Anybody hunting or shooting with their wife/girlfriend?

[Dtired]

My wife has been out hunting foxes and rabbits with me only on late afternoon or with a spotlight. She enjoyed the walk more than the hunting. But problem is when stalking she insists on talking. I dont think she likes the end result of the shot.
Whenever she goes to the range all keen, then gets there and wont even help setup let alone have a shot. Sits on her phone or in a book the whole time.
My daughter on the other hand loves shooting and hunting and cant find enough hours in the day. She also is a junior so no full licence or able to own firearms. Currently we are limited to range work but always looking for properties. Her first rifle had to be in the same calibre as mine so she got a Weatherby VG2 25-06 and then her first hunt with it vapourised a couple of bunnies at 160m. I just got her a new henry 22 with octagonal barrel for silhouette and bunny busting.

 

[MtPockets]

PS. I am seriously jealous of all you guys who have wives and girlfriends who like to hunt and shoot. It's like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

I'm very much one of those that found gold.

She has hunted/fished/camped with me since day one. In fact, our first real date was camping. We had a black bear wander through camp, even taste tested the roll of paper towels hanging next to the picnic table. Didnt faze her a bit.
Sometimes she'll bring a kayak and fish while I hunt, but many times she comes hunting too.
She loves doing the calling, so she has really taken to bow hunting elk during the rut.
She and I have had some amazing adventures, and although we haven't always been the most successful at bringing meat home we ALWAYS have stories that will last longer than the meat, anyway.
I could not possibly ask for more!

 

[Bigeclipse]

I have taken my wife out hunting different game a few times, she wasn't really into it - meaning she was ok to be there and we enjoyed hanging out together, but she wasn't wanting to take it serious enough to wake up early and hike in, or was more interested in documenting the experience on Instagram instead of looking for game...LOL. We decided it was OK to have separate hobbies. I haven't tried to get her into long range shooting - that will be my next goal. We'll see how it goes. How many of you out there are hunting with a significant other? What has your experience been with it?

I hunt because my wife got me into it but I might be able to hunt because I can use my friend as an example. He recently tried getting his wife to hunt (about 6 years ago now). The first two years she really did not get out much as she didn't like the cold and she didn't like getting up early. She did shoot a couple doe but no target bucks or anything. Year 3 she finally hooked up with a really nice buck. Now, she is the one asking when we going hunting...etc. She still has days where she would rather sleep in but the buck fever she felt on that one buck really got her in to hunting. I would make a deal with your wife and say "hey, please giving hunting a real effort until you get a decent target animal (buck, bear, gobbler...etc). if you still do not like it, then I will not ask anymore". That way, she knows what it is like to be successful and not just the "boring/hard" parts of hunting.

 

[laker]

My wife loves to get out hunting. Her favorite is elk and antelope hunting. She likes bird hunting but she gets way to excited to hit a bird flying

 

[stirner]

My wife is the best hunting partner I've ever had. Doesn't mind splitting up, hunts slow, gets bloody up to her elbows, helps butcher, and is a great cook. Doesn't like punching paper that much, but give her a field of prairie dogs and she's in 7th heaven. When we go on big hunts, we take an extra week driving to the jump-off place, and play tourist. Our favorite hunt was for Dall's sheep out of Norman Wells, NWT. 9 days of back packing without seeing another soul, unbelievable sights, and a good ram at the end. South Africa wasn't bad, but it really wasn't "hunting". However, the 3 days in Kruger Nat'l Park made the trip worth it. She's shooting the Lady Savage in 7-08 now. Loves it, and shoots very good with it. One shot kill on a cow elk 15 min into the season last fall. Wouldn't trade her for anything.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

Great posts 100%. I think some women are suited for hunting while some are not. I too, found gold. My swiss wife is the first in her family to hunt since her grandad. She loves every aspect of hunting from shooting to butchering, and it helps that I found good gear for her to stay warm in and to shoot well with. She has no issues shooting a magnum shotgun load or her Ruger 270Win. She can hike like a mountain goat and this past year when I was winded after cleaning an elk, she hauled quarters up to the road. Pictured here, is her with her 2017 elk. cheers

 

[FIGJAM]

I hunt because my wife got me into it but I might be able to hunt because I can use my friend as an example. He recently tried getting his wife to hunt (about 6 years ago now). The first two years she really did not get out much as she didn't like the cold and she didn't like getting up early. She did shoot a couple doe but no target bucks or anything. Year 3 she finally hooked up with a really nice buck. Now, she is the one asking when we going hunting...etc. She still has days where she would rather sleep in but the buck fever she felt on that one buck really got her in to hunting. I would make a deal with your wife and say "hey, please giving hunting a real effort until you get a decent target animal (buck, bear, gobbler...etc). if you still do not like it, then I will not ask anymore". That way, she knows what it is like to be successful and not just the "boring/hard" parts of hunting.

Great advice. We are in a situation where we are relatively young (35 and 37) and both kids will be out of the house in 6 years (they will be old enough and adults anyway) and hopefully do some service mission stuff with our church and go to college etc. So we will likely be empty nesters when we are in our early 40's. It'd be nice to have a hunting buddy while my kids are getting serious with life and going to college etc. If the trade off is she hunts with me if I do Pilates,craft, or sew with her, it may not be worth it! LOL J/K

 

[Deleted member 103481]

Hey people make fun of Pilates and yoga but that stretchy stuff is good for you when you're gassed and trip over a log or something 10 miles in.

 

[codym]

My wife has killed a couple of nice bulls, one with a muzzle loader and one with a rifle. She refuses to shoot anything but bull elk (can't say that I blame her), but after eating the coues I shot this year she wants to try for one. She tried archery but wan't really into it. She shoots some but prefers to hunt. She really likes turkey hunting. We have a kennel full of pointers and this year she killed her first wild bob over her pup which was super cool. We are going to do some backpacking in the gila this summer and I'm going to teach her to flyfish. She's one hell of a cook and gets very upset if I give any of her elk away.

 

[shaughn]

My wife thinks of hunting as a very good reason to get out and keep in shape...shooting the animal of the season is a bonus...she wants to get back into sniper style competitions this year...have to say she looks really good in camo and a ghillie suit...met her while doing some instructing overseas...several of my favourite rifle builds are now hers ...if my 300 win mag wasn't so heavy I would have lost that one too...she is my primary spotter and a phenominal shot...get's me up long before the crack of doom...so we can be in position to catch the early risers/late nighters before they can get back into the tree's...kind of think my family will disown me if I ever let her go...probably kick me out and keep her

 

[FIGJAM]

Hey people make fun of Pilates and yoga but that stretchy stuff is good for you when you're gassed and trip over a log or something 10 miles in.

Haha - so true!

 

[bgbuck153]

I totally agree with bigeclipse. Everyone that is against hunting or doesn't get why we sit for hours, days, weeks and months to get that few seconds will never understand the real reason WHY. I got My girlfriend into hunting and even took her out to Idaho for a elk and deer. I ran her into the ground and at the end of the day she was planning the next day out. It was miserably cold and snow. I made a deal with her that she can do the western hunts every other year and the off years I'll be with the boys. She's okay with that but now that I'm planning this year without her I'm feeling like I should just take her. I really enjoyed the time with her and her dedication. She loves to be challenged. We hunt whitetail and turkeys here in PA throughout the year. I have 2 daughters that hunt as well so daddy guide service is in full bore during the seasons..... and I love every minute of it. I'd like to add, chicks can shoot! She showed me up the last day of our deer season. She shot once and dropped a doe with a perfect shot at 340 yards while I missed 3 times. I just laughed and said you win. Lol. I hear about that one

 

[koger]

l guess I am lucky, my wife hunts hard with me here in KY! She drew a elk bull tag in 2009, and she shot a 4x4, on public land. She kills her two deer every year, bow, ML and rifle. She is a good shot, has complete faith in her equipment, and if I tell her where to hold for a long range shot, she listens and has sealed the deal everytime. Her longest shot on 2 deer has been 259 an275 yds, with a .243, both DRT. She has taken around 40 deer here in KY, and shot a bear when we went hunting in Maine a few years back. She hunts hard until every tag is filled, her moto is we bought them, we need to fill them. I was recuperating in a rehab from surgery, the first week of rifle season her in KY, and she killed a dandy 9pt, got my neighbor to help her load it up, went home, hung it up and skinned, processe it all of the bone in a little over an hour, gotta love a woman like that!!

 

[bigngreen]

Great advice. We are in a situation where we are relatively young (35 and 37) and both kids will be out of the house in 6 years (they will be old enough and adults anyway) and hopefully do some service mission stuff with our church and go to college etc. So we will likely be empty nesters when we are in our early 40's. It'd be nice to have a hunting buddy while my kids are getting serious with life and going to college etc. If the trade off is she hunts with me if I do Pilates,craft, or sew with her, it may not be worth it! LOL J/K

That sounds so sweet!! We had our son in the 9th inning so, ya, early 40's and I have a 4 year old, wouldn't trade him for the world though but somedays there was the dream!!

My wife can hunt but she's not into it at all, shooting however is another story, I have a rifle that I switch barrel for her so she doesn't burn out the good barrel. She smoked one of my 270 WSM barrels one summer!