

The store won’t be selling firearms or ammunition, either.

“We really wanted to create sort of a one-stop shop for the archery guy that wants the better clothing, that wants the better gear,” he said.

“We’re going to be the only retail store in the State of Michigan that carries all of it under one roof, especially the clothing. There are some small retailers that have a little bit of it here and there, but not the volume we’re going to have.”

In addition to outfitting hunters for success in the field, Beyond the Ears will be dedicated to raising awareness about the need for better deer management practices in Michigan. The store’s website – www.beyondtheears.com – will include recommendations as to what people should and should not be doing in order to improve the quality of the state’s deer herd and raise more trophy-sized bucks.

For example, hunters are advised to not shoot a buck unless the inside spread between the main antler beams measures at least 15 inches, according to Schneider.

He explained that Texas, where he’s hunted for a number of years, is known as “a large buck state” because “you can’t shoot anything unless it has an inside spread beyond the ears,” which is 15 inches or more.

“That was kind of where the name (for the store) came from,” Schneider explained. “We wanted there to be some meaning behind the name.”

Increasing the population of trophy bucks would not only benefit Michigan hunters, it would attract more out-of-state hunters, according to Schneider.

He said right now, “Michigan isn’t known as a destination hunting state.”

“Michigan has half-a-million hunters who spend more money per hunter at retail (establishments) than any other state in the country,” he continued. “(Yet,) we don’t even book 5,000 non-resident hunters a year in the state.”

Attracting more out-of-state hunters would be a boon to Michigan’s economy, according to Schneider, because they spend “a lot of money” on food, car rentals, lodging, etc.

In order to help promote the state as a hunting destination, the Beyond the Ears website will feature on-line trophy rooms where hunters can share photos of the whitetail deer, black bears, elk and wild turkeys they harvest.

There will be a restriction regarding deer photos. Only bucks with an inside spread of 15 inches or more will be allowed, according to Schneider.

“We’re going to limit what can be posted to highlight the trophy aspect of whitetail hunting in Michigan,” he said.