https://www.nrawomen.tv/#/hunting

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I’m a girl, and I hunt

By Georgia Pellegrini

Published March 10, 2012

Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/10/im-girl-and-hunt/?cmpid=cmty_email_Gigya_I%E2%80%99m_a_girl%2C_and_I_hunt#ixzz1ovYlUbgB

Georgia Pellegrini is a chef, hunter and author. Her most recent book is “Girl Hunter.” Visit her website at GeorgiaPellegrini.com.

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By Annette D.

Yes, I’m a female and yes, I have a firearm… several in fact. Should I look or act a certain way because I own and shoot a firearm? No. Then why do people act the way they do when they find out?

I got a call yesterday from a businessman I work with on and off.  We’ve never met, I live in the Northeast, he lives out West.  We worked together for a few months and then he changed gears and didn’t need my services for the time being.  I’d get a call every few months to check in and keep in touch.  Life was good.

Yesterday’s call was apparently prompted by my Google+ profile picture.  It’s me firing at a target.  “Your Google profile picture, is that you?”

The picture in question..

Me: Umm, yes.  Him: With a gun?  You have a gun?  Me: I have several firearms.  Him: Why.  Me: Because I shoot?

I changed the subject back to business and a few minutes later he mentioned that he wondered if it were smart for me to use a picture “like that” on a public profile.  I was polite, as I was hoping to do more work for him in the future, but REALLY? Is it that bad? Am I missing something? I explained that my Google+ profile is used mainly to keep in touch with other firearms enthusiasts that I’ve met on various forums and I don’t use it to solicit business, not that I would be worried that my profile picture would hinder that.  My work speaks for itself. Then I get this…”Wow, between the gun picture and your Skype picture, you must be some kind of a control freak, no?” My Skype picture is me on my horse.

Is this the photo of a control freak?

At this point, I felt the need to be less polite than I had been during the conversation because I now no longer cared if I work for him again. My answer was simply, “I have a horse, and I have firearms, I do not see what one has to do with the other, nor do I see where you’re going with this, or how it would affect our working relationship. We have a business relationship, my personal life is none of your business, nor is your personal life any of mine.”

I’m a proud NRA member. I’m a proud American. Why are people so phobic of firearms and those of us who choose to own and enjoy them? You don’t want one? That’s your choice! I happen to enjoy mine, so leave me alone. He ended up asking me to look into something for him, but I’m not at all sure now I want to even deal with him again.

Is it because I’m a woman? Would a male associate of his even be questioned? Just the fact that he felt the need to bring it up (twice) upsets me… anybody ever have anything similar happen to them? How did you deal with it?

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A healthy respect for guns

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By Rob Pavey

Staff Writer, The Augusta Chronicle

Friday, Nov. 4, 2011

Ginger Whisenant loves the solitude of autumn mornings and spends quite a few of them in her favorite deer stand.

SARA CALDWELL/STAFF

Alayna Robertson, who is a nurse at Doctors Hospital and bow and rifle hunter, sits in one of her deer stands deep in the woods off Corley Road near Blythe. “I just like being outdoors,” said Robertson, who started hunting when she was 10.

…

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2011 industry report, women accounted for about 13 percent, or 2.3 million, of the nation’s firearms hunters in 2002, rising to 16 percent, or 2.9 million, by 2009, Adams said.

The statistics also show that women hunting with archery and primitive weapons made the greatest strides.

“The biggest overall jump is muzzleloading,” Adams said.

The 270,000 female participants in 2002 grew to 563,000 by 2009, the most recent year for which compete license data is available.

ANOTHER FACET OF female hunters that the median age of women afield tends to be getting younger, while the average male hunter has been aging steadily for almost two decades.

“Seeing women hunters getting younger is a very encouraging trend,” Adams said.

Retailers are also following the changes and working to capture part of the female hunting market.

“For quite a while now, you’ve been seeing specific lady product lines coming out — the SHE Safari apparel line,” for example.

Major outfitters like Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas are also carrying more items oriented toward women who hunt.

“You might see pink grunt calls and turkey calls, lots of things that appeal to girls,” Adams said.

…

Spencer said there does appear to be a shift toward younger women taking up hunting, which might compute to rising numbers of licensed women hunters in future years.

 

 To read the entire article, click here:

https://chronicle.augusta.com/life/2011-11-04/more-women-are-spending-time-and-money-hunting

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Click here to read the full article.

Anyway, the first billboard we passed has a rifle on it. The next had a pistol. The next a shotgun. This went on for several miles. As we neared the exit where the gun shop was located, we came up on another billboard.

On it was a tiny revolver. And it was pink. Yes, pink.

I shouldn’t be surprised that guns now come in designer colors. Virtually everything else does. Even the laptop I’m typing this on has a red cover.

And I’m not a sexist. I know women like guns, too. My friend, Kristen, for instance, loves the outdoors and loves to go hunting with her father.

But she’s all girl. She’s blonde, beautiful and smart. I don’t if she has a revolver, but if she does, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was pink. With unicorns on it.

I don’t own a gun. But if I did, I think I would happy with a gun that was black or gunmetal gray. I’m not sure I would need a gun that color coordinates with my wardrobe.

I asked another female friend, who I know has a gun, if she would own a pink gun.

“I wouldn’t care if it was fluorescent green, as long as it allowed me to feel safe,” she said.

Point taken.

By the way, I now remember what reminded me of Ernest T. Bass. Right after we passed the billboard with the pink gun on it, my friend, Kurtz, in his best Ernest T. voice said, “Nothing says, ‘I love you, darling’ like a pink snub-nosed revolver.”

I don’t know whether Barney’s uniform helped Ernest T. repair his relationship with Hogette. But if it did, it wouldn’t surprise me that Ernest T. might go out looking for something special for his girl to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary.

So be warned. If you run into Hogette Winslow anytime soon, stay on guard. She may be packing pink heat.

Mitch Clarke is executive editor of The Times. His column appears Sundays. Read previous columns at gainesvilletimes.com/mitch. Follow him on Twitter @MitchTimes.

https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/99/article/58034/

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For the full article and video, click here:

https://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/131302134.html

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If you haven’t heard of PROIS, it’s high time you did. PROIS is a high end line of hunting and outdoor gear made specifically for women. As you’ll read below, they take every little detail into consideration.

Kirstie Pike, CEO of PROIS

NF: First and foremost, where can we find PROIS products and apparel?

KP: We’re in a bunch of small mom and pop stores and we’re also in a number of Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Shields, Cabela’s Canada.

NF: Am I right in saying that you created PROIS?

KP: Yes, actually my husband and I. He’s my partner in the business. We launched in 2008.

NF: Wow, only in 2008? That’s been a quick rise.

KP: Yeah, it’s been really fast.

NF: That’s huge. Now obviously you have a hunting background, but did you have a background in garment manufacturing?

KP: No, not at all. Actually, I’m a nurse. I’ve done emergency and trauma care for about 20 years at a hospital here. We just started tinkering with this idea and it just evolved and took off.

NF: So just around the dinner table one night you got to talking about it – what was that conversation like?

KP: We were actually in a Bass Pro getting ready to gear up for archery season and I was ready to buy whatever I wanted – this was probably the end of 2006 -2007, somewhere in there. I tried to find some clothes and they had no camo for women. They had little cotton capris and slutty babydoll t-shirts and that was it.  And then for men it was, like, Kevlar. So we just started talking about it – bouncing the idea around. Just started playing with it, seeing what we could do with it and it just happened to work out.

NF: You guys have found some pretty solid success even in a down economy in 2008.

KP: We always joke that there’s no “Idiot’s Guide to Building a Business During a Big Recession” book, but we’ve been pretty lucky with it. I think what we’ve been lucky with is that it was a niche that needed to be hit – including in Gunnison. It’s pretty inclement weather, pretty harsh, so I think most people around here are big gear junkies. They’re always looking for top of the line performance gear and fabrics. For us it was a natural fit because, obviously a lot of other people were looking for that, too.

NF: How did you go from the little family thing to all these huge stores so quickly. It’s kind of shocking to me.

KP: (laughs) It’s pretty shocking to me, too. You know, it’s funny. As soon as we hit the market in 2008 we really didn’t think we were going to- I mean, we thought we were going to do something with it, but we didn’t estimate it going like it did. We just started working on ways to do sales and just jumping in and asking a lot of questions. Finding connections and networking and asking people. It just seemed like the doors just kept opening. We’ve been very fortunate to meet a lot of really good people along the way that were willing to help. We’ve learned a lot of really valuable lessons through mistakes, too (laughs).

NF: (laughs) I know the feeling.

KP: I know, why can’t you just learn them from good things? It’s always gotta be the brutal kick in the teeth.

NF: So – more about you…

KP: I’m pretty boring, actually. I’ve lived in Gunnison, Colorado since I was in middle school. Both my husband and I grew up here and left, went to school, became a nurse and came back. That’s as well rounded as I’ve gotten. I’ve worked here forever. Nursing has been everything I’ve done and I’ve loved it. It’s been the ultimate career for me. I’ve got two great kids – one’s gone off to college this year. So we’re pretty home grown. Our families still live here in a small town up in the mountains and I think we’ll be buried here. At least I hope.

NF: That’s really great.

KP: Yeah, it’s just not that exciting. And I didn’t pick up hunting until I was probably in my 20s. My husband, Steve, has always been a hunter, a guide, and outfitter – he had always done all of that. I never really picked it up until my kids were a little bit older. I took a chance at it that was it – it was fun!

NF: Is that how you got in to shooting? When was the first time you got in to guns?

KP: I got in to guns in my early 20s. I started shooting, again, with my husband. Just dabbling with it a little bit here and there. We took up shooting clays and really really started to build an appreciation for that. And then went in to archery and loved that. That’s actually when I started to think I wanted to hunt a little bit, though I didn’t start [hunting] with archery, I started with rifles. I drew a cow tag* one year and just decided that I was going to go for it.  It kind of evolved that way. Then once I got hooked more on hunting it opened a whole lot more for the shooting. It’s been a lot more fun. You learn a lot about the gadgets and everything. You want to try new ones and buy new ones – you become a junkie.

NF: I know! It’s like Carrie Bradshaw’s shoe addiction, isn’t it?

KP: It’s terrible! (laughs) I’m always joking, you know, be careful about getting your daughters in to it because they, of course,

PROIS hunting gear

become gear junkies and gear snobs and they want all the top of the top once they get going.

NF:I’m totally that way now, too. I mean, three years ago I hadn’t touched a gun and now I want the laser sights and the best holster and everything that goes along with it.

KP: That’s awesome, though! It seems like so many women – they hit it one time and they’re addicted. There it is.

NF: I’ve never hunted before. Can you describe what you enjoy about hunting – Why do you do it? What you get out of it? Help me and the readers who have yet to hunt understand what is so great about it.

KP: It’s pretty fascinating, actually. I totally understand where you’re coming from. I had shot some birds prior to shooting any big game. I was really concerned the first time I did it that I was gonna feel bad about it. Or that that would be the one time I blew off every leg and the animal would be there writhing on the ground. You worry about that. I’ve never had that, in fact I think the fun part about it is the challenge of it and I think it’s kind of empowering at the same time to know that you’re capable of doing it – the whole process of getting ready for it, the whole lifestyle of it. Working on your shot, learning about the animal and the terrain and everything that goes with it so that when you actually do harvest that animal, especially if you do it very successfully – one shot is always best if you can do it – it feels like such an accomplishment. And from a female perspective it’s also good to know you can harvest your own game. You can take care of that. It’s a nice balance of nature, I think.

NF: And you guys probably eat the meat…

KP: Oh, yeah. Of everything. The good, the bad and the ugly.

NF: Have you ever taken another female first time hunter out?

KP: I have not personally. I’ve been along with my kids. They’ve learned. My husband has taught us all how to hunt and he’s great. I feel like every time I go out I’m learning more and more. I feel like I’ve done a lot but I would never call myself an expert on it. There’s so much to learn and there are so many people who know so much more than I do. But it is fun to go with a new hunter. It’s fun to see somebody get that moment. When it actually does happen they’re so excited.  It’s thrilling. It’s an accomplishment.

NF: More about PROIS. You have got a fascinating set of ladies on your staff. You’ve got some of our friends, Julie Golob, and many others. How did you bring them on? What was the process there?

KP:  We’ve been really fortunate. We have this philosophy that you surround yourself with people that you genuinely like.  I think that’s the first criteria – finding people who are truly enjoyable to be around and good at what they do. It helps that they’re also powerhouses in the industry. Somebody like Julie or Barbara Baird. At the same time, you want to create team of women who like to be together get this great camaraderie. I think we work really hard to build that.

Katherine Grand of PROIS

We’ve brought Katherine Grand on to be our pro-staff coordinator. She’s been great, too, in helping identify other ladies that would be good fit.  It’s been really fun. We’ve met people through the media and the media organizations are great places for networking, shows, through other friends. It sounds so cliche, but that’s what it is.

NF: I agree- in the short amount of time that I’ve been in the firearms industry I’ve come to find a very strong family. So many of the other women are so encouraging of me and of each other. It’s really cool.

KP: It’s true. It’s like this little underground network of women who are just thrilled to be involved with each other. And it’s really fun.

NF:I think so, too. There’s that common bond. I guess because there are so few of us in this industry we’re immediately sisters. (laughs)

KP: It’s funny- it’s not competitive at all, ya know, we’re just looking for more girls. That’s all. Women tend to like to network more. You can spend all day emailing and just chatting on the phone. My husband is like, “What are you doing all day?” “Networking!” (laughs)

NF: You sponsor some pretty cool people organizations.

KP: Yeah, we’re now one of the main sponsors for the NRA Women On Target hunting program and the NRA’s Women’s Wilderness Escape program and Mule Deer Foundation and we really try to reach out to becoming an outdoor woman programs. Those are really key areas that we need to be in.

NF: Tell me about the Extreme Huntress award. I saw it at SHOT Show last year and that was so interesting. Can you explain what that’s all about?

KP: I’m glad you asked. We’ve been a key sponsor and really ran with the Extreme Huntress competition for the last two years. We were looking for women out there who are, for lack of a better word, bad ass women hunters [with the Extreme Huntress contest]. We have actually chosen this year to go in a different direction which we think is really spectacular. We call it the PROIS Award and it encompasses being that woman but it also includes conservation management and community education – taking that extra step. It’s more than being that bad ass hunter, it’s about being in the whole arena that surrounds it.  On our panel of judges this year we’ve got Brenda Valentine, Diana Rupp, who is the editor for Sports Afield, Guy Eastman from Eastmans Hunting Journal, Ron Spomer, Craig Spottington, Craig Boddington, Ron Schmeits, who was the President of the NRA. We’ve got some powerhouse hitters in there and tons of great sponsors with gear – a good hunt up in Alberta for elk, mule deer, whitetail and wolf, and Diana Rupp will go along and do a story for Sports Afield with that. We’re really looking for this very classy, really well rounded – the woman hunter that’s, like, everything. We want someone who has really dedicated their life to hunting and furthering the hunting community. We’re pretty thrilled about it.

NF: Are you announcing the winner at SHOT Show?

KP: Yes, we’re kind of following the same pattern. We’re going to have people send us their applications. We’ve got our panel of judges who I’m very proud about. I feel like they are some of the top names in the industry that really embody our vision of what we’re trying to do. They will pick the top 10 or 12 and we’ll put them online for voting. Then we’ll announce the winner at ATA and SHOT like we did last year and then they’ll be ready to go on their hunt.

NF: So lets talk about your products. Tell me why they’re so wonderful.

KP: Everything comes down to a couple of things. The first is quality fabrics. All of our shirts need to be able to wick moisture. It’s all about thermo-regulation – building layering systems that give you every kind of protection from the weather. We have wind blocking technologies; we have waterproofing, insulatory – everything is built around silence from having thumb holes in all the jackets to nylon lining to magnetic snaps. Even our rain gear is absolutely, utterly silent. We’re pretty picky about all of our fabrics. They’ve got to have performance; it’s got to have a reason. And we work on a lot of signature functions in there. We build scapular drop pockets between the shoulder blades so you can drop activated hand warmers back there. It’s a big thermo-regulatory zone that really aids in warming. We have pockets across the lower back which you can use for storage or hand warmers. We have thumb holes in everything. We’ve built Duck-tails in our rain gear – anything we can do to make the hunting experience more comfortable and more successful.

NF: Wow – it’s crazy to think that no one had ever done that before.

KP: We were pretty surprised that nobody had done it before, too. Again, there are other women’s companies out there and their gear is just fine, but in my opinion, hunting is more athletic than that, it’s more of a sport than that. Shooting, too, is more athletic than that. You know you’re going to go out and sweat. You’re not sitting still. You’re doing a lot and your clothes have to do a lot no matter what you’re doing, I think.

NF: What else is coming up for you guys at PROIS?

KP: Actually we do have another exciting thing going on. We have partnered with Outdoor Connection, a booking agency, to come up with PROISHuntingTrips.com. We’re launching the website with female friendly outfitters for Women Only hunts. We’re just getting ratcheted up and it’s gonna take off quite nicely.  We’ve got a couple good media hunts in the queue and we’re coming up with more and more. I estimate that we will have no problem filling camps at all. It’s such a great idea. I’m a big proponent of women’s only hunts. I’ve done plenty of hunts where I’ve had to go in to camp with men. Not that I’m opposed to it, but it’s less comfortable than it needs to be. So we’re thrilled. We’re really excited about what we’ve got in the queue and I think we’re on a really good tipping point with that. You’ll be seeing a lot more about it.  We’ve also taken back our Home Hunting program, which is pretty exciting. Basically, it’s like any home party where you can go in to someone’s home and buy PROIS gear. We had started this a while ago and the gal who was running the program went in a new direction. We have it back in house now and it’s really a successful program and a lot of fun and it’s innovative – it’s just a whole other way to reach women and customers. I think it’s gonna be a blast.

*Cow Tag is a part of the lottery process for elk hunters in Colorado. After you apply for a tag, you’re randomly assigned to a bull or a cow.

Kirstie Pike, CEO of PROIS

Thanks, Kirstie, for taking the time to chat. We look forward to many more great things from you in the near future!

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My adventure started when the fabulous Tracey Splechter from Outdoor Connection contacted me with interest in learning more about GG2G and to tell us about her company.  She thought, rightly so, that rather than simply having phone conversations, an actual hunting experience would be best. Lucky for me I would be going with 5 other women — honestly, other than going with my dad or brother, this was the best way for me to jump in! What kind of hunt would I be going on? A wild hog hunt!

Er. Not quite.

It was going to be a weekend experience Gray Ranch in Oklahoma — just a few short hours from my home state of Texas. And I was nervous. Not about the hunting part, but more about the going hunting with 5 experienced women part. Yes, it was like making friends in grade-school all over again — Would I look too much like a city girl? Would my gear work for the job? Would they like me? Would I be the only one who didn’t take a hog?!

What I found were 5 incredible women who I now call friends and with whom I absolutely hope to hunt again. And it was a lot like summer camp — just with guns and hunting and some beer and wine thrown in for good measure (after the firearms were safely put away, of course)! Two are from Prois Hunting Apparel — Kirstie Pike, the founder, and Katherine Browne, her awesome colleague. They kindly provided me with some Prois gear for the weekend and let me tell you — it was fantastic (I’ll have a review soon). Ladies, if you need camo that’s made for women by women, definitely keep Prois on your shopping list. Another fabulous female huntress who was with us — Mia Anstine — runs Wolf Creek Outfitters with her husband as well as keeps her fans informed with her personal blog, My Many Outdoor Adventures. Oh, and she’s hilarious. Hearing her stories of her pet turkey, Tom, kept us laughing at all hours. And finally Tracey — the woman who put it all together — and her sister. OK, I did learn that her sister was somewhat of a newbie like me, but still, she had done this at least one more time than I!

Fortunately, despite my anxiety about hunting, Tracey kindly accompanied me to our stand on the first night and after sharing stories and giggling for a couple hours, she actually spotted a group of hogs coming our way!

Since it was my first hunt, Tracey also let me take the first shot. OK, actually she had to walk me through it a little bit so I wouldn’t freak out. Here’s the thing: I don’t take this “killing a living creature” thing lightly and I wanted to ensure that I had a humane kill. I also wanted to get one that would provide me with good meat to eat. I only support hunting for sustenance and fortunately the majority of hunters are the same way.

In any case, I lined up my shot, took a deep breath, and after I had let all the air out squeezed the trigger and BAM… I got one! Although I was shaking from all the adrenaline and freaked out because the hog I got ran for about 5 seconds before toppling over, I was also happy to have gotten one! My first hunt ever I got a hog on the first night!

When the guides came by to pick us up just after nightfall, we brought the hog (which turned out to be a boar) back with us and the guys weighed it and field dressed it.  And they also soon told me it was, in fact, a humane kill.  Whew!

Posing with my 118 pound boar!

Although I realize that field dressing is something I’ll eventually have to learn, I left it to the experts this time.

The rest of the weekend was, in a word, fabulous. I immediately felt like “one of the huntresses” with my very own hunting success story and despite the 4:30am alarm clock looming above us the next morning, we happily ate, drank, and told stories late into the night. The next day Katherine, who I’ve decided is my sister from another mister and one of the first women I will call when the zombie apocalypse happen, and I got to do a little horseback riding with the guides. We were officially just riding unofficially in search for hogs, but we only saw traces of them. Oh well, we both had a blast and looked awesome while doing it.

Katherine geared up for some hogs complete with rifle, sidearm and knife.

Although only Kirstie also ended up getting a hog, I think we were all happy by the time Sunday afternoon hit and we were all packing up.

Posing with all the ladies. Yes, I’m the giant among them all.

———————-

So ladies, if you’re interested in trying out hunting for the first time — definitely consider an all female hunt. And check out Outdoor Connection (www.outdoor-connection.com)– they can pretty much arrange for the hunting or fishing trip of your dreams, as they have trips literally all over the world. And since one of the top folks there is a woman, you know you’ll be getting something that’s female arranged & approved on many levels.

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