Hunting is in serious decline across the United States as more people choose to stay indoors. But women should reconsider this choice to stay indoors and stay out of hunting. Here are five reasons why women should think about hunting.
1: The Hunt For Local Meat
Unlike female hunters of the past, more and more women are taking to hunting for meat. In this increasingly detached world, people want to know where their meat is coming from. Industrial hog farms are a turn off. But local, wild bacon? That's something to behold.
You can't get more local than hunting. Even farmer's markets bring in meat and veggies from other places. To hunt, you're limited by where you can drive to. And those deer you shoot are the ones terrorizing your car during rutting season, anyway. Shoot a deer, save a car.
2: Getting away from TV workouts
Let's be honest: we can only take so many Beachbody classes before we want to punch someone. The cheerful voices, the encouragement to push harder - it gets old. But hunting? There isn't anyone to cheer you on. There's no shakes to drink afterwards, there's no sweating until your eyes fall out. It's just you, your clothes, and your gun. And you don't even have to go to the gym for this one!
3: Celebrating Mother Nature's Ancestry
Hunting gives women an opportunity to embrace their wild side. We have many skills and instincts that we just don't use from day-to-day. Hunting allows us to embrace our inner hunter/gatherer ancestors.
Many people argue that hunting is cruel, but most hunters aren't going after Bambi. They're going for a meal - and it's hard to get fresher than going straight from the field into the frying pan. Might as well skip the middleman and kill what you eat. If you're shooting to kill, it's arguably less painful than getting hit by a semi-truck crossing I-70 for the 30th time.
4: You don't actually have to shoot anything.
Yes, some would argue that the point of hunting is to kill. But you don't actually have to. Many hunting trips are unsuccessful. And there have been stories of people going hunting with cameras instead of guns. Or, you know - being a little too slow on the trigger.
Don't worry though. You can still tell your nosy neighbors, husband, and kids, that you're going out hunting. Heck, you can probably find someone to sell you some meat if you want the alone time but don't have anything to show for it.
5: Hunting is... exhilarating.
There's a reason so many hunters get drawn to the lifestyle again and again. Anyone who has tried it knows how exciting it is to see your prey from far away, aim carefully, pull the trigger, and successfully knock something down with one shot. You can go hunting alone or with friends. Get a group of women together to experience nature in a whole new way.
Or, if some of them are squeamish - there's always duck hunter or Oregon Trail!
