I Hunt. Animal Lovers, beware.

Not to say that I don't love animals.  I do.  I own three.  Well, to be exact my house has three dogs (Titus, a rescued Boxer mix, Oscar, an albino red nosed Pit Bull, and Avery, a newly rescued Black Lab), three mice and one snake.  But I do love hunting.  Anything that I can legally hunt, I enjoy harvesting. While I will try to get that big buck or great moose (eventually in the future when I can hopefully afford such an adventure), I hunt for food. I hunt because I enjoy the taste of wild game and the hunt.

   Let's go back, shall we?

        My Granddad hunted.  He fished and he worked hard to support his family through night school.  He was (and is) a great man.  Most likely, he's in the happy hunting ground, hanging out with the boys in a hunting lodge around a fire, sharing stories about the "one that got away".  He met my Nana during the second world war and married her just 19 days after being engaged.  He loved his family and most of all loved being outside, hunting and fishing.  I suppose that's why I love all things hunting.  I feel more at home and more connected with him when I'm out in the stand or on a pier. 

    And back to the present.

      I hunt. We've already established that.  Muzzleloader, shotgun, rifle and (my most favorite) bow- I'll do what I can in order to put meat in my freezer.

      I started hunting last year.  28 beautiful, stunning days spent in a stand.  Before that season, I'd never watched a sunset and sunrise in one sitting.  Before that season, I never really knew what it meant to be to live in nature.  I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to harvest my first deer last Thanksgiving.  From that moment on, I wore more camo, shot more guns, and fell in love with bow hunting.

     I'll never hunt for a man.  Because a man allows me the opportunity to hunt on a parcel of land or because he shows me how to skin a deer just right or climb a stand in an effective way, then I'll do it.  But always, I will hunt for me.

    My aim with this endeavor is to tell my stories and to give a voice to the real female hunter. A hunter who has to work to support not only her habit but also support her family (in my case, lots of adopted puppies).Who works hard to keep the house clean, the animals fed and finds time to venture out to the stand as much as possible. Not the one that is seen on TV clad in free gear, loaded down with makeup and smiling perfectly-  but the one who truly loves hunting.

   Because I will always.. Hunt Like I'm Hungry.