Women Share Their Hunting Journeys To Encourage Others
The goal of SCI’s Women Go Hunting initiative is to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of women in hunting, to support women of all experience levels in the outdoors, provide an encouraging space to network and find hunting opportunities that meet women’s needs.
One way that WGH does that is by giving women a place to share their photos and stories of how they came to hunting, how they overcame obstacles from self-doubt to discrimination and where they’ve enjoyed great hunting experiences.
Since WGH was launched in 2023, hundreds of women have shared their hunting photos and stories with us. They are posted on the WGH page of the SCI website, where women and girls can get inspired, reinforce their passion for the outdoors and post their own stories.
They include accounts from girls like 13-year-old Evie Roetgger, who shared how she recently shot a fantastic gemsbok on her birthday safari.
Dorte Bakbo Soerensen described how two years after getting her first hunting license, she battled buck fever on her first African safari. Her self-confidence shaken, she managed to overcome it and take a Record Book quality blesbok.
Jenna Smith shared a huge surprise she got when her husband suddenly told her they were going on safari. A self-proclaimed city girl who had never touched a firearm, Jenna told how she went from crying her first time at the shooting range to pulling off a springbok slam on her 10th wedding anniversary safari, her first time afield!
More experienced lady hunters have contributed too with their unique perspectives on hunting. Lori Martin compared her Idaho elk hunt to high-end shoe shopping — so many beautiful bulls to choose from! She ended up with an elk that scored 591 in the SCI Record Book!
Amy Adams is another woman who never touched a firearm until she met her husband. Rather than be a hunting season “widow,” she chose to join him in the woods. Now, hunting is the center point of her life!
Gina Sadowski is a retired anesthesiologist from Chicago who loves fashion. She started duck hunting with her husband and has since accomplished the 43 North American Waterfowl Challenge, hunted polar bear, taken five varieties of caribou, lots of deer and elk and shot a 332 4/8 SCI Shiras moose in British Columbia last October. She still wears Prada, just in camouflage!
Read their complete stories and others at safariclub.org/get-involved/women-go-hunting/ and submit your own photos and story.
While you’re there, sign up for the WGH Newsletter and enter the WGH Awards Challenge. You could win a $100 gift card from Prois Hunting for women’s hunting clothing and gear.
For more information, visit the website or contact Barbara Crown at [email protected] or call (210) 767-9745.