She Hunts: Women Hunter Recruitment is Crucial to Growth

Robert Ruark wrote: “The hunter’s horn sounds early for some, later for others.” Its music is not a gender issue. Humans developed as hunter-gatherers. There have always been skilled and avid female hunters. Recent archeologic research suggests that, in prehistoric societies, women and men participated equally in the hunt. More recently, modern males have usurped a major role in hunting, leaving the less exciting gathering to the ladies.

This being the case, many girls and women of all ages have never been exposed to hunting, with no idea if they would love it or hate it. In our urbanized society, this applies to males as well. In part, that’s okay. Humans are the most numerous large mammals on Earth. Wildlife resources don’t exist for all of us to revert to our hunting roots.

Many non-hunters don’t know that legal and licensed hunters are financially responsible for the wildlife they all enjoy. Fifty years ago, ten percent of Americans 16 and older were hunters. Today, about five percent. This is a problem, because American wildlife conservation is largely funded by license revenue and excise taxes on equipment. We don’t need all Americans to hunt, but a new battle cry for wildlife managers is R3: Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation of hunters.

Women are a bright spot, the fastest-growing segment in all shooting sports. In the U.S., women are now 11 percent of licensed hunters, with more than a million American women afield. There’s room for more, and we need more.

Raising Women Hunters

I guess you can say I’ve done my part. Both my daughters are hunters, as is my wife, Donna. In all three cases, I did some things right and made mistakes. Most people come to the horn under the tutelage of mentors. One thing I got the most right, and which I exhort parents, aunts, uncles and friends to understand: We can’t force it. Respect that hunting isn’t for everyone. Much as we want our children and spouses/partners to share our passions, that is not always going to happen.

My two daughters, Brittany and Caroline, ten years apart, both showed interest as youngsters, then it waned. Brittany, my eldest, was proud I was a writer, but avoided stating exactly what I wrote about. Pretty sure some of her friends’ parents figured I was a pornographer. Amazingly, when both were about 15, the worm turned. Suddenly and separately, they decided it might be cool to try hunting with dad. I’ve never pressed for an explanation, and am happy that we’ve had great times afield.

How one starts as a hunter has much to do with availability. At that time, I was mostly hunting big game. So, although both girls shot .22s when young, as teenagers we bypassed invaluable training with iron sights. We also bypassed shotgunning. As an adult, Brittany became adept with a shotgun. To this day, Caroline has little wingshooting experience. My bad. Instead, I put them on crash courses with scoped rifles. First with .22s then onto a .223, before moving up.

Because we were in central California, the most available game was feral hogs. Technically, they’re non-native noxious pests although, as a hunter, I view them as a blessing. Either way, they’re fun to hunt. Un-cute and un-cuddly, they fly under the radar of the Bambi Syndrome. Plus, they’re tasty, and hunting for them is often successful and rarely grueling.

Ideal Learning Environment

Depending on where you live and what’s available, ideally, you want a new hunter (any age or sex) to have an enjoyable experience. Nobody can guarantee success and getting skunked is part of the game. However, because of the long-standing cultural bias, women are especially uncertain about this hunting thing. They’re also tougher than men, but it’s supposed to be fun, not an ordeal.

For my daughters, taking their first hog resolved all uncertainties. Both had practiced long and well, took their first game cleanly with perfect shots from a .260 Remington. Two notes: The 6.5 Creedmoor didn’t exist then. Today, it would be a primary choice for a first big-game rifle. Second: I shortly moved them both up to a 7mm-08, slightly more recoil and noticeably improved performance on larger game. It is still the “go-to” choice for both of them.

My wife Donna is a different case study. Although she’d done some shooting, she didn’t hunt until she was in her 40s. She had no opportunity and no exposure. Always fascinated by wildlife, she was keen to go along, but uncertain about this hunting thing. As she likes to say, “I figured out right away this wasn’t a spectator sport.” Obviously, she heard the horn. To the point where she has done some of the tough hunts on her own, most recently an ibex hunt in Turkey.

She Hunts

Back to my two daughters. Caroline is not avid. She remains a hunter and shoots well (most women do) but sees hunting as an opportunity to spend time with dad and fill the freezer. Brittany, on the other hand, has the hunting bug bad. In the last 20 years she’s hunted all over the place. With me, on her own and now with her husband Brad.

Being a new mom has slowed her down a bit; so has her business, “She Hunts.” Since 2017, she’s put on She Hunts Skills Camps for women, up to six sessions per year. She and Brad run the show, and I’ve attended many camps as a “guest instructor.” This is not a shooting school, but a “soup-to-nuts” hunting skills camp. Safety, scope mounting, zeroing, shot placement, field shooting positions, survival skills, archery, shotgunning, field dressing, game cooking and so much more. Attendees are women of all ages and all levels of experience.

She holds them in Texas, because, thanks to feral hogs and non-natives, some kind of hunting season is always open. Actual hunting is not required, but available. Some of the ladies come planning to hunt. Others come undecided. By the second day, most of the “undecideds” are looking for their first animal, and are usually successful, a big deal for any hunter. Part of the increase in women hunting is increased interest in clean, natural food. In most families, women do the shopping and want to know what they’re feeding their family. In Brittany’s camp, with various non-natives to choose from, the ladies are more likely to ask, “which has the best meat?” rather than, “which has the biggest horns or antlers?”

Few of us guys have been in almost-all-female hunting camps. It’s still not a spectator sport, but women hunting together turns it into a team sport. No competition, just shared joy in success and empathy when things get tough. From an instructor’s standpoint, women are a treat. They pay attention and lack the preconceived macho male notions that cause problems for so many guys.

The Camps

Brittany’s camps have brought hundreds of women to hunting. That makes her the expert, me a rank amateur, so I asked her what was important. Instantly, she said, “Women need more information than men. Women don’t want to wing it.”

How many of us have started a new shooter by handing her (or him) a firearm at the range? Not enough information. From Brittany: “Safety first, in detail. Women are constantly busy protecting the kids. When we come to a new (and mostly male) world that has obvious hazards, we want to learn how to use the tools.”

This was another of my failures as a dad/coach. I taught her safety and how to shoot. In time, she learned how to field dress and skin, but I didn’t teach her basic things like mounting scopes, bore-sighting and zeroing. After she left home and started hunting on her own, she had to figure that stuff out. The biggest thing I’ve learned from the ladies in my life, and the women attending Brittany’s skill camps: If they’re going to do this, they want to do it right. They want to feel competent, confident and independent. If I could do it over, I’d do it differently. I wouldn’t start with “Here, honey, shoot this.”

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