When people find out that I hunt, they’re typically surprised and stand there gaping in disbelief. The response is always positive but range from comments like “No way! I never would have guessed you hunt!” to “Really? You look like you’d be a vegetarian or vegan” or “What? You hunt? You don’t look like a hunter.”
I guess I don’t fit people’s idea of what a woman hunter should look like. I’m not sure what they expect, maybe to look more like a cave woman? Definitely not a skirt loving, crunchy mama like me!
I guess I don’t fit people’s idea of what a woman hunter should look like. I’m not sure what they expect, maybe to look more like a cave woman? Definitely not a skirt loving, crunchy mama like me!
I’ve been an avid hunter for the last 10 years. I hunt primarily for deer, elk, grouse and bear during archery and rifle season in Montana. We love hunting so much that we actually planned to have our first baby in the early fall so I would be on maternity leave throughout hunting season. Not exactly the first thing most folks plan a baby around huh?
Since our little nugget arrived in late August a few weeks before her due date, that meant that we had to shift our plans a little. Instead of figuring out how to go archery hunting for the first few weeks of the season at 9 months pregnant, we were figuring out how to schlep our weeks old baby on our hunting trips.
And schlep her along we did. At two weeks old, she was there when I harvested the first grouse of the season with my bow.
For those of you who may have missed this post about our traumatic birth experience, the other challenge we faced last hunting season was my lack of physical mobility due to healing from an emergency c-section. I couldn’t wear my usual hunting gear due to the incision so wore a comfy pair of camo gaucho pants. I figured out that taking a big, fluffy pillow and holding it tightly across my incision helped to buffer the jostling and reduce the pain as we bounced in the truck up the rocky road that led to the top of the mountain where we hunt. Some may have opted to just wait for more healing, but I wasn’t about to let that get in the way of my archery hunting plans!
Our little nugget also came to hunting camp several times high up in the mountains where we set up a wall tent almost every weekend during hunting season. At nine weeks old she was being babysat by a friend at hunting camp when I walked about a half mile from camp and harvested a 3×3 buck. Half a mile was about the max I could walk in my still healing post-postpartum state so it was a pretty phenomenal experience for me.
While pregnant, we knew we’d be taking our little nugget hunting so started trying to figure out how to incorporate her into our lifestyle. I bought a Molehill Mossy Oak baby bunting and I made her a baby size fleece vest in hunter orange. She was warm, cozy and safe all bundled up in her first hunting outfit!
Because it was cold outside, we nursed in the warm wall tent during hunting camp.
As soon as archery season rolled around this year, thankfully with me being much more fit and healthy, we were out in the woods again and our little nugget was right there with us. This year when I harvested the first grouse of the season with my bow, she was old enough to watch and was fascinated when I showed her the grouse up close.
We know some families who stopped doing a lot of the outdoor things they love when they had kids so we decided we weren’t going to go down that road. We are determined to incorporate our little nugget into our hunting lifestyle and raise her with the same values we have about harvesting our own wild game to eat throughout the year. So far we’re managing, even though this year she is a lot more mobile and vocal so her baby babble has a tendency to scare off the animals!
It shouldn’t be a surprise that for our little nugget’s first Christmas, at just 4 months old, my husband got her a Pink Daisy BB gun. Of course it is for when she is a lot older but her proud papa couldn’t resist that gift for baby’s first Christmas. Like some of our friends and family said, we start them young in Montana!
Are you a woman hunter? Are you a hunter AND a mama? We want to hear your stories!
This is the first installment in the Women in Hunting Series hosted by MontanaSolarCreations. The goal of the Women in Hunting Series is to highlight women hunters and help encourage other women to start hunting. If you or anyone you know is a female hunter who would like to guest post or be interviewed for this series please contact me at montanasolarcreations at gmail dot com or message me on our Facebook page.
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Wonderful post to get things rolling Annie! We too have tried to incorporate our boy in our hunting and trekking. He is WAY vocal this season! But, at least even if all the game for miles is running away, the kiddos will be well versed in the way of the woods! Rock on mama!
Thanks Amanda!! I totally agree, it is better to take the babies along and start teaching them young even if it means scaring off a few animals! The grouse don’t seem to mind as much but the deer and elk are more skittish. Even though we love taking her along with us, we’re hoping to get a babysitter a few times this hunting season so we can have some quiet hiking and hunting in the woods
Hi Annie, I’m honoured to meet you. You are the first lady hunter I’ve met. It must be irritating to get all those weird looks and funny questions when you tell people you are a hunter. That’s so stereo typical of people
I used to find the reactions really irritating back when I first started hunting but I think over the years I’ve gotten used to it
I’ve been hunting several times…..I think I am too antsy to actually sit long enough to get the deer over to my area, but I have shot some squirrel. Hubby hunts all the time and both our kids do as well. julieann r
We don’t sit much when we’re hunting, partly because it is WAY too cold during rifle season but also because we have so much land to cover around here that we just hike around looking for animal signs and track them. I’ve actually had a lot more success hiking and tracking animals than just sitting, plus we get a bit antsy too if we sit too long!
I’ve never gone hunting and it’s not something I would personally do, but glad you enjoy it and are encouraging women that it’s not just for men!
That’s exactly my goal with this series, to encourage more women to hunt and let everyone know it is definitely not just for men
That’s great that you guys hunt for your food! When we lived in MS, my husband kept us well-supplied with venison all year. Mmmmmm….I miss that.
Wild game is definitely a treat, I think sometimes I take it for granted that we eat such good meat since we’ve hunted for years!
Annie loved this post and think it’s so great that ada accompanies you on something so vital in your life. I have no experience whatsoever hunting, but have always been interested. Any tips on how to get started? Good to see you two today, Dawn
It was great to see you today too! Funny you should ask about tips to get started, I’m actually working on another post for the series that outlines tips on how to get started. I have a good friend in Stevi who just took her hunter’s safety course last year and is just starting out. Maybe we’ll have to plan a ladies hunting outing and of course take our baby girls along
Oh man that would be awesome to do someday! I will look forward to reading more from your blog.
I love that you’re a hunting mama, and I especially love that you hunt with a bow! I’ve never been hunting, but I would love to learn bow-hunting. How did you get into it?
I started hunting in my early 20’s after I moved to Montana. I was so fascinated with the idea of being able to wild harvest meat to eat and out here it is such a way of life for so many people. I had a good friend in college mentor me and I also took some classes, read a lot and practiced a lot. I’m going to be doing a post on some tips on how other women can get started hunting since it can be a bit daunting to get started!
you really can take baby everywhere
Totally agree! I think a lot of folks think it isn’t possible or too much work to take baby on outdoor adventures but you just have to figure out how to make them a part of what you do and it becomes second nature.
I love this so much!! I think it’s so awesome that you guys have decided to just bring baby along with you on your adventures. I hope to do the same when we have kids. I can relate to people looking at you like you have 3 eyes when you tell them you hunt.
Thanks Halli! You would think in Montana I wouldn’t get so many weird looks and comments about being a female hunter, we just need to get more women to hunt and maybe then we won’t seem so odd to other people!
That is so cool! I want to hunt with my husband so badly, but with two little ones, it doesn’t look like that will be happening.
I’m actually going to do a post about how to be able to go hunting when you have small children, it can be challenging at times but we’ve figured out a few ways to still get out hunting with our baby. She’s quite a bit more mobile and talkative this year so more difficult to take hunting, which means we’re also trying to be creative about finding some childcare
We have a lot in common! Loved your post.
II am not sure if I am going to be able to hunt this season. My 4 month old won’t take a bottle only the breast. I had no problems with my first son having a bottle when I went hunting. But this little guy has no interest. I am going to try to nurse him and leave him with my husband and try to sit for a couple hours but I’m not sure how it will work out.
I hope that works for you Kristen! Last year during hunting season our baby was so little we hadn’t introduced a bottle with pumped milk yet so I had similar challenges. When I walked from hunting camp, I knew I only had a short amount of time to be gone and worried the whole time I was out that she would cry and want to nurse!
This is absolutely awesome. I stumbled upon your blog via your Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil giveaway and when I saw your latest Women in Hunting Series post, I had to go to the beginning. I look forward to reading more of your blog.
Thank you!!!! Reading this just made my day
This inspires me to keep finding the time to write even though I’m busy with my family, hunting, butchering deer, and my latest adventure is trying to learn how to tan a deer hide (stay tuned for that post!)
Thanks for this series! I am just getting into hunting myself, and feel a little late to the game at 27. I grew up in a home where we went camping, hiking and fishing regularly, but never hunting. Lately it’s become a goal of mine to learn how (partly because of my belief in self-sufficiency, and I can’t think of many better survival skills to have, and partly because of my belief in the second amendment). I am currently shopping for a rifle (so hard to find these days) and looking forward to getting in plenty of target practice before the season opens again next fall. Eventually I’d also like to do some shotgun shooting, as we get gorgeous pheasant in these parts.
Quick question - could you recommend a gun (or three) that would be a good caliber for a beginning, short stature female? I’m having a hard time finding a rifle in my price range that has a caliber good enough for deer and elk, but also a shorter stalk for my short arms.
Amy, that is so exciting you are starting to get into hunting! The rifle I shoot and the one I always recommend to other women is a .270. It is a high enough caliber for hunting deer and elk but not so strong that it will knock you down or bruise your shoulder. I did a lot of research and was actually able to find a Remington ultralight model of a .270 which is made specifically for women and youth. I hope that helps and good luck!