Woman Hunters Photo Page

This page is all about you -- women and girls who hunt. Your participation numbers are the fastest growing segment of the hunting community.

You are invited to send us photos of you and the game you have taken, and hunt summaries, too. Include, please, a hunting tip or bit of outdoor advice for other women and girls who hunt.

Your photos and stories will be posted as soon as possible after we receive them, with your name and home state.

One other thing...

As we all know, there's much more to hunting and to great memories than 'brown on the ground'. To show that, we – and all website viewers – would enjoy seeing photos of scenes or animals or anything else in the natural world you saw, enjoyed and photographed.

These features, too, will be posted as soon as possible after we receive them, with your name and home state.

2012 -- Women's Hunting Garb & Gear Area, and Info Center, at Expos

All four of our deer-and-turkey expos in 2012 will again have a Women's Hunting Apparel & Related Gear Area, plus an Information Center.

Here you are invited to try on hunting clothing designed for women, and examine other hunting gear designed specifically for women. There's a lot more of it available these days; manufacturers have begun paying attention to the growth in women hunter numbers. There will be a fitting room available.
Get lists of where-to and how-to information specifically for women hunters at the WOMAN HUNTER magazine information center. This special expo effort is co-produced by Target Communications and WOMAN HUNTER magazine.

The Velvet Buck

Michelle Helin, Wisconsin


	*• Michelle and her North Dakota velvet buck.*

I've done a lot of hunting and hunted a variety of animals, but I really haven't harvested that many whitetail deer. So while I like to shoot bigger deer than the one before, that doesn't take much and I'm not that picky!

Art (my husband) and I were hunting together in North Dakota with our friend Eldon Christmann. Since North Dakota's archery season starts in early September,there is an opportunity to shoot a buck still in velvet. That doesn't happen in my home state of Wisconsin.

I also like early season hunting because it's warm. I hate being cold.

One of my first nights in the stand, a really small eight-pointer grazed a long time in the field in front of us.

Next, 'my' buck walked into the field and started to eat, eventually followed by another, smaller buck.

After several minutes, I decide I'm going to shoot the biggest of the three. After all – "not picky", remember?. It's a nice nine-pointer, still in velvet and…check out those brow tines!

I made the shot and got my first deer in seven years.

And Art still hasn't shot a deer in velvet.

Tips/Advice: Gear-Up Right

Don’t settle for hand-me-down gear, especially men's. I realize this can be a financial issue. As much as you can afford to, purchase gear that fits your size, strength and ability.

Old compound bows can easily be too long and too heavy for you, and the older bows are harder to draw back because they lack the technology of the newer models.
Used arrows may not be the best weight and stiffness for your draw weight and length; consult a chart to find the best choices.
Youth model guns fit many women better than their full-sized counterparts.
Clothing or boots that don't fit are difficult to walk in, noisy, and get in the way when you shoot.

Your hunting experience will be much more comfortable, successful and enjoyable if your gear fits you. After all, you're worth it!

Michelle Helin, Wisconsin

Black Bear & Bite-Size Baits

Michelle Helin, Wisconsin


	*• Michelle with the bear that kept returning for more.*

This was my first and, so far, only bear hunt. The trip in itself was an adventure, as it started with some of our luggage not arriving at the airport with us. We had to hang out with friends of the guide in town and return to the airport around midnight to pick up our gear and then drive to camp.

Everyone I talked to about bear hunting had told me "You have plenty of time.The bear will stay at the bait for awhile. There's no rush. Don't spook the bear, because, if you do, it won't come back."

So this bear walks in directly toward us from the opposite side of the bait, picks up a bone, does a quick 180 and leaves.

The bear returns 15 to 20 minutes later and does the same thing. I am asking myself, "What's that all about? I thought they stayed around?"

A short time later, we see the bear returning on the same trail.

I made up my mind that I was going to be ready to take the first shot the bear presented; it was not leaving again. When the bear put its head down to pick up another bone, I came to full draw. As soon as it turned to the right, I let the arrow fly and watched it bury right behind the front shoulder.

(I have since learned that black bears stay on the bait if they have nothing in the bait pile big enough to carry back into the woods to snack on. Give them only bite-size items and they remain on the bait.)

Tips/Advice: Getting Started Right

Find a good teacher or mentor. This may or may not be your spouse, significant other or family member. Sometimes, while these people have good intentions they may not have the patience to be a good teacher.

Talk to other avid hunters in your community. If you don’t know any, ask around or consider going to a local event or banquet such as National Wild Turkey Federation, Whitetails Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, etc.

Many of the above mentioned conservation organizations offer Learn to Hunt programs. Your state department of natural resources or fish & game department likely offers a variety of required and optional safety courses on hunting, bowhunting, boating, ATV, etc.

There are educational opportunities out there; you just need to know where to look.

Michelle Helin, Wisconsin

Layered Clothing Is Best

Keli Van Cleave – Colorado


	*• Keli with her 600+ pound Colorado black bear.*

Tips/Advice: Clothing Tip

As an archery- only huntress, I tend to layer my clothing for the different weather and activity elements. I pull a 66-pound bow and usually am hunting and fishing at 10,000+ feet elevation. For me, climbing the mountain is much easier with a long-sleeve shirt and a vest. It's a feminine fitted vest with water resistant fabric along with wind stopping technology. It's made with a spacious lumbar compartment which fits my release and gloves. This creative vest has the drop pocket to hold any activated hand warmers just in case it gets cold and I'm still climbing the steep mountain. A vest is a great layering piece for archery!

Mid-November is Such A Lovely Time


	*• Hay bales made a great blind for Linda near a corn field.*

Linda said, "I took this nine-point whitetail buck on our farm on an November evening in 2008 with a 12-gauge loaded with saboted slugs. The buck was mingling with does coming from bedding grounds to feed in a newly planted alfalfa field and then move to the recently picked corn field.

I was set up in a self-made square bale blind set between the hay and corn fields. The big boy stopped broadside at 65 yards to survey his domain before entering the corn field. I shot from a shooting stick and he piled up 80 yards into the corn field."

Tips/Advice:

Try a 12-gauge, 20-gauge, muzzle loader or rifle – whatever is legal where you hunt – and find out what you're comfortable with. Once you're comfortable with your firearm, no mater what you use, you are so excited you won't feel it kick. Trust me.

For this time of year I use boots that have at least 1000 grams of insulation; I have trouble keeping my feet warm. If you don't have that much insulation, be sure you have the shake bags to use, which also are good in pockets to keep your hands warm. I use a muff with a shaky as don't like to wear a glove on my shooting hand. I was shooting from the ground so I had no issues for safety, but when shooting from a tree stand a safety system vest is a must.

Mid-October – Get Between Bedding Area and Food Source


	*• Mid-October buck that came straight to Linda's treestand...*

Linda Schroeder, Michigan

"This whitetail buck was taken on our farm at 8:30 am in mid-October, 2009, with a bow at 38 yards. The buck was trailing a doe back to the bedding grounds and came straight to the tree stand that I was in, so I had no good shot. He turned and walked 38 yards, stopping broadside before jumping over a log. I was able to draw after he turned from my stand, and when he stopped I let the arrow fly. This is the longest shot I have taken with my bow, but since the buck was broadside, notmoving, and not alarmed, it was a high-percentage shot. The arrow hit a rib, the top of the heart and then deflected up into the spine. The buck dropped in its tracks."

Tips/Advice:

In bow season the fall weather is generally warmer, so dress in layers and carry a vest and outer coat to the stand or blind. You don't want to get too warm walking in, because when you cool down you could get chilled. Add garments as needed when you get to your stand.

Huge Caribou Qualifies for Two Record Books


	*• Carolyn's Central Barren Ground caribou scored 343-2/8, qualifying for Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young record books.*

Carolyn Godfrey, Wisconsin

This Central Barren Ground caribou bull was taken in Northwest Territories, Canada, near McKay Lake, in 1990. I shot it at 30 yards. With a final score of 343-2/8, it qualifies for Boone & Crockett Club and Pope & Young Club record books.

I went with my husband Stan and seven other bowhunters from the Big Foot Archery Club in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Six of us shot two caribou each; the other shot one

Central Barren Ground caribou 343-2/8 1990 Qualifies for Pope & Young Club and Boone & Crockett Club record books

This bull was taken in Northwest Territories, Canada, near McKay Lake. I shot it at 30 yards. I went with my husband Stan and seven other bowhunters from the Big Foot Archery Club in Lake Geneva, WI. Six of us shot two caribou each; the other tagged one.

Our guide was a Dene' Indian – Dennis, age 23. He boned out all the meat, wrapped it in the hide and put a carrying band around his head, stood up and walked to the boat. He died that winter while working his trap line. Life is tough that far north.

The outfitter, Gary Jaeb, named a bay on the lake after me, as I was the first woman bowhunter in his camp. So if you look on a map of McKay Lake, you will see Carolyn's Bay.

We had a wonderful hunt. Saw wolverines, grizzly bear and plenty of caribou. It looked like something out of African wildlife scenes.

Other neat experiences, too. Especially the Dene' Indian girls and women, sitting on frozen, snowy ground in long dresses, cutting meat in long strips and smoking the meat for winter. They were members of the Dog Rib tribe.

Tips/Advice:

1) Ladies, do not to be afraid to go where you never have. It was an exciting adventure, and an honor, to be the first lady bowhunter to hunt this area and to have a part of the lake named after me.

2) Make sure clothes fit, not bunched, and boots fit right so there will be no blisters. Boots too large cause blisters, and with lots of thick socks they still slip a bit on your feet.

3) I was worried about going to the bathroom with other hunters around, but if you just say "I have to go to the bathroom" it works out. People are accommodating. With a woman in camp, they might have the same fear as you and appreciate it when actually mention you have the same concern. When you gotta go, you gotta go; so let us know."

Lion Hunt Christmas Gift

Carolyn Godfrey, Wisconsin

I got a card from my husband Stan under the Christmas tree telling me my gift was a mountain lion hunt in Idaho in seven days. I panicked. My next thought was 'good thing I have been going to an aerobics class'. Stan had booked this hunt for me when he was a panel judge at Pope & Young. He met Ron Scherer at that convention. Also, I had been called to be on jury duty for the month of January. Stan called the judge; the judge said he had never heard that excuse and let me off until February.

I had never met Ron Scherer, but he told me he would meet me at the airport in Boise wearing a camo hat. I got off the plane and saw nine guys wearing camo hats. Ron knew I am blonde, so he asked if I was Carolyn.

I shot the lion at 18 yards, a double-lung hit. I put an insurance arrow in the same place as the lion came around the tree toward me.

This was the first hunt I had gone on a hunt alone. It really gave me a lot of confidence. The hunt ... we used snowmobiles, snowshoes and walking, but walking is tough in the mountains. I had my doubts when the lion killed one of the dogs the day before I shot it. You could see in the snow where the lion had waited near a pine tree for the dog to take an elk herd trail past the tree. We followed two other dogs on a false trail.


	*• "All I could think was Good thing I've been going to aerobics class."*

It Was a Beautiful Spring Day...


	*• A ten-yard bow shot, but they didn't believe it.*

Carolyn Godfrey, Wisconsin

I shot my first turkey on a farm near Whitewater Lake in southeastern Wisconsin at 9:00 a.m. on an opening day back in the 1980s. I shot it at 10 yards.

The bird weighed 25 pounds, had a 10-1/2 inch beard and 1-1/4 inch spurs. I was so excited I drove to where Stan, my husband, and Mike, my son, and son-in-law, also Mike, were working on the installation of a furnace.

When I got there and told them, they acted like 'Ya, sure…" Then they looked in the back of the truck and changed their tune.

It was a beautiful spring day. All the dandelions were blossoming and grass was so green. Perfect conditions for a turkey hunt.

A Note About Carolyn:

Carolyn has bow-taken whitetail deer, mule deer, black bear, cougar, moose, California blacktail deer, Central Barren Ground caribou, Woodland caribou, pronghorn and wild turkey.

She also has hunted Mountain caribou, Rocky Mountain elk, Quebec caribou and Coues deer. She says, "I started bowhunting in 1964 when I married Stan Godfrey. My first kills were a whitetail doe and pronghorn doe. I grew up on a dairy farm near Cambridge, WI. The only other hunting I took part in was being the dog for my dad, brothers, uncles and grandpa who pheasant hunted. Dad used to tease that we were so poor we couldn't afford real dogs."