Mommy? When’s daddy getting home?


It’s the first weekend of October. The temperature has changed to a slight chill in the air. Not quite time to pull out the heavy coats and scarves of winter, but a light jacket or sweatshirt is usually a good idea. For the past few weekends I’ve been tuning in my scope and crossbow; all in preparation for this moment.


Sitting in a tree stand looking out into a small clearing with a 30 yard radius on every side. I wait. The sun has just risen over my right shoulder, and the light is making the orange and red leaves on the branches around be dance shadows on the ground below. I raise my head to see two large does walking out of the tree line just a little left of me. I wait. One continues forward as the other hangs back at the trees. I wait. She slowly starts to eat some of the acorns on the ground by the tree directly in front of me.
I ever so slowly reach over with my left hand and almost motionlessly slide my eye to my scope. I have ranged this area half a dozen times. She is about 28 yards from where I sit. I can see the perfect place to put my sight and slowly release the safety. I exhale and feel my finger adding pressure to my trigger. I can feel the butt of the crossbow jerk back into my shoulder as the bolt launches down the barrel and the string hits the stoppers at the front of the bow.


At the same time I am releasing this bolt into the air; three hours north of my current location my children are waking up to begin a Saturday of lounging around the house to watch movies or play video games. There are meals to be prepared and errands to run. Pets to be fed and let out side for their morning walks. Everyone has a special idea of what they want to do on this day off from school, but I am not there to be a part of any of this. This job now falls on my wife to keep the house running on time and kept in order.


She is not out in camouflage in the woods. She is not looking at a deer hoping her arrow hits it’s mark. She is taking care of our children and our home. She is sacrificing her “ day off” so that I can do those things. And for many of us, this is what happens every time we step into the woods to hunt. Whether for a day hunt or a weekend trip or even those week long hunting retreats. Our significant others are keeping everything else going like clockwork.


When you hunt big bucks and get that monster trophy rack you feel like you have been rewarded with an amazing trophy to display for all to see. You may earn bragging rights with in your group of killing the “big one” that season. Harvesting a doe means food on the table for several meals. But for our significant others that stay behind, care for our families and their needs receive no such reward. Most times they are greeted with loads of bloody dirty smelly clothes to wash, and coolers with bloody meat that will need to be processed in the kitchens where most meals are prepared.


Some of us may already know these things and take extra steps to reward our partners for their unceremonious sacrifice. But I think we can all agree that lots of times we forget what they go through so that we can go “play in the woods”.

​Forget the doll house, I want a hunting blind.
by: Todd Hassett
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“It’s quiet. The world is turning a different shade of grey. Just behind me, the sun is slowly starting to rise and the shadows of the dawn are beginning to grow as the darkness of the night fades away. The chill in the air gets a little more intense and I can feel the excitement building inside me as I await the arrival of my objective. A white tail deer.”

I assume this is how most of us feel when we head out into the woods for an early morning hunt. Some of the details my change, but this seems to be a good general description of how most early hunts begin. So as you read this opening statement I can assume most of you pictured a man in camouflage sitting in the woods with his rifle at the ready for his prized trophy deer to walk into range. But this is not accurate on one point. “The man” you pictured in camouflage is in fact a woman.

Women of the world have been, and are becoming more and more involved in the sort of hunting. From big game to bird, women are in the fields and tree stands just as much as men. Many of these woman are even more successful them men when it comes to bringing home food for their families.
 
I had the chance to do some interviews with a few women about their time in the field and was able to learn quite a bit about the hunting world for women. For many of them they accredit family members (fathers, grandfathers, uncles) for teaching them the ropes of the hunt. Some have said that their husbands took them out hunting and that either rekindled a love for the outdoors or sparked a new love for the hunt.

This foundation that was built between their family and themselves, has also instilled a sense of great moral and ethical responsibility that is so vital in the passing on of good hunting skills and knowledge. The “eat what you kill” message seems to be alive and well in these women and their passing it on to the next generation, as all of them have taught this to their children as well.

One thing that some of these ladies have had to overcome is the stigma that comes with women hunting. As a man; even though I have only been hunting a few years now, no one seemed to really bat an eye when I began to hunt. But for some of the women that spoke with me that was not the case.

For myself and my best friend, we will meet up with family and friends and head out into the woods. Sharing funny stories and retelling the excerpts of what we saw or didn’t see on our morning hunt. We never judge or criticize each other for what we did or didn’t do. But for some women that has not always been the case. From being ostracized or downright not being allowed to go hunting, some women have had more to overcome then just the weather and the disappointments of coming back empty handed.

The one thing that has shown true from the conversations I had with these amazing women is that with time they were able to overcome all of these obstacles and enjoy their love of hunting. These women have shown not only their families, but also the outsiders looking in that they are not just the ones to cook what the man has brought home, but they are also just as lethal hunters as the men. In some cases they have even proven to be more effective in the field then their male counter parts.

Please check the Outdoor Girls page to see photos of these amazing women and to read their full interviews.