We Have Come a Long Way LADIES

Twenty-five years ago there was very little and I mean very little ladies hunting equipment and clothing available to us.  Around 18 to 20 years ago a couple of the large catalog sporting goods dealers had all of three pages dedicated to ladies clothing but they had 7 pages for the youth hunter.  The models for the youth clothing were all young men.  NOW ladies we have our own clothing lines and a good portion of the same catalogs dedicated to US.

 I started hunting in clothes and with guns and bows that did not fit.  I tried to wear boy’s boots, men’s pants and shirts, and had to pay to have a couple stocks cut down on shotguns.

 First, the boots were enough to almost make me not go into the woods; I never went very far and hated to try to hunt rabbits and uplands birds due to the blisters I would treat for a week or more after a day in the field.  There was not a hunting boot and very few hiking boots available to ladies.  I had to wear the boy’s boots but they were all ill fitting, and even with three pairs of socks never did much for my feet.

Now, ladies starting into the field have great fitting boots available to them in all the styles that are available to the guys.  We have snake boots, insulated boots, hiking boots and rubber boots cut and made just for our feet.  I can walk all day and never have to come home to heal for a few days before I go right back out and do it all over again.

 Second, we had to make boy's or men’s pants work for us.  Never mind that men and women ARE JUST NOT BUILT the same.  The pants always had to have a belt cinched up to a point of them being baggy or practically falling off, and the pockets were somewhere other than where you were reaching.  The legs were most of the time too short, for me, and too long for others, but my pants would always be dry if it flooded, or I had to traverse a small stream.

 Now, we can get the right kind of pants for the right kind of hunting.  They fit right and don’t have to be pulled up every other step you take; pockets are where they are suppose to be, and you can get them in the camo patterns you need for the hunting you are doing.  I am even able to buy ladies brush pants now for rabbit hunting.

 Third, men’s or boy’s jackets were awkward too large and too bulky in the wrong places.  The sleeves were oversized and caught your bow strings causing arrant shots.  To tighten them up I had to wrap my arm with an ace bandage and that stuck out like a flag blowing in the wind.

 Now, we can buy properly fitting jackets for bow hunting or shooting.  They are warm and made the way we need them to fit.

 There are scent control products and sprays especially made for the ladies in the field.  We can actually buy scent control undergarments that don’t have openings we will never use.

 Then there is our weaponry.  Twenty-five to thirty years ago only a few manufactures thought about making youth sized guns or bows let alone ones for the ladies in the field.  Beretta was the first gun manufacturer to introduce a shotgun for upland bird hunting for women 30 years ago.  Remington has had youth models available for about the same period and introduced ladies shotguns about four years later.   Bear/Jennings was the first bow manufacturer to introduce compound bows designed for women. 

Now, almost every manufacturer out there has a line of guns or bows especially for the ladies.   I still have that compound bow I had to special order from Jennings over 22 years ago.  But I have added a Ladies Light 20 gauge Remington 11-87 (with two barrels) and an Ithaca Ladies Light NWTF 12 gauge.

 Twenty-Five years ago you never heard of hunting clubs or organizations for ladies and now there are quite a few out there.  The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) was one of the first national orginazations to sponsor weekend camps for ladies to attend to learn and participate in everything hunting and outdoors. I was an attendee of one of the NWTF weekends in Virginia 21 years ago.

 Any of you ladies out there remember going into a sporting goods store and having one of the men that worked there asking if they can help you find what your husband sent you for?  That happened to me many times (still does now and then).  Now though even the “old timers” at those stores are getting used to ladies being in the store, purchasing what we need and knowing as much (if not more) than they do about the products we are there to purchase.  If they do not know as much about it as we do, being the motherly types, we are more than willing to teach them.

 Climbing tree stands have become lighter in weight and more manageable for all hunters it the past few years. This allows a lot more ladies to get up into the trees without having to use stationary ladder stands or ground blinds.

 Once we are in the deer stand we hunt no differently than our male counterparts; we do not need to.  We are all after the same game and the deer or turkey or rabbit does not act any differently whether it is a man or a woman (or youngster) in the tree stand or on the ground.  The rabbits do not run to avoid an oncoming pack of beagles any differently.

 NUMBERS of INTEREST from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries in Virginia researched from their website.

 Hunting Licenses Issued to Women                                                                               

                                                1989                                     1999                                       2009

*Sm Game                            15,822                                   36,110                                   75,851

Big Game                               14,844                                   35,921                                   74,997

(*In Virginia you must have a small game license to obtain a big game license but you are able to only buy a small game if you wish.)          

All being said, all of the ladies out there that have hunted (and fished) for many years, I want to say Thank You for hanging in there.  I know it was not always an easy way of life to want to enjoy.  I also want to thank all the ladies that are now in front of the cameras showing most of the doubting Thomases out there that we want to be in the field. We enjoy being in the field, and you might as well get used to us guys because we are here to stay.

 In retrospect, WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY.

Photos taken from: She safari. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.shesafari.com/v2/

By Luanne Bragg

TalkHunting Pro Staffer, Luanne "Beaglepup" Bragg, started hunting (going hunting) with her Grandfather in the fall of 1965.  He loved to squirrel hunt and would carry her into the woods and sit her on a rock and let her hold his prizes.  He took Luanne on her first Pheasant and Rabbit hunts when she was 7.  Shortly after that he had a massive stroke and was never able to return to the woods again.  When Luanne was 9 her Father, who was about to retire from the Marine Corps after 20 years active duty, and Uncle decided that since she could shoot she could remove the ground hogs and crows from the farm fields.  Luanne spent the next few years watching all the wildlife and removing varmints from the farm.  She took herself deer hunting for the first time when she was 15 and took her first deer at 17.  There was a long time between Luanne's first deer and her next deer due to college and work and general life.  She did a lot of small game hunting with her ex-husband starting in 1985 and killed her next deer in 1988.  She has not missed a deer or turkey season since.  When not hunting she is fishing or working in her garden (when not WORKING...).

Luanne has raised, trained and field trialed Beagles in the UKC and ARHA formats for 20 years and has produced several Field and Show Champions and Grand Field and Show Champions.  There is usually at least one litter of puppies born on her place every year.

She holds a Real Estate License in Virginia and owns a Dog Boarding Kennel.  Luanne belongs to the National Association of Realtors, Central Virginia Beaglers Association, NRA, NWTF and Buckmasters.  She was born in East Liverpool, Ohio,  and started showing Appaloosa horses in 1969 and was the Pennsylvania Appaloosa Queen in 1980 and runner up to the National Queen Title the same year. When she gets the chance she still enjoys a long trail ride.  She graduated from Kent State University in Kent Ohio in 1982 with a degree in Applied Science. Luanne relocated from Ohio to Virginia in 1984.

Comments(1):

1. Nice Ariticle Luanne!

   I have seen it evolve over the past 40+ years of hunting Women Hunters that have moved from being a occasional Camp cook to out hunting Male Club Members... I work with several women hunters and think it's awesome...

   Monday, November 08, 2010 Dennis