Shoot Like a Girl Raises Money for Breast Cancer

Archers raise $4,630 for the National Breast Cancer through their “I Shoot for the Girls™” Charity Mail in Archery Shoot hosted by Shoot Like A Girl

Shoot Like A Girl is thrilled to announce that archers across the United States raised $4,630 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation to date, and expect to surpass $5,000 when the final contributions arrive.  Eleven Archery Clubs, Business and Leagues and ten individuals participated with a total of 284 archers competing in this first ever “I Shoot for the Girls” tournament.  “This was our first year to host the tournament, and we received great feedback.  Everyone has asked us to make it an annual event, and we will, but we will extend the time to shoot to accommodate more archers!” said Karen Butler, the President of Shoot Like A Girl.

The winners for the tournament receive a dozen Victory Pink Arrow Project Arrows, donated graciously by Victory Arrows.  In the Men’s Division, the winner is John Pero, with a score of 380, from the Wa-Xo-Be Archers; the Women’s Division winner is Debby Hammock, with a score of 335 from Pellegrino’s Archery Hut; and the Youth Division winner is Dakota Hoagland, with a score of 330 from Vic’s Archery.  Contestants shot from 18 meters on a target consisting of three large breast cancer ribbons and one small bonus ribbon.  There were ten 10 rounds, for a total max score of 400 points.

Shoot Like a Girl is grateful to the ranges that donated range time to host this tournament, Pellegrino’s Archery Hut in Colorado Springs, CO; Vic’s Archery, Saint Joseph, MO; Full Curl Archery, Anchorage, AK; Archery Unlimited, Etna, WY; Autumn Addiction Archery, Burghill, OH; Hideaway Archery, South Dayton, NY; Cheyenne Field Archers, Cheyenne, WY; Mohawk Archery Club, Mason City, IA; and special thanks to the Union County Cub Scouts, Monroe, NC.

Grandpa’s Hunting Legacy

Hunting in Northern WI has always been a way of life. We have a nine-day season that starts the Saturday before Thanksgiving and ends the Sunday after. Some call it Holy week here because almost everything here revolves around hunting that week. More>

Born to Hunt-by Melissa Shopes

Born to Hunt

By Melissa Shope

My first hunting experience was when I was a little girl and my dad decided to take my sister and I grouse hunting.  I, of course, being against killing helpless animals, had no intentions of letting him kill anything.  He told us before we left that we had to be very quiet.  We weren’t and that was the last time he took us hunting.  He loved to hunt grouse and turkey but was never much on deer hunting.   He loved the outdoors and in turn taught us to love nature also.  We didn’t have much money or a lot of extras but he always saved enough money to take us on a family vacation.  We learned not to be in a hurry to get to our destination because he always took the scenic route and made plenty of stops to enjoy the views.  I don’t really remember being upset about it.  It was just what we were used to.  He always tried to pick historical places so we could learn something from our experiences.

Growing up in eastern Kentucky gave me a love for being the mountains that I didn’t realize until I moved to North Carolina.  As a girl I loved being in the woods exploring or climbing a tree with my favorite book and reading for hours.  I moved to the foothills of North Carolina when I was eighteen and didn’t visit the mountains that often. My first husband did not hunt nor did he enjoy going to the mountains or visiting KY.

I went home to Kentucky as often as I could and looked forward to the climb up the winding roads to get to my parents house.  I found that I would get more homesick in the fall.  It has always been my favorite season and the mountains in Kentucky are beautiful in the fall.

At age thirty-six, after a failed marriage and two wonderful teenage daughters, I started dating a man that I worked with.  I had worked with him for five years so we knew each other well.  He had always been big on hunting and I used to tease him sometimes about killing helpless animals.  We fell in love and spent as much time together as we possibly could.  One day he asked me if I wanted to ride to South Carolina with him to his hunting land and I said that I would love to go.  I still remember how I felt the first time we walked into the swamp.  It was in the spring and it was breathtaking. I cried as I stood and took in the beauty of it all.  The way the sunlight broke through the tress spilling rays of light into the densely wooded swamp gave me goose bumps.  I fell in love instantly.  I could see how much he loved being there and that he felt the same way that I did. Seeing his love for the outdoors and how he took time to stop and show me things that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise, made me love him even more.   I continued going with him to help him get ready for deer season.  It was a lot of work but I enjoyed every second of it.

One day he jokingly asked me if I wanted to go deer hunting with him and again I agreed to go.  He was very surprised but excited that I actually wanted to try it.  He found me some clothes and bundled me up as much as he could and warned me how cold it might be.  I made it through the day without complaining even though I couldn’t feel my feet as I walked back to the truck.  We didn’t see any deer that day but I continued to go with him every chance I got. It was a long time until I actually saw a deer and I was getting very impatient.  He tried to encourage me and continued to tell me that if I kept going I would see deer.  I finally did start seeing deer and it was so much fun being able to sit in the stand and watch them walk under you and never know you were there.    I loved being in the woods and listening to the sounds and seeing all of the wildlife. You feel so close to God during those times.  Seeing all that he created and experiencing it firsthand makes you appreciate things so much more.  It gives you time to examine your life and be thankful for the ones you love.

He took me to the range and I finally found something that I was good at.  I had never been athletic and failed at every sport I had tried but I could shoot a gun!  I loved it.  The more I went hunting the more I wanted to try it for myself.  I started sharing a stand with his son, Hunter.  We had so much fun.  We saw a lot of deer but we always seemed to get the giggles over the silliest thing.  Those were memories I will never forget.  Eventually I started hunting by myself but I just never saw a shooter.  I had no desire to shoot a doe.  If  I was going to kill something I wanted it to be a good one. With that said, I still haven’t got my chance to this day.  But I have patience and I know it will happen.

In the spring he took me turkey hunting and I my love for hunting doubled!  I was shocked at how much fun it was.  The first day we hunted he called in a big bird right to his decoy.  He shot and I jumped and yelled, “You got him!”  I guess I was surprised but he thought it was funny.  He is a very good hunter and a very good shot.  He easily killed his limit that year and I was disappointed when it was over so soon.

My dad was surprised and proud that I had taken to hunting the way I had.  After each hunt I would call him on the phone to give him every detail.   He would share his experiences with me and would tape things on TV to show me when I came home to visit.  We planned to go turkey hunting together in Kentucky during their fall season but he passed away before we got the chance.  I am so glad that I found my love for hunting before he passed away.  Being able to share our hunting experiences with each other made us closer than we had ever been.  My mother gave me his turkey gun and I will proudly carry it hunting with me the next time I go.

I had my first exciting chance to shoot at a turkey this past spring.  It was a lot of fun but a big miss for me.  I was so upset and disappointed.  I will try again next year.  I have been teased many times by my co-workers about hunting but it doesn’t bother me.  They have no clue what they are missing and I can’t explain it to them.  I owe so much to my wonderful husband for taking me with him and letting me fall in love with the many joys of hunting.  I have no doubt that it will be a part of my life for many years to come.   I look back and laugh at how I used to be and how I am now.  I went from a little girl who hated the thoughts of hunting, in to a woman who, I now know, was born to hunt.

My first buck-by Deborah Fox

After multiple weekends of whining and feeling sorry for myself; my many years in the woods finally paid off.  I hate to admit it, but I’d been whining. I was sick of hearing myself, and I know my husband would agree. It seemed that no matter what I did to hide my scent, be quiet, and make as few movements as possible, my cover would be blown!

We’d been hunting in Georgia for a few years with some “good ole’ boys” who had some “freezer” success but no real bragging rights. As the only female hunting on the property I didn’t really get a warm & fuzzy welcome from the other male hunters. At one point they even asked my husband, “Do you bring her every weekend?” He smartly replied, “I wouldn’t think of leaving her at home, she’s a better shot than me!”

The moon had been full or close to it for several nights so the deer had been doing most of their feeding then. There had been signs of rutting activity for a few days, and my husband witnessed several bucks chasing a doe.  As they raced past him, he spun around so quickly that he broke the chair he was sitting in. But that’s for another story.

We made the decision to sleep in the next morning.  We ate a big breakfast and head to the stands around 9:00am. We had plans to stay all day instead of breaking at noon for lunch and maybe catch some bucks wondering mid-day.

I had been in my ladder stand five minutes when I heard the fateful blow of an alerted deer behind me. I was so close to climbing down and going back to bed! But not wanting to mess up my husband’s hunt, I stuck it out.  I’m really glad I did.

Ten minutes later I noticed some movement inside the wood line about 85 yards in front of me.  I picked up my binoculars and scanned the edge to find out if it was a “shooter”. I caught the glimpse of an antler and my heart started to pound. I carefully raised my gun and tried to locate the buck in my scope. Where was he? Every time I looked in the scope I couldn’t locate him through the saplings and briars. I could only see him with the naked eye. I was really getting nervous! I thought back to the past few weeks and all the blown opportunities. I was sure if I didn’t get it together soon this would be added to the list. I took a deep breath and looked back in the scope one more time and found his front legs. Eureka! Just above that is his chest! I slowly moved my gun up until I found his front right shoulder and pulled the trigger on my 30-06. All four legs went in the air in the classic bucking motion. I had made contact! He broke into the field and headed straight for me. This is when I realized he wasn’t just a buck he was the biggest buck I’d seen in the woods, and the first one I’d shot at! I rapidly pumped my gun and fired off four more shots. He came to rest about fifteen feet behind my stand. I quickly grabbed another clip and slammed it into the gun. I wasn’t going to take a chance that he might get back up. He wiggled a little and I shot him again. Once I was confident he wasn’t going anywhere the celebrating began. Later I was told that I was heard on the other side of the property hoopin’ and hollerin’! My husband keyed up his two-way radio and asked if I was ok, and if I had one down. I confirmed that it was big but he should continue to hunt. I still had no idea the magnitude of what I had just accomplished. He waited about ten minutes but couldn’t stand the anticipation and headed my way.  By then I had finally stopped shaking and felt confident enough to safely climb down out of the stand.  I stood there for what seemed an eternity just staring at the magnificent animal in front of me. When my husband arrived he congratulated me with a hug and a tear. I then said to him, “Don’t even think about telling me I’m not getting it mounted!”

I’m very blessed to have found someone who enjoys the sport as much as I do and that we were able to share this moment together. The only thing that would have made it greater was if my Dad, who introduced me to hunting could have been there too.

As we started to drag the deer out of the woods my husband noticed there were only two shots in the deer. The first shot and the last shot. The first being the fatal one and the last was my nervous one….right into tenderloin, which to this day my husband won’t let me forget!

When we returned to camp we discovered there had been multiple deer shot that morning including an 8 point, a 6 point, and several does.  But nothing came close to my 11 point. Those “good ole’ boys ”  were in awe of what the “girl” had harvested. The president of the club said it was the largest buck shot on the property in 20 years. The guy who shot the 8 point couldn’t stop rubbing the antlers of my deer. He said he was really happy with his deer until he saw mine.

After all the congratulating my husband and I took my deer to a local “stop n shop” that had a scale to get it weighed. As they began to hoist it up the last number I read was 185 lbs before the scale blew apart. It might have weighed more than that but I’ll never know.

He now proudly hangs in our home on what I like to call my “Wall of Fame” along with two of the biggest fish I’ve ever caught.

I’ve always looked forward to deer season beginning, but since that October morning in 2005 things have been a lot different.

Women’s Snow Goose Hunt in Southern Illinois with Jagermister Outfitters, LLC

Women’s Snow Goose hunt in Southern Illinois:
This is a guided two-day hunt with Jagermister Outfitters, LLC in Southern Illinois; just outside of Carlyle. Whether you are a new or polished goose hunter, you are invited. This hunt is limited to 8 women hunters. Please see the information below for details.

Date:
February 12th & 13th, 2011
Plan to arrive at the lodge on Friday, February 11th after 2:00 p.m. Hunting will take place all day Saturday and the majority of the day on Sunday, breaking both days for a warm lunch.

Guide:
Lynn Buswell, Jagermister Outfitters, LLC
Website: http://www.jagermisteroutfitters.com/location.html
Email: goosehunter67@hotmail.com
Cell: 319-213-0991

Location:
The hunt will take place on privately leased property just outside of Carlyle, Illinois. The hunt will be in crop fields hunting from layout blinds. You do not have to have your own layout blind.

Cost:
The fee for this hunt is $350.00 which includes lodging. Meals can be as a group at restaurants in the local town or cooked in the full kitchen at the lodge. Hunters will be responsible for the cost of their meals.

Limit:
NO LIMIT per day on Snow Geese

License & Stamps:
The required license and stamps:
102 Non-resident Hunting License-5-Day License $35.75
600 State Electronic Migratory Waterfowl Stamp $15.50
970 Electronic State Habitat Stamp $5.50
License and Stamps can be purchased online at:http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/WaterfowlDove.aspx

Equipment needed:
For those of you who have hunted goose, bring what combination of gear and equipment that works well for you.
Shotgun
Shotgun case-all guns must be in a case when in a moving vehicle or utility vehicle. Soft-sided cases work well for this.
Several boxes of high brass BB steel shot or tungsten shot (no lead shot)
Modified choke
Camo clothing, preferably water repelling or water resistant in case of rain
Plenty of layers…it is usually still pretty cold in February.
Rubber boots
Hand warmers
Neck gaiter
Wool cap
Gloves

To reserve and confirm your hunt, you will need to forward a 50% deposit of $175. If you are mailing a check, it will be cashed upon receipt and the funds held until the day prior to the event. Please email or call Lynn for the mailing address and/or if you should have any questions.

August’s Woman of the Wild-Darla Kaarre

I grew up a native Montanan…fourth generation in a family line of outdoor people…forest service packers, ranchers, homesteaders, outfitters etc.  My mom and dad are outfitters and I spent alot of time growing up in that business.  The family all hunted…I took hunter’s safety as a kid and back in those days you could take a pocket knife to school in your pocket.

I had mine in my pocket so could take it to hunter’s safety class at night (I was in sixth grade) and show it off and let everyone know that since I owned a knife I could survive in the woods.  Well I lost it that day somewhere on the playground and never had another pocket knife till I was well into my thirties.  So even though I grew up with hunters all around me and worked in the outfitting business cooking for hunting camps and even helping drag game out of the field, I never hunted.

I went off to college, got a bachelor’s and masters degree in education, found this wonderful man to marry, had children and when the only boy got his first hunting license in Wisconsin (lived in the mid west for about 20 years) then my husband Marty really got into hunting.  So Randy (son) and Marty would hunt every year and get deer for me. I love venison!  I loved ‘cutting up meat’ and putting it in the freezer…but still never hunted.

About nine years ago my family and I moved back out to Montana…the northwest corner…back to my home stomping grounds.  I finally decided after the first year back that I would like to try my hand at this hunting business!  So I borrowed a gun that was given to my mom by my great uncle ( a nice wood stock pretty looking 308).  I didn’t know one gun from another at that point and still don’t know much, but am learning as I get more into hunting.  So eight falls ago I borrowed that gun and haven’t yet returned it and have now carried it many many miles up and down mountains and through woods.  The first year that I picked up the gun from my mom and dad’s house, I asked dad if I could hunt along the creek on his property back down to my house.  He said sure.  About 15 minutes later, down off the hill came a nice doe…it was early doe season so I took my first shot.

I hit her and watched where she ran and waited the allotted time and then went to find her. Followed the tracks and blood trails.  Retraced and started over and turned over every scenario in my mind.  Never did find her…went up to dad’s since it was dark. He said he would go with me first thing in the morning.  He did and we found her a few hours later…about a mile and a half away on a circuitous route.  I learned so much from my dad that day.  I had such a valuable resource around me, all those years of growing up and no interest back then.

That day turned out to be an education about being in the woods.  The doe was great food for scavengers that year but not so good for my freezer.  Dad encouraged me and told me similar stories from his lifetime hunting experiences.  I hunted the rest of the season and got nothing.  So I kept trying through the years and learning more each year.

I missed a nice buck at about 40 yards…even after a smart hunting strategy and waiting patiently for him to get close enough and not see or smell me.  Sat in the snow and cried about that one and was never going to hunt again.  My husband, son and Dad kept encouraging me.  Spent more seasons loving the ‘hunt’ and the whole being in the woods and observing animals and their behavior scene.

Each year I would learn some valuable lesson to apply the next year.  I could sit still enough that a coyote sniffing out something got within seven feet of me and finally I said ‘well hello there’ as that close was beginning to feel just a bit close. There was the time my son took me hunting in the early years of my new passion and we had a buck standing looking at us for ‘hours’ and any one other than the inexperienced mom would have gotten off a good clean shot.  I couldn’t find the deer in the rifle scope so couldn’t shoot.  The deer got tired of waiting for me to shoot it so finally it wandered away much to the incredulity of my son.  “Mom you could have just pointed and shot and not missed that one it was so close.”

I’ve provided many funny mom hunting stories.  I have my favorite ‘angel deer’ that flew through the thick woods miraculously because it was so thick and dark and his rack was so huge there was no way he could leap as far and as long as he did through the woods and find a path out without getting entangled…but he did of course!   There was the doe I shot and stunned and who laid on the ground for most of the waiting time and just before I was to approach to make sure she was meat for the freezer jumped up and ran off like nothing had ever happened.  My dad and I again spent a day looking for her.  Never found her nor any blood trail expect two spots right where she dropped when I stunned her.

My ‘failures’ to put meat in my freezer were disappointing but kept me motivated also to keep learning and trying.  So finally after six or so ‘unsuccessful’ seasons of hunting I shot my first deer last fall…a nice muley that I hiked miles and miles up in the mountains to get.  He was so big  we couldn’t drag him off the mountain. We had to field dress him and back pack him out of the woods.  Good thing we did…a grizzly was eating his rib cage when we went back the next day to check out if the rest of the deer were still in the same area.

We had more tags to fill!  My husband was with me the day of my first hunting success….he did all the cutting up for packing out and all that.  I helped where needed.  It was all a spiritual experience for me…the hunt, the shooting, the waiting, the butchering, the gratitude for it all.  But even more exciting for me was that four days later while hunting completely on my own, I successfully filled my doe tag after doing things ‘right’ and figured out how to gut her out and all that.  I had to get my dad to come with his truck to haul her home and he said to me in his quiet voice…”You’re getting to be quite the huntress!’  For my 76 year old dad, my getting deer and carrying on his life joys was one of the coolest things for him.  So, having spent years learning some about hunting, I finally had a ‘successful’ season last fall.  I was able to put my first package of meat in the freezer that was identified as “Darla’s muley backstraps–nov ’09″.  We mark all our meat by who gets it, where and when.  It makes for great meal time stories and we are reminded of where our food comes from and for what cost.  One of the funnest moments of last year’s hunt was taking a picture of the first package of meat to go in the freezer with my name on it!

I’m looking forward to this fall and hunting season and have been checking out the deer habits in the area and have my licenses all ready…my son in law got me a new scope…my son got me a real hunting knife after learning that I gutted my doe with a Finnish fillet knife.  I will still use the same family rifle but I may need to get my own hunting clothes…I’ve been borrowing my son’s while he has been four years in the Marines.  He returns this September 13…in time for early season wilderness hunting!  So Camp Wild Girl’s show me your stuff for women’s wear!!

So that is my hunting story…my youngest daughter Elly (10 in a few days) enjoys joining me in the hungt and will be able to start hunting in two years if she so chooses.  She is a great outdoors girl.  She lead a hike of 18 people to the top of a mountain lookout yesterday here in our corner of God’s country.  In addition to hunting, I love being involved in passing on the wonders of the outdoor world by running an outdoor ministry.  So yesterday we finished off an outdoor retreat by hiking to the lookout and viewing the wonders of the mountains with a 360 degree view.  We are a non profit ministry that believes that we can live out and pass on spiritual principles in the outdoors.  We believe that challenge, growth and renewal happen through adventure in the world God provided for us to enjoy.  We do children, youth, family, women, and men’s adventure retreats.  We do hunting and fishing retreats.  We go hiking, rafting, horseback riding, rock climbing, study, site seeing, camping, backpacking, and other outdoor activities.  Each experience is used to teach spiritual principles.  Each retreat is custom designed to meet the needs of the group that joins us. Growing up in the outfitting business, getting into education and marrying a pastor, have all come together to create a ministry that brings growth and renewal to lots of people…whether they are participants or whether they find a job in which they come out to help at a retreat.  If you’d like to find out about our ministry go to athelasoutdoor.org.  You can also find us on facebook at Athelas Outdoor Ministry, Inc.

Camp Wild Girls “Sticks” it out!

By popular demand we now have our new Camp Wild Girls decals. The first on sports a black border and the other surrounded with a camo border and our saying “Hunting and Fishing Resources for Women of the Wild”. Both are 8 inches wide from the back of the fletchings to the tip of the arrow. The camo version in 3.8″ high with the black border version coming in at 3.25 inches high. Check out the Camp Store to find all our logo items!

There’s a new “Kitchen” in Town

Not sure what to have for dinner tonight? Lots of wild game in the freezer and don’t really know what to do with it? Maybe you have a great recipe you are itching to share? Well now there is a place to not only share your recipes but try out others favorite recipes besides.

Wild Kitchen.net is a new recipe website focused on the “Wild” side of cooking. Their moto is “Become one with Nature…then marinade it!” This site is easy and free to use. Started by Jodi Smith in FL,  just in time for cooking and grilling your favorite wild game. They have everything from Ostrich and Tortellini soup to Gator poppers. Stop on over and check it out!

June’s Woman of the Wild-Christine Appleberg

By Christine Appleberg

How does someone who grew up in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago become an avid outdoorswoman, president of a bowfishing club and editor of a hunting website?

I credit my parents, particularly, my most understanding mom.   She started a lot of my interest by teaching me to fish and then how to fillet the fish that we caught.  This lit the fire in me that nature was not only wondrous and fun, but often downright tasty.  And despite her desire to see me wear cute frilly dresses and act like a proper little girl, she never attempted to quash my fascination with the outdoors and nature, even when I kept a live red bellied snake in my dancing ballerina jewelry box.

Gaining permission to hunt where I lived was difficult but finding a place to trap was far easier.  Even in the waning days of the fur boom there were plenty of raccoons, ‘possums and skunks on the edges of suburbia for a kid to catch.

When I checked my traps I often carried my Browning Nomad recurve bow and a mismatched assortment of arrows with me.

The bow was a gift from my older brother and the arrows were whatever Kmart had on sale.  I knew nothing of arrow spine, or bow ‘tuning’ concepts.  At 45lbs @ 28″ the bow was far too heavy for me. Yet, a surprising number of rabbits, squirrels and the occasional woodchuck became dinner and tanned hides due to my bow.   Deer were scarce in the area back then, so while I did buy a mail in permit a few times, I never actually went hunting for them.

After high school I went to college in Bottineau, North Dakota.  Going from the Chicago suburbs to ND was quite a culture shock.  If I remember correctly, there were about 7 million people within a 40 mile radius of where I grew up.  There was only a little over a half million people in the whole state of North Dakota at that time.  While this meant I had to accept that there were no real pizza places or sushi bars for couple hundred miles of my college, the upside was outstanding.

There were miles and miles of State Wildlife areas teaming with critters and hardly any people.  Creatures quite exotic to someone from Illinois, like moose, elk, pronghorn, mulies, snowshoe rabbits, jack rabbits, ruffed grouse and porcupines.  There was an unbelievable amount of waterfowl around too.  The college even had a bird cleaning area for the students. However, my only attempt at waterfowl hunting resulted in me shooting a single blue winged teal, which dropped into the middle of a slough.  I had to wade into the cold water and mud to retrieve it and this experience chilled me on water fowling. My other hunting adventures were more productive, and I kept myself busy with rabbits, ruffed grouse, furbearers and even took my first turkey in ND.

It was also in North Dakota that I started to get serious about archery.  A very entertaining and patient sporting goods shop owner and his wife helped me get set up with JVA Astro Stinger bow.  Even back then this was not a very high tech bow but I became enamored with it.  I shot it every day.  At my first outdoor tournament I won the women’s division but what really made me proud was that I would have been in fourth place had I been competing in the men’s division.  I also managed to win a moving target competition. I was officially hooked.

It was still a couple of years later, when I moved back to Illinois, that I finally started to make a real attempt at hunting deer.  Like most of my other outdoor pursuits, I am a self-taught deer hunter which means that I made a whole lot of dumb mistakes.  One of my first deer bowhunting  experiences I made the mistake of sitting down right in the deer trail and waited for a deer to show up. This was thinking like a trapper rather than a hunter.

Sure enough, a nice buck comes ambling down the trail and just about runs into me.  I was desperately trying to pull my bow back but was unable to because I was overcome with a serious bout of buck fever.  When the buck finally noticed the weird blob waving a bow around in front of him, his eyes bugged out and he simply bounced off the trail snorting (and I swear laughing) at me.

It only took once to learn that lesson but I plenty of learning to do after that.  Thankfully, I was fast learner (and lucky) and did tag my first deer that same year.  Like most hunters today, deer hunting makes up the majority of my hunting time afield.  However, these days I find myself referring to deer season as the ‘off-season’.   Don’t get me wrong, I love deer hunting. However, my latest outdoor obsession lets me pursue my quarry day or night, warm or cold weather, and I can do it, literally, with a boatload of friends.

Bowfishing.

Bowfishing combines the ‘thrill of the hunt’ with fast paced archery action and it’s only as serious as you want to make it.  I am blessed with a great circle of friends and truly some of my fondest memories are times we’ve had together bowfishing.  It’s a sport where on a good day or night you will shoot so many times you may simply become too tired to shoot anymore. Laughing, yelling, high fiving and plenty of ribbing is all part of the sport. After a good bowfishing outing, a new appreciation of the simple things like a hot shower and good soap are realized.

I have been bowfishing almost year round for several years now.  I’ve bowfished from Lake Guntersville in Georgia to Saginaw Bay in Michigan and many places in between.   My boyfriend Kendall has a tricked out pontoon boat that has a raised shooting deck, lights, generator and uses a pusher fan instead of a trolling motor to get into very shallow water.   It gets us some weird looks when we pull it down the road but it is an absolutely sweet bowfishing rig.  [If you're reading this Kendall, I do love you for more than your boat!]

I am currently President of the Illinois Bowfishers Club.  It’s a not for profit club that promotes bowfishing in Illinois through education events, outdoor shows and also host several tournaments and fun shoots.   We also work with state and federal fisheries biologists who study both native and invasive non-native species.  This makes the sport not only fun and entertaining but downright interesting too.

If you are someone who is interested in cutting back on your ‘down time’ between deer seasons, I urge you to look into bowfishing.  You might be surprised at just how much it will change your opinion of the ‘off season’.   I will be teaching a bowfishing class for women at an upcoming Women in the Outdoors class in July at Clinton Lake in Illinois.

For information about bowfishing, check out www.illinoisbowfishers.com

I am an editor and administrator on www.HuntingNet.com There’s a wealth of hunting information there that will help a new hunter avoid learning so many lessons by trial and error like I did.

What Do I do with the spurs? Make Jewelry of Course!

What do I do with the spurs? Make Jewelry of Course! by Irene Pawlisch

It has been 6 LONG years since my last Eastern turkey harvest.  Speculation of bad winters and predation have made it appear there are less birds on the property combined with bad luck of weather make a harvest that much more difficult to achieve.  This year, I got my bird!  Twenty-two pounds, 10 inch beard, and 1 inch spurs.  Beautiful matching spurs at that.  I have wanted to make a necklace for years and at last I had my chance.

It is a simple method to clean up the spurs.

1. Cut off the feet at the knee knuckle with your hunting knife when butchering the bird.
2. Get a hacksaw.  Hold the knee end on a firm surface and slowly as close to the spur cut off the foot end.
3. Still holding at the knee end cut off the other side of the spur with the saw.
4. Using a toothpick or wooden skewer poke out the insides of the bones.
5. Remove as much skin and soft tissue as possible with your knife.
6. Boil spur in water with a few drops of dish soap for a few minutes.
7. Spur will discolor temporarily.  Remove as much additional soft tissue as possible.  Reboil until clean.  The longer you wait to clean off the bone the yellower it will be in the end.
8. Let dry then use a fine sandpaper to smooth out the bone edges and clean up bone appearance.
9. Apply a coat of polyurethane or clear nail polish to the spurs for a glossy finish.
10. You can now treat your spurs like beads!

If you are not an experienced beader you can take your spurs to a bead store for assistance.  I have done this a couple times so I decided to dive in and purchased all my supplies for minimal cost at a big box store.  (I went to a store that starts with a W if you like the beads on my necklace.)  After searching the internet bead jewelry for design inspiration I decided on copying a necklace I tend to wear often.  I copied the lengths and everything from this necklace.

Some design tips I have found helpful.  Beads that look the same rectangular shape and color of the bone section of the spur help blend the spurs into the necklace design.  Patterns make the necklace more appealing to the eye.  Layout your pattern in full and experiment with different patterns before you commit.  Natural stones and wood seems the best match for spurs.

You could do the traditional leather strap with wooden beads but I like a little shine and sparkle.  I am still a girl at heart even if I have dirt under my nails 90% of the time.  I am the only hunter in my circle of girlfriends and I love that my spur necklace would stand up to their bling when we have girls night out.

Kicking Beards II for Kicking Bear Kicks Back!

When I won the spot at the Kicking Beards 2 Pro/Am event in Kansas, I really didn’t have a clue what it was about. I thought it looked like a good organization to donate to and if I should win, it would be fun to go turkey hunting. Boy I had no clue what I was getting into.

First of all getting to “hang out” with the awesome Pros that were there was an absolute hoot. Guys like Heath Painter, and his camera man Chris Dyer a.k.a. “Catfish” a.k.a. “Flathead” who hosted in my first turkey kill, Mike Miller a.k.a. the “Assassin” who called in and filmed my second pinch, Tom King, Trevon Stoltzfus, Jimmy Big Time, J.T. Harden, Ryan Litwin, Casey and Chris Keefer, Matt Burtin and David Langston just to name a few. Meeting new friends like Thad Pool, Jodi Smith, Doug Gilmore, Maria Dupertuis, Durk Stark and the other winners and volunteers, well that in itself was more than worth the donation. I know I am going to ruin a bunch of macho egos, but you couldn’t find a bigger hearted, giving group of people that like to have fun. Add in Kevin Blake Weldon, who put on a concert, and the Locked Horn Outfitter owners Jared and Lizzie Crider and things were rocking.

We put down 25 turkeys total and I shot my first and 2^nd turkeys on film. I hunted hard and made great contacts, but that was not what I really want to tell you about today.

I want to help get the word out about Kicking Bear One on One. This program was started by Ray Howell whose dad abandoned him, as a young child. Ray proceeded in life getting into trouble and eventually someone took the time and introduced him to hunting. It changed his life.

Ray has a much higher calling in life. There is a love for people that simply oozes from his gentle giant. You feel it the first time you are near him. Ray started Kicking Bear to give kids the chance to be mentored in hunting and hopefully change their lives for the better also. My favorite movie is Pay it Forward and that is exactly how Ray Howell lives his life. In the movie each person had to pay a kindness forward to 3 people, Ray has long surpassed that number. His program is one that will continue to breed a “pay it forward” attitude, while changing, and in some cases healing, the lives of not only our youth, but the people that surround them.

The following is the philosophy behind the Kicking Bear program.

Impacting the children of tomorrow… Showing youth a better way of life while providing them with a weekend of fun to experience new things and meet new friends.

Nothing we do is as important as the impact that we have on the youth community.

1. 1. Engaging activities develop values, skills and relationships. Activities are not seen as ends in themselves, but as vehicles for creating values, building skills and solidifying peer and adult relationships. An engaging activity is one that holds the youth’s attention, awakens their imagination, and inspires them to want to learn more.
2. 2. All youth have equal rights to be accepted, respected and valued by others. Youth are viewed as individuals to be developed, not problems to be solved.
3. 3. Youth should be involved in decision-making and program design. If children get to choose how, when, in what and with whom to be engaged, they are far more likely to enjoy themselves and behave cooperatively.
4. 4. When we listen for understanding everyone learns — youth and adults alike. We are constantly able to learn from the youth as well as each other. Everyone is a learner.

Kicking Bear also follows up by providing free hunting and fishing experiences for kids that cannot afford it. That pretty much says it all.

I went to Kicking Beards thinking about what I could do for myself. I left Kicking Beards thinking about what I could do for others. I had someone that taught me in the beginning (thanks dad) and there are so many kids, (and adults) out there whose lives could be changed by having a mentor.

Kicking Bear holds camps all across the country at no cost to the kids. Please take the time to find out more about the Kicking Bear program and how you can help. Volunteer your time, donate your resources, or simply put out the word. No gift to this program will go unused. If someone taught you, please “pay it forward” it could change a life.

For more information about the Kicking Bear Program click here.

May’s Woman of the Wild-Gretchen Steele

“In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, — no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair.”

This quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson was taught to me by mother many, many, years ago, where I was barely big enough to remember it, let alone really fully appreciate it. Thanks to the countless hours that she, my uncles and others let me tag along with them on their adventures in the woods, the lakes, the rivers and the streams of southern Illinois, I soon developed a passion for being “In the Woods.”

I developed a passion for being outside, knee deep in all that the outdoors had to offer. It seems that it didn’t really take all that long and I too felt that in the woods I could return to reason and faith.

Growing up in Southern Illinois put me in the enviable position of always just being a few minutes away from open fields, high bluffs, hardwood forests and the rivers, lakes, and sloughs.

Here I chased rabbits, quail and pheasants, deer, turkey and dove. I ran trotlines, turtle lines and traps.  I marked my days not by the calendar but by the seasons – root digging season, morel season, time to harvest the plants….watching the incoming migratory waterfowl in the fall, gauging time by the changes in the creatures and the landscape.  I am forever grateful that both of my parents and my extended family passed down to me the traditions of living wild.

Not only are we meat hunters in this household, and eat a great deal of wild game and fish, I also forage for wild foods and the medicinal plants and roots.  Many a frantic neighborhood mother with crying toddler has stopped by for mullein oil to soothe the earache. A diabetic friend uses the comfrey infusion to heal wounds on his feet that traditional medicine couldn’t.

Because I was raised by parents who lived in the through the Depression, nothing goes to waste and nothing is taken for granted. “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. “  was a common phrase in our household growing up and continues in my home today.  I learned early on that as long we remained good stewards of the land and conservationists, the forest and the fields could provide for us.

I never take a harvest for granted – taking a moment to thank the deer, the turkey, the rabbit or squirrel that gave up its life so I could have a tasty meal in the crock pot. I count my blessings when I find a big mushroom flush or huge patch of ginseng, golden seal and blood root.

Although hunting with firearms and bows  became somewhat curtailed for me over ten years ago when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and my upper body strength and coordination started disappear I realized with the help of a great occupational therapist that truly, I could still hunt, only with a camera. I could still fish – it was good exercise for those often uncooperative upper limbs, I could still hike, I just had to build rest periods into the plan for the day.

I’ve become an ace at ferreting out places that on tough days I can take the scooter down the trail, and have developed a network of friends who always happy to accompany  me on the days I’m not so sure I should be climbing up a bluff  or out setting turtle lines alone.

Do not be fooled – hunting with a camera entails just as much as hunting with weapons. I track, I pattern, I lie in wait…sit in stands, hide in blinds, and lay out in the snowy winter fields with the waterfowl hunters waiting on the geese to come flying into the spread.

I’m very proud that I was asked to be on the Board of Directors for Hunters With Disabilities (www.hwd2010.com) . Through this organization we able to bring both the able bodied and disabled hunting community together through a mutual love of the outdoors, and an understanding that for so many of us our time outside, our time in the woods is vital to our well being. The forests and the fields are our “dirt church”.

The MS diagnosis was my “aha moment”  when I decided that I would chuck my career as a public health nurse and focus on spending as much time as possible as long as possible in the forests and the fields.  Ten odd years down the road and I have a successful photography business that specializes in outdoor, hunting, and wildlife photography and a budding career as outdoor writer and blogger.  I’ve been added as pro staff / official photographer at several hunt clubs and hunting or fishing organizations. This has allowed me to network and build even more friendships with others who enjoy their time outside.  My mentors have been many and I have been truly blessed in that arena.

Finally as I approach the ripe old age of 50 it seems I’ve found my place in the world and it’s in the woods!

Please visit my blogs  and my web site to have a peek at my life these days.

Steele Photo Services – www.steelephotoservices.com

Through the Lens – hosted at Prairie State Outdoors www.Prairiestateoutdoors.com

In the Forests and the Fields – http://siloforests.blogspot.com/

As well as my second home on the internet – Southern Illinois Outdoors – www.siloutdoors.com

Just Scraps!

Just Scraps- By Irene Pawlisch

As I begin to assemble my scraps of paper my focus is, “how can I best tell the story behind the photos.”  To remember the story again when I have long forgotten, is most important to me.  You see, for a short time in my life, I worked for elderly with memory disorders.  They would have pictures in their nursing home rooms of people and places they could not tell me about.  It always made me a little sad.  Then I would reflect on my own life and realize I am forgetting so much of my own already.   This is why I take the time to scrapbook my hunting memories.

The first year my extended family didn’t get why I was saving feathers or taking “scenic” photos.  But as the years have past and the book has thickened they appreciate the reminders of forgotten bits from season’s past.  Coming up with new page layouts and designs are now my greatest challenge.  Stores have limited stickers and papers related to hunting.  I am old fashioned.  I still just use straight scissors, paper, and markers.  For me “fancy” is adding a ribbon.  The only thing I use that plugs in is my computer for journaling.  Here are some suggestions I would offer to anyone just starting out on their own scrapbook adventure.

*Don’t be afraid to make your own patterns out of paper.  Animal tracks can be traced or copied.  An exacto knife and a self healing board make this much easier.

* To shade use a small foam paint brush rubbed on a brush marker or ink pad.  Use one brush for reds and one brush for blues.  I have had the same marker set for 10 years.

*A straight edge cutter to crop photos and paper is a huge time saver.  If they aren’t all perfectly square, that is called handmade character.

*Earth tone papers are a staple.  Stores are starting to come out with nice hunting papers but many are still cartoonish with colors that don’t compliment the photo.

*Take photos of your view, the stand, anything that catches your eye.  Take close-ups or shots from odd angles.  Take unposed pictures to capture mood or a rapid series of photos to capture motion.  Study scrapbook and hunting magazines to get ideas for photo angles.

*Take a baggie along to save a few clean feathers.

*Make notes about your day as soon as possible to remember the details when you sit down later to journal on your page or computer.

*Save tags, tickets, etc. that are a part of the hunting story.  These become your “embellishments.”

*Make it personal.  Share your feelings or message to someone, like your child.  A child can never hear or read how proud you are of them too often.

*Don’t think you have to do all the scrapbook stuff (paint, stamp, spray, brad, sew).

*I dread looking at my first year pages.  You can always redo it in a year if you really dislike the layout but then again….

We all become better hunters the more we take to the outdoors.  It is the same with scrapbooking.  With each page you will become more confident in your abilities.

Kids go Shed Hunting!

With spring weather upon us and the recent snow melt these boys had a very successful shed hunt. What a great way to get kids involved in the outdoors in the late winter when there is nothing much to do.

I had talked to their dad earlier in the week and he told me they had Friday off of school and were  looking for sheds. They stopped by in the late afternoon, on Friday to fill me in on the exciting stories about each shed they found. Some where under the apple trees, others along fence lines or roadsides where the bucks had jumped to cross. With each story there was oodles of enthusiasm.  They took what started out to be a rainy drizzly winter day and turned it into a memory of a lifetime!

Kudos to Brett for getting not only his kids out but their friend also!

New twist-”Shed” Hunting Contest!

Can’t get out of the house to go shed hunting? We are putting a new twist on “Shed Hunting”.  Each day you can try and locate our “Shed” .  (It is not the one on the front in the Sharp-Hill advertisement or the one in this post!).  It is somewhere within our site and will change daily. Send us an e-mail to shedhunt@campwildgirls.com with your name, date and location of the shed for that day and your name will be placed in the drawing for a monthly prize. You can enter once a day with the correct location of the shed.  The March prize is a choice between either of the “Camo is the new Pink” shirts or the “Camp Counselor” t-shirt. Our great friends at Stedi Stock (Awesome product!) have also donated one of their Stedi Stocks for a second drawing! Happy Hunting!

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