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The other day my wife and I got news that our new baby, due this December, is a girl. As we lay in bed that night, my wife expressed her desire that I teach our daughter to hunt with the same enthusiasm that I use with our 2-year-old son. After assuring her that I would, I got to wondering how I’d go about fulfilling my promise.
It’s no secret that there’s a shortage of female representation in the hunting world. Women comprise some 52% of the American population yet account for only about 9% of the approximate 12.5 million licensed hunters in the country.
This discrepancy can be partially explained through human history. Our deep ancestors almost certainly lived as hunter-gatherers in small family-based clans. From what we’ve deduced from contemporary hunter-gatherer clans, the adult males probably focused on hunting while females and children stayed closer to home and concentrated their efforts on processing meat and hides and collecting plant-based resources. This division seems to have had spiritual foundations as much as practical. In The Last Gentleman Explorer, a published account of Edward Beauclerk Maurice’s experiences among the Inuit in the 1930s, he tells the story of being in a boat with a group of men and one woman when they inadvertently run into a whale. When the men decide to chase the whale down, the woman solemnly turns her back to the action and seems to mentally withdraw from the situation at hand.
Of course, we’re no longer bound to these ancient traditions and gender roles. I do all the wild game processing in my home, plus all of the gardening and cooking and a good portion of the cleaning. But in some cases, old habits still die hard. While almost every man in my immediate family hunts, none of the women do. My sister doesn’t hunt, my mother doesn’t hunt, my wife doesn’t hunt. There is something in many women, be it cultural or genetic, that tends to resist the lifestyle. My father always liked to tell the story of taking my mom with him bowhunting and having her implore him not to shoot a doe that passed beneath his tree. In my own life, I’ve taken seven different girlfriends on their first hunt and each has cried when they saw an animal get killed. Meanwhile, I’ve taken over a dozen men on their first hunts and not one has cried yet. I know this is very anecdotal, but I think it speaks to a profound difference between contemporary men and women.
The good news is that other guys are having completely different sets of experiences with the women in their families. My brother Danny’s wife has done a fair bit of hunting, including the kill of a mountain goat when she was six months pregnant. My buddy Ronny has raised three daughters who are proficient with a shotgun and enjoy chasing upland birds. (Ronny claims that he taught them to hunt so that they’d land better sons-in-laws for him to hang out with; he’s only half joking.) When I consider Ronny’s success with his daughters, I can’t help but consider the fact that he never had a son. That is, he never had a more traditional protégé. He wasn’t able to leave the girl at home to play with her dolls while he took the boy hunting. To make hunting a family affair, he took them along and treated them with the respect that many men reserve for their boys. They responded in kind.
If you watch hunting shows and visit hunting websites, you’re probably aware of the sex-pot huntress trend: fake tans, constantly changing hair styles, hunting in bikini tops. The reaction on a guy’s part is supposed to be, “Wow, the perfect woman! She’s hot and she likes to hunt.” But if you look deeply, you often find something that’s even faker than the counterfeit breasts and heavily applied makeup. If you asked them about this, I’m sure they’d give you some answer about how they’re making hunting “exciting” and “fun” for women. The problem is, most women who do hunt are far more interested in hunting than how they look to men while doing it. Hunters need to find it in themselves to invite women into the wild not as some obligation to their wives or daughters, but rather as a sacred engagement with their equals. The women in our lives need to be our hunting partners, our buddies. And we need more female hunting role models that young women can admire for things beyond style. We need to show future generations of women that the thrill of hunting for meat in the wild is an equal opportunity experience. That is the approach I plan on taking with my own daughter, who will be born this December. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Nice piece. I took my 2-year old daughter fishing for the first time this spring, and she caught a bluegill on my little ice-fishing rod. She was pumped. She knows we eat most of the fish we catch. My wife even bought her 1st fishing license ever this year because she saw how much fun my daughter was having.
Now I have girl #2 on the way in a couple of weeks. I like to think they will both continue to enjoy fishing, eventually hunting, and certainly the shooting sports. I suspect that I will be getting out more with my older daughter in order for her to have some special time with daddy, and not the new baby.
If your buddy Ronny is half-joking about the better son-in-law thing, then I’m laughing with him!
PS: Diggin’ the website redesign. Looking forward to the new book.
Excellent post, Steve. My daughter is 4 days away from being 17 months old. I’ve got a son on the way in October. I can’t wait for the opportunity to take each of them hunting. Hopefully my daughter will enjoy it as much as I do (she did point at my Hoyt the other day and say “bow”), and I can spend the rest of my life teaching her everything I know about hunting, fishing, and the outdoors. If she doesn’t, that’s fine, too. I won’t try to force it on her, but I have to admit I will be disappointed (for a little while) if I don’t get to spend quality time with my daughter in the deer stand.
Congratulations on the news of your daughter! That’s great.
I have a 6 yo daughter and a 3 yo son. At this point, my daughter is more interested in hunting and fishing than my son. She’s already got the hang of shooting a little Bear Archery bow I bought for them! I can’t wait to bring her out in the field with me.
Great post.
Alex
Congratulations Steve!
First of all, congratulations on another bairn, Steve. I’m very happy for you and your wife. And I think its great that she wants her daughter to have the chance to hunt along with you and your son.
I don’t have children, but I have taken 2 of my 3 nephews hunting and helped them get their first deer (and took the 3rd nephew shooting when he was ready for it). I tried to take my 2 nieces hunting but neither accepted the many invitations.
Same with my wife. She grew up in a hunting household and loves eating wild game, especially quail. But, although I have asked her many times, she has no interest in hunting. I think it has more to do with a) an admitted aversion to things creepy crawly (bugs, snakes, etc) and b) an inability to sit still and be quiet for more than a few seconds. Also, she is not good with blood and cannot even stand the sound of a chicken leg being separated from the thigh. I don’t think any of those things are really the result of cultural or environmental influences – her mother may not have liked creepy crawlies but she sure cleaned a mountain of chickens in her day.
Like it or not, there are differences between the sexes but that doesn’t mean that interests can’t intersect. Just don’t be too disappointed if it turns out your daughter doesn’t like to hunt. Just do what your wife said and give her the opportunity to find out early in life.
I think (and hope) that you and those modern, intelligent hunters out there represent the future of hunting, not those misguided knuckledraggers who think a camo halter top is the answer. I’ll give those guys the benefit of the doubt that they are just trying to get better ratings. But the tremendous surge in you and your show’s popularity demonstrates that honest, straight forward and thoughtful presentation is more appealing to a huge segment of the hunters out there, and represent us in a far better light to the vast majority of the public who don’t hunt but think its OK.
I hope your fans will be able to watch both of your kids get introduced to the outdoors (the pics of you and your son digging for bait were cute…and, hopefully, prescient). Best of luck. And, as always, keep up the good work!.
Hi Steve,
Congrats on the new baby girl! That’s really exciting.
My dad raised me hunting and fishing ever since I was able to walk in the woods with him. I’m sure that at first he was worried I wouldn’t love the outdoors like he did, but that was not the case. Little girls generally want to be with their dads and will enjoy spending time with them no matter what the activity. Because he shared his passion for the outdoors with me, I now have made it my lifestyle. The two of us (and a partner) run a safari company together and I’m also an outdoor writer.
I bet your baby girl will enjoy the outdoors just as much as you do. And don’t worry, there is a network of “real” women hunters that are very present in the industry. Check out The Women’s Outdoor News (www.womensoutdoornews) and Prois Hunting and Field Apparel (www.proishunting.com). No camo bikinis or fake anything there. I’m sure your daughter will get in with the right crowd.
Congratulations on your daughter and NICELY SAID! As one of the few solo female hosts of a hunting show, I feel a tremendous responsibility to ‘counter’ the scantily dressed so-called outdoors women who think that because they don camo and hold a weapon in a photo that they are promoting hunting and the lifestyle. It’s not what the networks want, the sponsors want and the real women who put the time in to hunt and harvest their food want. “Sex sells” is the typical response I’ve gotten when entered into debates of this topic and if that’s what some women choose.. fine. But those types of images, photos and social media posts are not doing women in the hunting industry any favors. They in fact are ‘dumbing down’ the image of women in the outdoors. My father gave me the greatest gift at a young age, that gift being the introduction of hunting and fishing into my life, which we’ve shared as a passion for over 30 years. It’s become a way of living and even a career and while I’m so excited to see more and more women getting into the arena, every time I see a camo bikini in a treestand it’s reminds me… we have a long way to go.
Great Read, I have a 3 year old daughter and have raised her no different than a boy. She comes hunting with me when it is safe and reasonable ( we are not out calling bears together yet). She loves to go and is somewhat of anomily. She loves to be a princess and loves pink but is the first to tear into a gut pile or an elk hanging in the garage.
She has been with me on several antelope and deer hunts. I truly love the time we spend out in the woods just learning from each other more than anything. I cannot wait until antelope season this year. My biggest caution would be to not force girls. Being she is my only child I have to walk the line of only taking her when she wants to go and not forcing her for my own benefit. I think that will ensure we have another female hunter kicking all our buts in the future
Joe
I’m a long-time female hunter in South Carolina. It is my passion. I have learned to process a deer (if I have to), clean my own turkeys and eat almost no red meat except venison. I was raised by parents who enjoyed hunting (Mom shot the biggest Osceola turkey in the family), my sister occasionally hunts, most of my female friends hunt, I was a member of an all female hunt club. In our neck of the woods, it is not at all unusual to have the girls and women hunt (they even made a short film about Debutante Hunters that won an award at the Sundance Film Festival), so maybe you guys just live in a different part of the country. I’ve participated in the NRA Women’s hunts (last year, we hunted elk and mule deer in western Montana) and have met women from all over who absolutely love being in the woods and don’t mind sleeping in a tent with nothing but a woodstove when its 17 degrees! It may have been a strange notion to have women hunt years ago, but it just isn’t that way where I live, thank goodness. Our whitetail season opens in 8 days and, hot as it is, my girlfriends and I will be sitting somewhere, hoping for that elusive velvet buck. I’ve been scouting all spring and summer, watching the antler growth on 3 big boys on my own property and plan to land one of them before August ends.
Great writing, as always. Bad thumbnail pic. A new one would help to draw women readers. They hate this one. Sorry If you are the artist, Steve.
Great article. A few years after meeting my wife I introduced her brother to the outdoors. After seeing his excitement she decided to join me for a couple hunts, soon after I was purchasing a bow for her as well as outfitting my old youth model .20 gauge with a slug barrel and scope. She has quickly become a truly passionate outdoors woman and a dedicated conservationist. From the time I start hanging cameras in the spring till the last day of late archery she is in the woods with me. We have had many discussions about when we have children. She too is insistent that we do our best to instill our passion for the outdoors in our children. We often watch outdoor t.v together and joke that we could never have a show simply because she doesn’t wear enough make up or have big enough boobs. My wife is no Tom boy she loves to get dolled up for a night on the town and has even earned the nickname “rambo Barbie” at work. When it comes to woods or the boat she’s all buisness and looks go out the window. We now have a new favorite outdoor show. As much as I love putting a nice buck on the wall and as much as she’s looking forward to putting her first on the wall, there’s nothing better then fresh meat in the freezer and on the grill. Going into this season your show has me less caught up in antlers and more excited to get back to my roots. Putting meat on the table for my household as well as my siblings.
Nice post, Steve. Thanks.
In the time between when we found out that my wife was pregnant with twins and finding out the gender, I knew that whether we had two boys, two girls, or one of each, they would both be riding motorcycles, fishing, hunting, camping and at least getting a chance to experience the things that I love to do and were passed on to me by my parents and grandparents. That said, now that I have two wonderful boys running around the house, I also have the responsibility to ensure that they get to experience the things that my wife and her family value as well.
Keep up the good work!
Awesome article – and little girls are no problem in loving the outdoors if you open it to them. I’m a female hunter, and I was long before I met my husband – I’m also the only hunter among my parents and sibling. I just wanted to do it.
Now, I’m married to another avid hunter, and I do all of the processing of our game. I like “making” food. I also garden and can a lot – my friends joke that if the world falls apart, they are heading straight to my house. I just like being self-sufficient, and my husband always is appreciative of what I do. He just no longer tries to help process deer- the last time he did, I almost cut his fingers off…not my fault he’s not quick at caping
We have a 4 year old daughter who fishes with us, and while she’s not spent time in the blind yet, she loves being outside and likes to be around when we bag a deer or turkey. Just this weekend, I processed a large snapping turtle we caught, and she sat down with her teddy bear and gave a running commentary of what I was doing….and many times told her teddy bear “I can’t wait until we eat the turtle! I love it! It’s so yummy!”. Of course, my same friends are horrified that we catch and eat snapping turtle – but I guess they think 18″ snappers are “cute”.
Raise that girl right. Any man that thinks a camo bikini with a gun is the “perfect woman” has pretty shallow standards. Give me a man who hugs and kisses his woman when she’s been elbow deep in guts, or a man who cleans up after I make 40lbs of venison brats. Oh wait, I already have him.
We’re working on raising a little girl who will give the same benefit to her spouse, and you better bet that we’ll be making sure her spouse appreciates it…it won’t just be daddy cleaning a shotgun on the porch when she steps out. Momma will be cleaning the rifle too.
I have two daughters, my oldest will be in college in two weeks. My biggest problem with taking my daughters out with me was the fact that I didn’t get out enough. I had such a hard time putting down my gun to teach them how to use theirs. I got over it, and once I did I gained a new hunting buddy. My youngest is 16 going on 28 and can shoot a shotgun better than I can. And she lets me know it every chance she gets!!! Don’t worry about taking them hunting until they are old enough…no, mature enough. More importantly, take them outdoors so they know what it’s about. Too many kids don’t get the opportunity to be out there anymore. I try and get a kid out every year, so our sport won’t die off. Good luck and congratulations!!!
Congratulations on the baby! I wanted to put my two cents in on this as I have experience besides the general commentary of exploitation/representation of women in Hunting. Consider it a wisp of wisdom from a relative stranger as a baby gift to you, Katie, and the baby.
When I was little I was never allowed to go with my dad or brothers hunting. I was always left behind to my vices which went along the lines of healing animals. I still remember the feeling of being left out. I hear people talking about family but when you’re little all you want to do is be with dad or mom. I wanted to be with dad not mom. While they were out killing them, I was out saving them. My dad had the mentality of the 1800’s and my mother just wasn’t having it. She has sense told me I frightened her as a baby. I guess she thought I was the Anti-Christ. Haaahahaha.
For the bulk of my life I basically worked in medicine. One day life threw me a crisis and I was without money. I went to the local DSS to get aid but was turned down because I made to much money previously and my employers (as I had three jobs with the same group of people) where stealing from their employees. I went home and told my dad I was rejected and had no way to feed my 7 year old son other than what I could grow or get by on. He pointed at the truck and said, “Get the rifle out and go hunt something.” I think my dad at that moment thought his little girl wasn’t going to be able to ‘fend’ for herself if I was constantly treated like the women back in the good old days. My brothers were gone and couldn’t be counted on. He took 10 minutes to show me how to use a gun. I was then sent out into the woods with a hunting license. He was surprised at how good I became at it but on the other hand a little frightened that I could go from ‘being his little girl’ and caring for the sick to putting a bullet in something. It’s a little disconcerting when you have a child you perceive as naïve and childlike to what one would now consider a killer. Deep down parents don’t want to see their daughters in the role of a mostly ‘manly’ sport. Maybe that does come from the roles of primitive man or woman but I think that is a little too stringent. Not all women had men and not all men had women. There might also exist the idea that men do not want women to be too much like men otherwise they may be less desirable. Men that are not secure in their manhood will act like this. My brother doesn’t like women such as this and will act against them by being harder on them than some fairy pants. Of course I am excluded in this because I am his brother. Hahahahaah. I had a doctor I worked for once that told me I was the kind of woman no man should marry. This doctor also decided later that ‘he’ would take applications to decide who I would marry. Men seem to have a need to not have to compete with their prospective other. They want to lead not be lead. Of course I myself am dubious of having some man lead me into a ditch.
Here I was in blue jeans, a red shirt and a gun almost every evening. I killed my lot to. I have my photos of certain kills but do not feel a need to post them on social media. I see it all the time but decided for myself that wasn’t for me. Men I have come across that I have told demand such things along with pictures of my guns. They especially ask for full body shots. I feel like they are not really interested in me or my hunting habits. They only want a fantasy. One that they can move on from if something better comes along. I also see women on the internet that do and do not hunt but put pictures of themselves. On one hand I support their right to do such a thing but do not want to do this myself. It objectifies you even before you have a chance to have a decent conversation with someone. You want them to know what you’re about not stare at your picture and make up something you can’t live up to? I understand being proud of what you do or how you look. You shouldn’t have to do things to get the acceptance or validation of a group of people in the Hunting community. I have been around that and let me tell you it was disappointing. I am referring to the general attitude of people and the need to only associate with people that can do something for you. Sometimes you just have to be your own ‘man’ or ‘woman’ in this case. That would be one of the hardest things to teach your children in a world where people are working together in groups. You have to do what is right for you and not the other people even when they turn and attack you for it. Pressure to do things that you wouldn’t usually do is everywhere. This ain’t Star Trek, you ain’t the Borg, and I will not be assimilated. lmao.
As for women in bikinis while holding guns and wearing hunting apparel you could say at least they take responsibility of exploitation into their own hands. Using items such as these commercially is up to the conscience of whatever brand is using them. If people buy from those brands they undoubtedly have no problem supporting that kind of thing. You always have the choice on where you put your loyalty. You can’t fault people and their choices you can only worry about yourself. If 20 people want to go and look at naked ladies or men you still can choose to hang out with fully clothed women in hunting apparel living in England that shoot the shit out of a gun and be a bad ass about it while maintaining their personal space. It depends on where you gravitate.
I also accept that fact that men and women are sexual animal. You have to worry about people misrepresenting themselves to you. Luring you to a place, taking your money, getting you emotionally entangled then sending you on your way all under the guise of Hunting.
I’ve been told I am a ‘hot blood’. I know in this day and age I see the problem with people still have Puritanical ideas on sexuality. I myself no longer want to suppress it but don’t get me wrong. I can control myself. People still have a problem letting women see themselves as ‘sexual beast’. With women it’s like we can’t put our foot out and be who we are fully without some Barney Fife trying to shoot our toes off. What is up with that? I get that in certain circumstances or arenas you need decorum and control but when the general world degrades women by labeling them in a negative matter with colorful words then thinks that is justifiable reason for mistreatment I got a problem with that. On one hand there is permission and encouragement but on the other ‘how f-ing dare you’. Women’s sexuality is suppressed by the deep seated biblical mentality but on a personal level I exert mine as I see fit and don’t apologize for it. Yet I do say this I don’t force it down someone’s throat. You standing near it move away or look away if you don’t like it.
BTW, I love the way you guys hold your hands up to show the wedding band. I was laughing one night wondering when it was going to get its own show. That doesn’t stop the crazies. It makes them worse sometimes. There is also the idea that just because someone shows another person attention that is some kind of cue for ‘hey, I’m a nut bag can I stalk you now?’ People need to lighten up. Not everyone talking at you wants to throw you down in the floor and have at you. Hahahahahahahahahaha.
Yes, I will admit that when I run over a nasty ole possum that probably is a carrier of EMP I do freak and shed a tear or two. I did that once with a barred owl I hit, put him in a Christmas box to bury him but a possum on my porch carried him off. That owl ruined the grill on my truck though. Good times, good times.
I think the only time in my life where I didn’t feel the pressures of the world or its demands was when I was in the woods, messing with horses, or hunting. It was the one place where I didn’t have to worry about my hair, make-up, three inch heels, the coquetteness (it’s a small cake? lol) of the dating ritual, being rejected or accepted in relationships. There was no existence of a façade as all people build these in their lives whether they are honest about this or not. I didn’t have to live up to anyone’s expectation only my own. If I could live with myself in those moments I knew I could live my life right, the right people would be in it, and I wouldn’t have to live with regret or remorse.
1. Teach your little girl what she needs to navigate and survive this life by helping her come to her conclusions on what kind of life she wants to have.
2. Instill in her that she has a choice at all times even when she feels like she doesn’t.
3. Teach her to think as much like a prey animal as a predator. Both have their positives.
4. Warn her about men. If he doesn’t have good intentions Steve should get his gun and go over ‘the rules’.
5. Shelter her as much as you can because when the time comes maybe she’ll be so shocked by people’s behavior the red flag to run will raise itself.
6. You can’t make someone love you. You can only love yourself.
7. No matter how many times someone breaks her heart if she stays true to herself then she’ll dodge more trouble than what trouble is worth.
8. “Protect yourself at all times” quoted Ice Cube in Lottery Ticket.
9. When in doubt—–run.
10. Just because a guy smiles at you doesn’t mean he has good intentions.
You children are the most precious things you will ever have. Treat them well, show them the way, and pray they make it out alive with their morals intact while lacking regret or remorse. That is what you can hope for.
Nice Steve and good luck! We raised 3 daughters who got their chance to be “out in the woods” with their dad and I’ve never regretted it. They are are all away from home now, libving in the city, but never have lost the memories or the principles of the outdoors. My wife and I have always hunted together. She is and always be my huntin’ buddy. We even have kinda a little competition goin’! It took me 6 years to beat her 10 point with my 12 point, so I took her caribou hunting last fall in Quebec, and she topped me again with an SCI book 365 snow white bull, mine will score about 350. But it makes it fun. Check out our Safari Nordik pics on Facebook @ Bob Hanna….Millersburg, Ohio great show Steve
I don’t think this article really gets at the real reason that not many women hunt. I grew up hunting with my father and brothers and their hunting buddies.
Hunting is more than just the time in the woods, though. There’s the time afterwards telling stories, hanging out with the other hunters. My mom always rolls her eyes about how we all go over every minor detail of the hunt. That’s a big part of the fun.
My family was at home in the evenings, but for many people Hunting Camp is a gathering place near the hunting areas, and it’s a time for the guys to get together, tell guy stories or whatever. A women just isn’t one of the guys, and no offense meant. I think that’s pretty common, and no offense taken, but it does take away a big part of the fun not to have hunting buddies during the day, or to meet up with in the evening.
I think that part is missing for many women. There’s no one for us to hunt with unless the group of hunters all live close enough to each other and to the hunting areas that they can go home each night to hang out and tell stories.
At best, a woman can hunt with her husband or brother. Maybe (maybe) she can join the guys with her husband/father/brother at a camp. If she’s alone, she really really can’t go to Camp. So if she hunts, it’s hunting near home alone or with husband/brother/father only.
I’ve moved from PA near my hunting father/brothers/cousins to MT where I hunt with my husband. But we’ve got kids, so we can’t hunt together–someone’s got to be there to get the kids to school, etc. We tag team hunt near home, and later in the season he joins his buddies at Camp. I’d much rather go back to PA to hunt, but my husband wants to hunt here in MT, and who wouldn’t? I can’t go back alone to PA because the seasons overlap and he wouldn’t be able to hunt here with me gone. And anyway, how would I get the meat back? It’s not cheap to ship. I can’t take the kids because of school.
Our son will no doubt eventually join the guys at camp, but while we’ll take our daughter out hunting–she’s keen to go, and also caught her first trout on a flyrod last summer– I don’t think it’s going to be as much fun for her and I’m not sure she’ll be into it, though we all love camping, hiking, backpacking, etc.
It has nothing to do with not liking the outdoors. It’s just not as much fun alone–and to be honest, I don’t think I’d enjoy an “all women’s group” even if I found one. Too much “we’re strong women! and we can do it!!” attitude. Please. I’d love to have a group of men and women to hunt with, but it’s just not possible.
Congrats, Steve, and excellent post. I have twin daughters who are turning eight soon and going on their first hunt in a few weeks.
I think there are a couple of important points that haven’t been mentioned that are hopeful and illuminating…
The world is changing fast as it regards women’s roles and sexuality, relations between men and women. I’m almost 43, and when I was a teenager, hunting (and fishing to a large degree) was a way to get away from women and be “with the guys”. Twenty-six years later, my best friend outside my wife is a woman and a lesbian. She is my main hunting partner, although my kids, and soon my wife, will be competing for those slots.
One third of new hunters are girls or women, from the numbers I’ve read, although this varies by state and region.
Responsive management and the I think the NSSF, along with wildlife agencies, have studied hunter motivation and women have somewhat higher motivation of “quality family time” as a motivation than men. There’s a saying by a woman hunting instructor: “Teach a man to hunt, he goes hunting. Teach a woman to hunt, the whole family goes hunting.” Men out there, keep this in mind.
Lastly, my daughters love your show and the photo you autographed for them. In terms of earlier media, while it was cool that there was pretty but effective hunters on the web, such as Melissa Bachman, but most of all, regular people on youtube, women and their family members filming their hunts and posting them, really helped out. I would suggest that is something dads (and moms for that matter), make use of in terms of motivation.
I liked the article.
As I read this piece i couldn’t help but think of a hunting show i was watching. The young lady doing the hunting saw a doe and it smelled something,,, bam,,, gone. Then the buck of a lifetime showed, up caught apparently the same smell and hightailed out of there. She cried because of the busted hunt. (I suppose it has happened to all of us at some point). Then I noticed all the make-up she was wearing and wondered if the deer smelled it. I know several ladies that hunt. They do not wear make up in the field,,, as far as I know they don’t even bring it to camp. Just a thought.
Instead of trying to look sexy for the hunt,,, maybe prepare for the hunt and leave all the glitz and glam at home.
Love your work, Steve, and thanks for posting this excellent article. Have been talking to your lovely friends at Zero Point Zero. And will see you at your booksigning tonight in Brooklyn. Hope to hunt together someday.
Great article. I think an excellentt point was made that girls don’t have many other girls to hunt with. I love to hunt with or without friends, but with my friends is a much richer experience.
It all starts with taking your daughter hunting. I brought my daughter along on many a deer hunt and she even held the flashlight as a toddler while I gutted a deer in the dark.While she didn’t take hunting up as a young adult, I bet if she had peers that hunted, she would have tagged right along with them.
I look forward to reading your book. Congratulations on the news of your daughter!
As a woman who has shot two large game animals and been present for the shooting of seven large game, I have cried (openly or to myself) at each event. I don’t think a woman has to be hardened (bad-ass on the surface) to hunt, nor does she need to make it a drama. I feel that she just needs to be open to whatever comes up, while being present with the experience. Women and girls are nurtured (I believe by our culture) to look a certain way to those around her. Something that I adore about hunting is that when I go with the right hunting company, I get to strip back expectations and be present with my surroundings; the weather, the smell of the alders, the sound of the gun, and my mood. I have cried, mostly from overwhelm at seeing a large animal die on front of me, but gratitude and awe of their beauty is mixed in there too.
BTW, I was wondering when you were going to develop this page. Its really professional looking not that it wasn’t before but at least its getting more substance to it. Right on! *two thumbs up*
Stevens hunting philosophy is the whole reason I decided to start hunting (the hubby thanks you). My first hunt is next week and I’ve been discussing with my husband my fear of what reaction I’ll have to killing. I have a doe antelope tag and I know I’m going to cry. Logically I know that the killing of prey is necessary for the well being of my children but that doesn’t stop me from emotionally thinking about killing a mother. My husband says that is probably a good thing since I’ll have more respect for the animal than most hunters.
I really doubt that the sex pot huntress image is going to entice more women to hunting. There aren’t many female mechanics but there is no shortage of scantily clad models in car magazines.
I have twin 3 year old girls and an 18 month old boy. My husband is talking about taking the girls individually small game hunting this fall and has never waivered in his enthusiasm for making hunting accessible to all the kids. He takes the girls fishing whenever he gets a chance. When we go to Sportsmans Warehouse one of the girls always points to the elk statue and says “I want to shoot it and eat it”.
Steve, I don’t think there is anything to worry about as far as getting your daughter to enjoy hunting and fishing as much as you do. My father taught me to fish at a young age, and I am now the fisherwoman of the family. When my daughter was around 2 years of age, my husband put her on ice skates because his passion is hockey. When she was 3 years of age, I started fishing with her, and she caught her first fish in the Bear Lake Channel – a rock bass. Now, my daughter is 6, and she loves doing both. She is in figure skating lessons, and on the weekend when we are on our boat, she is asking to fish. I believe that children gain an interest in things through excitement that we share with them. My daughter now has dreams of skating in the Olympics, and some day being big enough to go out in Lake Michigan and salmon fish like mommy does. WIth the passion, knowledge and enthusiasm that you and your family carry for hunting and fishing, I do believe that you have a budding outdoors woman waiting to be born. ~ Jennifer Danhof
@Fishandhunt, the season is long enough in MT for you to go back to PA to hunt. I think your husband should be encouraging your desire to hunt.
Hello Corrina. You are right, women aren’t hardened bad-asses that hunt but some commercial visuals make it look that way. At times I look at these women on the shows that have to act like a man so they aren’t offending the male demographic otherwise she has to be ‘nice on the eyes’. The other day I was reading an article on a female hunter who pretty much wears blue contacts. The article was written by a guy in defense of her but he kept refering to the reason she was being rejected was based on her being a ‘good-looking female’. Not her skill mind you. I did watch her show but realized that her approach of being a ‘hardcore huntress’ seemed to blend her into the male shows. In order to get a show on there you have to be as ballsy as a man or at least act like one. I didn’t like the editing either because it seemed a little tacted together but hey maybe that is how they do it in TV land? That’s along with the boobs out mug shots flying like banners on many a social media ship. Bait is bait. I think this is to make them more accessible along side of the men who jump up and down screaming: Yaw haw! lmao. Maybe its the perception of it being a male sport when that perception only streams as far as the TV or magazine. You certainly don’t feel that why when you are out in the bush. I don’t give it a second thought unless someone brings it up on the internet. Its like hunting has a kind of peer pressure inside of it that generates out of the idea of some creepy PR plan. I have( long thought that too many people see the ‘ideal’ on the crazy tube then go out and mimic that as a newfound lifestyle. Reminds me of a habit of a lot of falconers. If someone is interested in getting a bird they will not encourage your endeavors unless they know for sure you want such a thing and can afford it. Otherwise getting a raptor you have to now watch and wait at all times becomes a fad when it can’t be treated that way.)That is big business for you. In order for a man to be interested in a woman she has to dress in camo, show her boobs or rear end, then find someone that has killed something to pose over it if she hasn’t done it herself. Come on, we know people fake pictures all the time. One good dead deer can get you eight different photos with eight different people. Calling foul here. lmao. You never know who has killed what and why do I have to see every dead animal that people have literal made a mess of? Now with women even in hunting there is some strange competition where they actually try to out do one another for attention. I think if a real woman came along no man would recognize her because they have their head turned in the direction of what looks good instead of what is good for them. Like they say, sometimes it ain’t what it seems.
As for crying, I say do it. To many times when you’re little as a kid and you do something your parent bascially dares you to cry. lmao. If that is what makes you comfortable go ahead. Eventually you will stop.
As for women dressing up or actually hunting, how much is it actually doing it or is it to catch a man?
Either way its hunting.
On the other hand, if you can find one that basically walks around and by her actions walks the walk and talks the talk no matter how small her endeavor or large~that would be something to behold.
I rarely leave comments on many things like this, but this post really struck a cord with me and how I felt about my now passed on grandparents. I was raised by my grandparents in northern Idaho on a small farm about an hour from the Canadian border. They grew up during the depression era a time filled with great sacrifice. And they taught me many things both about the outdoors and about life. Most of the hunting shows I see celebrate hunting and fishing more on the sporting side of it. Don’t get me wrong I love the sporting side and am a hopeless gear head to this day that grew up reading Outdoor Life magazine and Patrick F Mcmanus stories on the last page. But my grandparents and many others did these things to survive, and to sit down with them and hear them tell their stories eye to eye really made an impact on me because it wasn’t just stories to them it was real life. My grandmother who is now passed on was a mother and amazingly strong willed tough women and yet a very loving person who was educated and refined. She was the kind of lady you listened to more than talked to and you really wanted to keep listening to her stories they were really good and from a time of necessity rather than just want. Under her guidance each year we raised a two acre garden hand tilled many times by me with a walk behind troy built tiller. We raised and butchered all kinds of animals from sheep to geese to pigs. Each year we raised pigs from piglets in the spring to 250lbs hogs and butchered them in the fall. She once raised a sixty pound turkey that had to be quartered to fit into the oven. And we also canned almost everything. We would even make trips to Walla Walla and Wenatche to get boxes and boxes of fruit and sometimes vegetables to can of we didn’t have enough that year. She didn’t hunt but a few times we killed a deer every so often. They were always hanging around the twelve foot pig wire fence we put up around our garden to keep the deer out. It wasn’t really hunting as it was just shooting the animals. She was to me at a young age the essence of tough and I truly thought she was not afraid of any animal or incapable of any outdoor situation. She would tell me hunting and trapping stories with her brothers in Missouri during the depression that were filled with hardship and great sacrifice for each other and their family, and at times were filled with real danger. Like the time she had to kill a bobcat with a stick to the head that was caught in the trap by one toe and lunging at her. Or the time one of her brothers got sprayed in the face by a skunk and immediately started throwing up.The difference was she and her brothers had to do those things to survive. There was great sacrifice in the way they lived and were forced to live. To meet her and talk with her about hunting, fishing and the outdoors was a very different experience than the fake sporting women that you have described. She was to me what I would think the average pioneer woman would have been like. Like she would have said they had to be tough to get through the times. She had many outdoor skills and knowledge but was still a loving person. Do I think women can or should hunt just like or along side men. There is not a doubt in my mind my Grandmother showed me. I am thankful to have had that perspective given to me and at such a young age.