Women take
their place in the
hunting world
A
s we settle into the
21st century, women
are empowering
themselves, no longer
confined by the status quo
of a “man’s world” when
it comes to hunting and
shooting.
Since 2011, I have
watched
female participaAMANDA LYNN tion increase,
with fathers
MAYHEW
teaching daughters and
women seeking out mentors to help them get out
there on their own. I’ve had a front seat on this
journey, involved with selling firearms, educating
women at shooting events, and hunting in the
field.
I was a hunter from a young age, and grew up
in Northern Ontario on wild game. I still prepare
and eat it for myself and my family (yes, even bigcity people today can do it if they take the time
to get out hunting). So when young girls say they
want to be like me when they grow up, it makes
my efforts to promote women in the outdoors
worth it.
I know these young girls will have no reservations about going out to get the wild food that
will keep them healthy. My work with the Cabela
outdoor chain and the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show
allows me a wider arena to inspire women to get
out there and do just that.
In Northern Ontario it wasn’t strange to see a
woman out hunting or fishing. It was completely
normal. But when I moved further south and
talked about traveling back up north for the bear
or moose hunt, I got some pretty strange looks.
Population density in southern Ontario likely
06 | FISH, HUNT RIDE
played a role in this reaction, as did the different
options available to someone growing up urban.
But things began to change. When I first started
working in a gun store down south, few women
came through the door, but when word got
around that a female was working there, more
and more started to show up.
So then I started Women of the Outdoors
shooting events in 2011, staged three times a
year at rod and gun clubs. This is now a widespread movement in North America, but I created this group on my own in 2011, unaware of
anything like it anywhere else. These events bring
women together for firearms instruction and use,
along with ammo, lunch and goody bags from
sponsors. They find out about it through word of
mouth and at www.amandalynnmayhew.com or
the Facebook page AmandaLynnsWomenOfTheOutdoors.
I recruit 24 women and we split up into groups
of six for the day. Working with these groups is
where it all started to make sense to me. Women
didn’t want to have to ask their man for advice
on firearms. They liked feeling less intimidated,
comfortable in an all-girls, one-on-one, no-hotdogging environment.
These events allow women to sign up (no licence required) for a shoot with shotgun, pistol,
rifle, and archery, coached by a one-on-one mentor. The look of accomplishment and pride on
their faces when the day is over makes me proud.
This kind of activity plays out in the larger
world. More women involved in shooting and
hunting is better for everyone. Retailers and
manufacturers sell more products because both
genders are buyers. Both genders show up at
trade shows. (I remember when there were very
few women at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show, but
now they run demonstration booths, speak at the
seminars and showcase each other.)
Put it all together and you have a potential adventure in the making, a memory forever, and a
story to share for half the population.
AMANDA LYNN, pictured
here enjoying two of her
favourite activities; big-game
hunting and ATV'ing!
www.fishhuntandride.ca