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.