A fellow blogger asked me the other day what he could try in order to get his wife interested in or excited about hunting.

I got to thinking about it, and I think I am perfectly qualified to answer that question.  Afterall, just a few years ago, I never would have dreamed I'd be out with my hubby, throwing on my Scent-Lok, grabbin up my bow, rattling antlers, scent wicks, range finder and the rest of our gear and trecking out, side-by-side with him out into the woods.  Sure, I'd been on some turkey hunts with him as an OBSERVER, and I was always the eager photographer as he proudly showed off his kill, but I never had any desire whatsoever to actually go out into the cold, sit for no telling HOW LONG...I mean, what would I possibly do to entertain myself?  How would I stay warm?  What if I had to pee?  Why would I want to kill an animal and then deal with all the blood and guts that comes after that?  Besides, the doe estrus back then was enough to bring on a full-on gag reflex for me!

Hunting was his area, his thing.  Not mine.  I could use the spare time doing girly things...knitting, baking, reading, scrapbooking, lunching with girlfriends, taking nice long bubble baths, getting pedicures...and lets not forget, SHOPPING!

Now, I've shared on my blog before, how that handsome hubby of mine took a giant leap of faith and went out and bought me my very first bow (a Martin) for Christmas two years ago.  I didn't really have anything special on my Christmas list that year, so I fully planned on getting the usual (but very much appreciated) type of gifts...you know, perfume, chocolates, something from Victoria's Secret...maybe something crafted out of a fine metal and gemstones???  Those are nice gifts most any gal I know would enjoy receiving.  But, my hubby, being the biggest Christmas enthusiast I know, is always cooking something up this time of year to surprise me with, so I had no doubt that year would be any different.  He'd end up blowing me away with some amazing gift that I didn't even know I wanted until he presented it to me, and I'd be left standing there thinking, "Geez, now why didn't I think of that?  That's exactly what I wanted!".  HA HA!  He just tends to know me better than I know myself most of the time.  Just one of the many things I love and adore about him.

Well, he blew me away alright!  I opened up that big box and, staring me right in the face, was this bow that read "Martin" on the side.  He informed me that it didn't have the right arrow rest, no D-loop, no stablizer, no string leeches, and of course wouldn't have the proper draw length until we tuned it all in. 

Hold up, mister.  Arrow rest, D-loop, stabilizer, LEECHES????  And what in the heck is a draw length?  He was speaking a foreign language to me!!!

But I looked at his face, and it was all lit up, and his eyes were sparkling like a child's, and he was grinning from ear to ear.  That's when I realized, the bow wasn't the REAL gift I was receiving right at that moment...

The REAL gift was the invitation to step into "his" world with him.  To do something that he was passionate about WITH HIM!  To spend time... WITH HIM!  

Hunting was not just something he enjoyed just to get away from the wife and kids, although I am sure at times that could have been the case!  HA HA!  Hunting was important to him, and he loved it almost more than he loved anything else in this world.  The only thing that could make it better, in his eyes, would be to have his wife out there beside him, enjoying it too!

So, in that instant, I looked at my wonderful hubby, looked down at my bow, picked it up (probably held it upside down even), and I decided that it was absolutely the most PERFECT gift I could have recieved!  After that, I vowed to do my best to learn to shoot, learn to hunt, learn all I could about the animals we were after, their behaviors, sounds, diet, etc.  I wanted to be skilled enough to be able to walk confidently into a bow shop all by myself and tell the guy at the counter what I needed and not get laughed at.

Well, that didn't happen.  I am sure a few guys got a real kick out of me in the beginning.  And surely still do.  I am always learning something new, hearing about new products...showing just how much I still DON'T know about archery and hunting!  LOL!  But, I know a great bow shop around here now, and although James, the owner, probably thinks I'm the world's biggest ditz most of the time, he's very helpful and informative and patient.  And he doesn't laugh at me to my face, which is pretty helpful.  Now, what he and the hubby joke about behind my back might just be a whole different story!  (wink)

But, back to the topic at hand...how to get the wife interested in hunting...

I can only speak for myself when I say that there are MANY things that peaked my interest in hunting.  I already had a great love of animals and the outdoors.  I already had that seed planted in me from the time I was a toddler out fishing with my Daddy.  (And yes, you can still be an animal lover AND a hunter at the same time.  It's all about being humane, and respecting the animals, and being grateful for a quick kill.).

So, aside from my desire to accept my husband's invite to spend quality time with him, and my love of animals and the outdoors, I also have an extremely competitive side to me.  Mostly I am competitive with myself.  But, I have found that with bowhunting, I can be competitive with myself and/or others at the same time.  Being less experienced than most people we know who hunt, I remain pretty much competitive with myself at this point!  HA HA!  It started out with trying to perfect my target practice, or trying to pull more weight on my bow.  Then seeing how close I could get to an animal in the woods without spooking it.  Then seeing if I could draw back on one without spooking it.  Then it became about how far of a shot was I comfortable with. Finally, how well I could place the shot on the animal for a quick kill. 

Right now I am still pretty focused on shot placement and, of course, getting a bigger, better buck next time!  HA HA!  Which shouldn't be too hard, because mine this year has to be the smallest one I've heard of around these parts.  I've only heard of one smaller than mine, truth be told.  Oh well.  He was the first one I've shot and recovered...but that's a whole 'nother story...the one that got away last season...

So now we have quality time, love of the outdoors, love of animals, and sparking the competitive side in me.  I am also a complete SPONGE.  I love to read, research, talk to people...anything I possibly can to better myself at whatever it is I am taking on.  I got to know some pretty cool people and hear some really cool stories as I talked to experienced hunters.  I have learned so much from so many people!  Everyone has something to share.  I've said it a hundred times, most of the hunters I know are just a different breed of people.  They are, for the most part, very eager to share what they've learned and observed.  Share their good stories, as well as their heart-breaking ones...like the missed shots or game not recovered, or the one that got away kind of thing.  So, being the people-person I am, I got to meet a whole lot of really nice folks whom I wouldn't have had the pleasure of knowing had it not been for the common ground of hunting. 

I also love photography.  I get to do quite a bit of that out scouting and out in the woods.

As far as entertaining myself out in the woods, it seems there are always enough different noises for me to try and sort out in the woods.  I am always scanning around with my eyes, looking for a flick of an ear or tail that might be my only indication that a deer is nearby.  Still, there are times out in the woods when there seems to be no noise and no deer or turkey passing through, and boredome does occasionally set in.  I know some of you might cringe at the thought, but I am going to admit to having played a hand-held electronic game once or twice up in a stand.  I have also been known to text message people with my cell phone...pretty often actually, when things are slow out in the trees.  Of course my phone is turned to silent.  Out in the woods, even the vibrate setting is louder than I am willing to settle for. 

I still get to do all the things I did before in my "previous life", as I like to call it.  My life before hunting was a bigger part of it!  ;) 

For us, hunting has become a "family" activity, even though my husband and I are the only ones who actually hunt at this point.  Our daughters help us look for rubs, find roosting trees, work on food plots, review trail cam pics, retrieve arrows for us!  HA HA!  Although that happens a whole lot less these days.  This year they even tracked their Dad's big buck and helped us drag it up and out of a ravine, field dress it, hang it and all.  It was an amazing experience for them, as well as us.  They were just so fascinated and proud of their Dad!  As a matter of fact, our oldest is eager to take Hunter's Safety this spring, and has asked for her own bow this Christmas.  She's been a good girl, so maybe Santa will just happen to have a bow with her name on it to place under the tree?  ;) 

When all else fails, deck her out in some awesome camo and tell her how GREAT she looks in it!  The first time I threw on some camo, it was men's camo and it didn't exactly fit me comfortably.  I felt like it swallowed me up in some areas, then was tight in others.  Apparently most men don't have curvy hips or something?  (wink)  I felt like it was very much not flattering or figure-friendly, and, as a woman, that mattered.  Also, I was informed that perfume, make-up, or anything that even resembled smelling like flowers, fruit or a WOMAN was OUT!  However, when I stepped out in my first camo, no make up, hair up in a hat, my husband was blown away!  HA HA!  So, there went all my silly notions about camo not doing much to make a gal look her best!  =)  Now, of course, I know that they design camo just for women, and it's much more flattering...if that's an issue for your wife.  Now, my primary issue is scent coverage and is it quiet material that allows me to move around without giving myself away. 

And, if you just can't convince your wife to throw on that ugly, old camo and head out into the woods with her, print off this blog post and let her read it.  Maybe if she lets herself view things from another woman's eyes and experience, she might just be the slightest bit willing to give it a try. 

I just think that if something is important to the one you love, then it's absolutely worth it to AT THE VERY LEAST, give it a try. 

On the other side, be willing yourself, as a man, to try something SHE finds interesting.  You don't have to pick up knitting needles, or even carry her purse at the mall.  But, if your wife is like many wives out there, she has SEVERAL interests and/or hobbies.  Just pick ONE and give it a try!  The payoff might just be better than you would have ever expected! 

Let me know if any of this works for you!  And good luck!