Women in Hunting Series Part 7: How to Learn How to Hunt

Interested in learning how to hunt but don't know where to begin? It can be pretty daunting, especially for women, since hunting is a male dominated sport. Since I began writing the Women in Hunting Series a few weeks ago, I have been contacted by numerous women stating they would love to start hunting but have no idea where to start. I began hunting over 10 years ago in my early twenties and have helped several other women along the way in getting started with hunting. I thought I would share some helpful tips I have learned along the way to help you acquire the skills and confidence you need to start hunting.

1. Take a Hunter’s Safety Course. This is first and foremost. It is extremely important to learn gun safety, proper gun handling techniques, ethical hunting standards and how to field dress an animal. I was able to find a local Hunter’s Safety Course for Women which was a really supportive environment to learn in. These courses aren’t offered very often in our area so last year a gal pal of mine ended up taking a standard Hunter’s Safety Course which was filled with teenagers; she said it was fine but not as good as being in a class of other women learning to hunt! I will not take anyone hunting with me unless they have had some form of Hunter’s Safety Course because I feel strongly about the importance of learning the basics of gun safety and ethical hunting.

2. Join someone on a hunt prior to buying your own gear and getting started. This is really important since you may find that hunting is just not for you. As much as you may love the idea of wild harvesting your own meat, some folks just cannot pull the trigger or release the arrow and take an animal’s life. I knew a woman who went out hunting and shot her first deer, only to cry and feel terrible about the experience and never went hunting again. That is ok, hunting is not for everyone. When I first had the desire to start hunting, I had a good friend in college who took me along on hunts and showed me the ropes. In my mind I knew I had the desire to hunt but I didn’t know if I could really take an animal’s life. Once I realized that I could do it, I invested more time, energy and money into building my hunting skills and gear.

3.Take a Becoming an Outdoors Woman (B.O.W.) class. Not every state offers these classes but they are becoming more popular. In Montana the classes are run by the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and are designed to teach women outdoor skills such as fishing, archery, shooting, and one time I even saw a class that would teach you how to back a trailer! The idea with these classes is similar to the Hunters Safety Course for Women where they provide instruction in a supportive environment to empower women to become more knowledgeable in the outdoors.

 4. Connect with other women hunters. It is helpful to build up a network of other women hunters to connect with whether in your community or online. It can be daunting to be a female hunter in a male dominated sport so having a circle of women hunter friends is quite beneficial! We are a small group that is slowly growing and would love to have you join us. Years ago when I first started hunting there weren't any companies making hunting clothes to fit women like there are today. I often found myself complaining about having to wear bulky men's hunting clothes but my guy friends didn't understand or care. What is the number one complaint I hear from other women hunters? Difficulty finding hunting clothes that fit. Finally, we can commiserate about this issue with someone who gets it! We support and empower each other in ways that male hunters cannot. 

5. Practice, practice, practice! I'm sure you've all heard the phrase "practice makes perfect" and there is a lot of truth to that. Shooting a gun or bow and hitting your target is key to an ethical hunt and it takes time and practice to hone your skills. Most communities have rifle and archery shooting ranges where you can go to practice shooting. There are sport shooting clubs that focus on tactical shooting skills and trap clubs where you can practice shooting moving targets. I found a Women's Trap and Skeet class advertised in the local newspaper a few years ago and joined the class. Although I prefer to archery hunt for upland game birds, the class taught me the skills of leading and and how to hit a moving target.

So are you ready to get started now? I would love to hear about your journeys in learning how to hunt so please come back and share with us in the comments section so we can all celebrate another woman hunter joining our group!

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