A Man's Sport
When people find out I hunt, the typical response I receive is, “Really? YOU hunt? Wow…”
I don’t know if it’s the blonde hair on my head or if it’s just the fact that it’s “so” surprising, but it sure seems to get people. Why is there such a stigma that hunting is for the guys? Deer Camp is just for the guys? Field dressing a deer is just for the guys?
Hunting is a mans sport.
It was supposed to be the women that cook, supposed to gather the berries, and the men were to go get the meat for dinner. But for how many years will it be okay for that to still be the thought process?
How long until I can be seen as a good enough hunter to be considered a huntress?
A perfect example that I experienced was last winter - I harvested a beautiful 8 point buck, 18 inch inside spread and a 19 inch outside spread. I shot at 35 yards on December 15th in -10 degree weather. With the help of two guys I got the buck into the back of my truck it was time to hit the road to show off my new wall decor and freezer stuffer.
Once we got to the local watering hole, I ran inside and yelled, "Wanna see a buck?!” and ran back out the door. The bar cleared quickly cleared with people struggling to get their jackets on to see what all the hype was about. I received two “wow congratulations” before I was asked “where’d you hit this with your truck at?” followed by “I bet your boyfriend had to shoot it for you.”
I can't begin to describe to explain to you how much I struggled to come up with a response. Wow does this guy really think I would do that? I would be lying if I wasn't wanting to say, hey listen here buddy.
All that made it out of my mouth was - “I’m sorry that you got out hunted by a girl, better luck next year." Which, in writing it sounds super snarky, but PROMISE I said it as nice as I could.
That was just the first place my buck went that night and trust me, I received many more comments. But I would’ve taken a million more comments just to see my dads reaction to seeing my buck just one more time. He just bowed his head, smiled and started to laugh. That little girl who was walking in his boot steps every year shot a big buck, just like her dad taught her, how his dad taught him, and so on.
If you have had similar instances, DON’T LET THEM STOP YOU. You are your own person, and if it's something that you’re passionate about - “Just send it.”
