Cassandra Spratling of the Detroit Free Press has written a highly informative article about this trend.

Meeting Barb was an external change in my life. Embracing firearms was an internal change. Meeting Barb was the catalyst. I’m sure she’ll tell you that not every woman she meets has become a huntress or even shot a handgun, much less gone out and bought one (I now own two). What Barb did for me, however, was to encourage me to look beyond my limited view of hunting and firearms in general.  Why was she able to do that when my sweetie had been trying to do the same thing for years unsuccessfully? I can think of several reasons:

1. She made hunting sound like fun. I never understood what was so much fun about getting up at the crack of dawn (or before) to spend the day sitting around waiting for a deer. To me, it was a “guy” thing.
2. She didn’t tell me I SHOULD learn to shoot or hunt. She told me I COULD learn to shoot and hunt.
3. She invited me to join her at the range and when she went hunting.
4. She was patient with me. When I showed up in a navy blue snowsuit, a big fuzzy brown hat and a camera to go hunt with her, she didn’t laugh at me.
5. She never made me feel like I should know what I was supposed to do. She showed me what I was supposed to do.

I love my sweetie and since Barb became my outdoor mentor, he and I have deer hunted together and regularly enjoy target shooting.  I got a deer the very first season he and I hunted together. I think he was more excited than I was! It’s a great feeling to know I helped fill the freezer with venison which has always been our choice of meat. I’ve even been able to give Sweetie some pointers when we’ve been shooting targets together that actually improved his accuracy.

Do you have an outdoor mentor? Is your mentor a spouse, family member or friend? During what part of your life did you discover outdoor activities? What’s your favorite way to spend time outdoors? Leave us a comment and let us know what prompted YOU to fly the coop!

My Job

Photo by Bucky D'Agostino.

My name is Amanda D’Agostino and I became interested in the outdoors when my dad took me bass fishing one morning at my grandparents’ pond. After I caught a few sunfish, a huge bass grabbed one as I was reeling it in. I ended up losing the fish, but my dad put a small sunfish on for bait and I caught a bass over nine pounds!  I loved it!

When I am not outdoors chasing fish, I can be found running after soccer balls. I play on a traveling team and compete along the Jersey Shore where we live. I am the only girl on the team who does these kinds of outdoor activities.

In order to enjoy these activities, my parents make sure I keep up with my schoolwork. I am always on the Honor Roll and I even got straight A’s the last marking period. One of the highlights of this past year was when I received an award at Monmouth University for a writing contest for Celebrate New Jersey. I won Best of the Best for an article I wrote on Judy Blume.

My Outdoors

My dad told me that you were interested in highlighting me for Women’s Outdoor News. I was very excited when he told me.

Photo by Bucky D'Agostino.

After that day [aforementioned bass fishing at her grandfather’s pond], my dad started taking me to other lakes and ponds and I enjoyed spending time with him. Most of the time we catch bass and pickerel on our fishing trips. I even get up at 3:30 a.m. to fish for bass in the summer. We always start the day with a stop for coffee, which is something special I only do with my dad.

My favorite lures to use are spinners, rubber worms and jigs with pork frogs. I think the pork frogs are neat and blue/black is my favorite color. These lures are easy to use and I don’t need help with them.

Although I love to fish, I enjoy other outdoor activities as well. When I am over at my grandparent’s house, my dad lets me shoot his old BB gun at targets. I enjoy knocking over the cans and balloons we put up. I never thought I would ever shoot a gun, but I absolutely love it!

I think spending time with my dad is what I love the most. Though I do not hunt, I have actually tagged along with my dad on a goose and a duck hunt. I like taking pictures when I go with him. Some of the pictures I have taken were actually published with my dad’s articles.

I can’t imagine not spending time outdoors. I am so lucky to have a dad who takes the time to enjoy the outdoors with me.

From the 2010 National Sporting Goods Association’s Participation Report:

5.4 PERCENT INCREASE IN NUMBER OF FEMALE HUNTERS: More women than men took up hunting last year, according to new figures from the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA). A news release from National Hunting and Fishing Day highlights the new statistics. NSGA’s report shows that the number of female hunters in the United States increased by 5.4 percent last year, netting 163,000 new participants. Muzzleloading showed an annual increase among women of an astounding 134.6 percent.

Although this is great news, we need to keep pushing forward, especially in the mom and immigrant women demographics. Because we all know this behavior: if you teach a mom to fish (or hunt or shoot or trap), chances are she’ll not only teach her kids, but she’ll invite her girlfriends, her mom, her relatives, and anyone else that she wants to include.

I just returned from a trip to the West Coast, that has a huge immigrant population, and I started wondering if these women had ever entertained a notion to fish, hunt, shoot, pull a bow, etc. With the burgeoning immigrant population in this country, statistics already point to a decrease in hunting and fishing in certain regions because of the lack of interest in the population. Is this a cause and effect thing?

Of course.

In fact, The NSSF, in its 2009-2010 Industry Reference Guide, suggests that the large surge in immigrant population – a largely non-hunting dynamic – may be causing the correlation between more people and fewer hunters.

In an article in Guns & Patriots, “416,000 Legal Immigrants, Who and From Where?”, Jennifer Kendall writes,” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that 15 percent of all persons becoming Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) in the United States in 2009 were born in Mexico. China was second with 5.7 percent, and then the Philippines (5.3 percent), India (5.1 percent) and the Dominican Republic (4.4 percent) finished out the top five.  Those countries alone accounted for 35 percent of all new LPRs in 2009.

“The five states with the largest percentage of immigrants gaining LPR status were California (20 percent), New York (13 percent), Florida (11 percent), Texas (8.4 percent) and New Jersey (5.2 percent). The majority of new LPRs in 2009 were female (55 percent), the median age was 31 years old and more than half were married.”

Did you notice? Did it jump out at you? The majority of new LPRs are female with the median age of 31 and married. Women’s programs contribute a lot to the success of the trend upward, but really, we all need to do our parts.

So, invite a woman to go with you next time you head out. Go ahead, profile for the outdoor cause. Invite a mom or a legal immigrant hunting, shooting, fishing, or to the archery range with you. You might change her life … and you know what, she’ll probably change yours for the better, too.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/babbsbaird
Facebook: http://facebook.com/babbsthewon

EHP President, Denny Snyder, was there at the booth answering any questions and was very gracious in loaning me a pair of pink, yes pink, muffs to take on the range.  One lady that tried the muffs told me that these were the most comfortable muffs she had ever worn and she had been shooting for 25 years!  These muffs are very padded and do not pinch your head.  They are also comfortable at the temples.   EHP muffs come in a multitude of different colors, including bright orange, lime green and camo, or choose the plain black ones.  Me, I am going for hot pink!  For more information go to http://www.ehphearing.com ~ Cindy Noyes

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

Get up! Get out! Get going! Original image from http://www.seniorgames.org.

The Huntsman World Senior Games began in 1987 with a few hundred athletes, both men and women, who competed in a handful of games. In 2008, over 9,600 athletes aged 50 and over  filled hotels in St. George, Utah, home to the games since their inception. In 2009, the games will include Shooting – Trap and Sporting Clays in the 26 “open” sports that will be part of this year’s games.  Cowboy Action Shooting has been a part of the games since 2004.

The games will last for 2 weeks and will begin on October 6 at Hansen Stadium on the Dixie State College campus.  For additional information on the Games or any of its events, visit the web at www.seniorgames.net or call the office at 800-562-1268.