More Women Hunt, Seeking Food And Togetherness

[ccharles000]

Around America this fall, hunters are stalking everything from birds to bears. An estimated 12.5 million Americans hunt — a number that has fallen in the past 15 years. But the number of female hunters has held steady — and more young girls than ever are hunting.

At a recent women hunters' workshop in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, about two dozen women stand in a semicircle in woods next to the local rifle and pistol club.

On the ground are two animal carcasses. Julie McKarley is kneeling next to one of them, a dead deer. A conservation officer with the Idaho Fish and Game Department, McKarley is teaching the women how to remove the deer's innards.

"So I cut through the abdominal wall," McKarley says, speaking over the sound of nearby rifle shots.

"I have my finger in here. Take your two fingers, or have your finger right behind it, and just cut through. This animal was hit and it's bloating up, so it's not going to be as pretty."

Most of these women have never hunted. But they're here to learn — about shooting, navigating in the woods and how to prepare what they've killed for the trip home.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113279429&sc=fb&cc=fp

[Mari333]

1. My sister is into that

hey, whatever floats her boat.
I could never kill an animal, but at least, if these people actually consume every part of the animal, than they are more honest than people who get their meat from the supermarket or McDonalds.
I think if everyone had to actually kill what they ate, there would be a lot of vegetarians.

[nc4bo]

2. Maybe, maybe not but I'd certainly think people would care more about the environment.

the effects it had on the meat they eat, maybe not waste as much or at least acknowledge the importance of preserving and maintaining wild animal habitats.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. Could someone get these nice ladies

a map to the nearest grocery store?

Incoming inevitable: :hide:

[bbinacan]

5. LOL

Thanks for the laugh.

[Brickbat]

4. I can't wait to learn how to hunt. My son and I practice shooting our bows and are looking forward

to thinning the destructive deer herd on our property, and then eating them. Venison: NOM.

[Gabi Hayes]

7. haven't you tried reasoning with them?

couldn't hurt....

[Brickbat]

9. Heh.

Uh, no.

[spin]

11. Where I live the deer often run in front of your car...

they can cause a lot of damage. They're just enormous rats, but tasty.

[Gabi Hayes]

15. an old GF lives outside Eugene, OR; has hit/been hit hard five times by

deer, and she's always on the lookout

lives on a steep ridge, and they've jumped out onto the hood a many times from the woods above, skittering across, and down into the trees across the road (these aren't the five hard ones). she's given up repainting the hood

[Deja Q]

17. I think seasoning with them would be better...

:9

[undeterred]

6. I couldn't actually pull a trigger on an animal that wasn't attacking me

but if other women want to hunt, that's fine with me.

[jwirr]

8. I have a cookbook written by a relative who lived through the depression

and hunted/fished to raise 5 children alone. She is one of my specific heroines.

[spin]

10. My daughter plans to kill her first Bambi this year...

Money is tight and meat is expensive.

If prepared correctly venison and wild hog can taste better than grocery store meat. Wild hog is VERY tasty if cooked in a crock pot.

[Raine]

14. Glad I don't eat meat

haven't eaten it since I was about 8 years old, saves lots of money. :think:

[spin]

21. That's a good point...

you are probably healthier too.

[Barack_America]

12. I more into the "shopping" version of this. nt

[Thickasabrick]

13. What about that deer brain wasting disease that is rampant in

the northeast. No way I would eat deer meat

[Nye Bevan]

16. Good for them

I have a feeling that these women are statistically less likely to be victims of domestic violence. Or any kind of violence, actually.

[aikoaiko]

18. I get the same satisfaction out of killing and eating an animal as growing and eating vegies,

Its a difficult experience to describe, but the word harmony comes close.

[Tim01]

20. I think I get that.

It makes a lot of sense to me.

My hunting could be more accurately described as the "sacred hunt" as opposed to a "harvest". So I imagine you get what I mean.

A very few people are allowed to hunt my property. They are asked to leave offerings of salt if they take from the woods. They are happy to do it.

[The Straight Story]

19. If wolves could write, I wonder how they would do so about their hunting

Would be interesting.

[Critters2]

22. United by bloodlust. There's nothing new under the sun. nt