‘The Debutante Hunters’ offers glimpse into lives of real women in the outdoors

Babbs in the Woods

Blown away! Two words that come to my mind after watching a film now in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. “The Debutante Hunters” features five women from the lowcountry of South Carolina, ranging in age from their 20s to 50s, who take us hunting with them. We also get a glimpse into their personal lives, which is generous of them, considering that Sara Frampton says, “The fact that I hunt is something that I’d rather people find out about me as they get to know me rather than ‘Hi, my name is Sara Frampton and I’m a hunter.’ I don’t advertise it.”

Sara’s mother, Susan, is seen digging in her garden on her hands and knees. She looks at the camera and states, “I think gardening, like hunting, is a very hopeful activity. You do it for tomorrow. If you hunt the way you should hunt, you are nurturing the animal population so that they’ll be there and be healthy tomorrow or when you come back, or down the road or for your children or for your children’s children.” Later, you’ll see Susan and Sara getting ready to head out for a deer hunt. They don their pink and white pig socks, just in case they have an opportunity to take a feral hog.

 

Why do I like, like, like this movie? It’s real. It’s like the women I know who hunt. It’s like the women I love from the South, some of my best friends.

“A lot of hunting isn’t about shooting and killing things … it’s as much about being a part of nature. If you’ve never listened to the woods wake up, I strongly suggest you do it,” Sara Frampton.

Some impressions from the film that I’ll remember:

  • The mom, who has her daughter’s back to protect her when she shoots a feral hog.
  • Red fingernails on beautiful young hands loading a rifle.
  • Kristy Smith, a beautician, cutting an older woman’s hair and saying, “I got some new camo last weekend.”
  • A line of trophy bucks in a living room, wearing lovely scarves around their necks at a get-together for women.
  • And finally, Kacey Patrick, a young pregnant hunter who says she can hardly wait to take her little one hunting, just like her daddy took her hunting.

Voting has ended. Even though I didn’t see the other films in contention, I’m still hoping this one wins. I’m sure there were no others like it and it is edgy.

Thanks to Maria White and to all the women for telling their stories and inspiring us. See “The Debutante Hunters.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • About Barbara Baird

    Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in hunting, shooting and outdoor markets. Her bylines are found at several top hunting and shooting publications. She also is a travel writer, and you can follow her at https://www.ozarkian.com.

     

The Conversation

3 Comments
  • Nancy Cregg says: June 26, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    Join us for a free film! Sunday, July 22 at 4:00 pm at the Olde North Charleston Picture House located at 4820 Jenkins Avenue, N. Charleston across from N. Charleston High School.
    Free and open to the public.

    Community Cinema: Wanda the Wonderful
    Jul 22 – 4:00pm
    Not Rated
    80 minutes

    Wanda the Wonderful follows an adventurous and volatile Wild West sharpshooter. Born in 1900 in the Chickasaw Indian Territory, Wanda grew up to be a rebel, a woman who toted guns and wore pants at a time when skirts were the norm. She traveled the world as “Wanda Savage,” entertaining audiences both large and small with her sharpshooting act. Along the way, she bore seven children by four different men, performed as a stuntwoman and actress in Hollywood, and was temporarily the Madame of a brothel.

    Filmmaker Carolyn Macartney never met her grandmother Wanda but was always intrigued by the stories she heard growing up. Inspired by her mythic legacy, Carolyn will now uncover the true story of Wanda, a magnetic, restless and fallible character. In addition to exploring Wanda’s adventurous life and tempestuous love affairs, the film examines the sacrifices that all individuals of extreme talent and temperament make – and their consequences. Wanda was a woman who followed her passions – at whatever cost, and actually lived the Wild West.

    http://www.wandathewonderful.com/

  • Tammy says: January 29, 2012 at 9:09 am

    What a great opportunity for women to see into the lives of women hunters. There’s sooo much more to hunting than shooting an animal and it sounds like these ladies have really displayed that in a very classy way.