Hunting Interest on the Rise with Women

Cal Sportsman ^ | 12/4/2015 | C Cocoles

[w1n1]

Since 2000, hunting participation by females has risen dramatically in the U.S. In the first year of the new millennium, 5,264 females passed the mandatory hunter education course. The course is required of every hunter born on or after Sept. 2, 1971.

By 2010, 8,500 females, 20.3 percent of all students, passed hunter education. In 2014, 16,534 females took the course. Females represented 23 percent of last year's 72,015 hunter ed students. "We've been encouraging women to try hunting and shooting sports through our outreach programs," said Nancy Herron, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's outreach and education director. "There's also been a surge in movies and television of very capable women being resourceful." Then there are women like Monica Bickerstaff, who married a man obsessed by hunting and fishing. She was ready for the fishing part, having fished with her dad while growing up in Kansas. She took up hunting to spend more time with her husband, L.D. Bickerstaff. Read the rest of the story here.

[sarge83]

My wife grew up in a hunting family. Her Mom hunts and is a concealed deadly weapons instructor. Her favorite hunt was for ground hogs at the local farms who would dig dangerous holes in the ground. When 10 yrs of age they were hunting them on a family friends farm and a hog popped up and she hammered it and 150 yards with a .22 hornet. The hornet knocked it down and it staggered back up and she popped him again and he stayed down. She handed the gun to her Dad and said I want a bigger gun, from then on she shot a .223.

[Puppage]

The hornet knocked it down and it staggered back up and she popped him again and he stayed down. She handed the gun to her Dad and said I want a bigger gun

I LOVE that!

[miss marmelstein]

Oh, why did I have to be born and raised in Queens, NY???

[SJackson]

If you’d like to be on or off this Outdoors/Rural/wildlife/hunting/hiking/backpacking/National Parks/animals list please FR mail me. And ping me is you see articles of interest.

[Bratch]

[showme_the_Glory]

Real Tree camo?

[Bratch]

Gotta think the bucks they'll attract won't have antlers!

[sheik yerbouty]

I’m originally from Brooklyn. It’s never too late!

[showme_the_Glory]

spike

[miss marmelstein]

With me, it’s always too late!

[Hot Tabasco]

Never got into animal game hunting but love bird hunting. For a few years straight myself and a couple of friends flew out to NW Kansas for opening day of pheasant season. Most of the time we got skunked since we had no dogs and the particular area we hunted each year had problems with pheasant population due to hail storms which came in from the rockies and destroyed many nest eggs.

Didn't matter, just walking the fields with a shotgun in my hands and taking in the fresh air and solitude of that part of the country was all I needed to have a great time..........

I'd love to get out there again but have no interest in hiring a professional outfitter to provide me with a carefully calculated hunt............

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Beau teaches Hunter Safety for kids and there are more girls in now than ever before. A lot of younger boys (you can hunt at 10 with an adult and ONE gun between you in our state) are taking the course, too.

Glad to see it!