More Girls Are Hunting Deer

Father-son hunts have been a bonding experience for generations. Now, more and more fathers are using hunting to build a stronger relationship with their daughters.

My daughter was very athletic through middle and high school, yet never showed an interest in hunting until her mid 20s. I was so excited to take her deer hunting for the first time, I forgot the rifle and had to make a mad dash from the woods to retrieve it.

In a world of social media and the latest whiz-bang technology, deer hunting is a means of communicating meaningful experiences that are easy to enjoy and share. Working together to strengthen a relationship bridge through an interaction with nature gives each party much to enjoy and remember, as this MLive article clearly presents.

Armed with 20-gauge shotgun and her father, Bryan, by her side, 16-year-old Madison Baar found confidence in her abilities as a new hunter.  Having first fired a gun just two weeks before the Sept. 20-21 Michigan Youth Hunt, Madison found success in the woods that Saturday morning.

“At first the adrenaline was going through me,” Madison said of shooting her eight-point buck. “I was excited and a little nervous.”  Those moments in the woods and fields are being shared by an increasing number of girls, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

“In the olden days it was the men getting away from the family to head up to deer camp and the woman stayed at home to take care of the kids,” DNR wildlife research specialist Brent Rudolph said. “Nowadays it’s changed so much and if it’s only the dad and the boys out hunting it lessens that integrated role in today’s family.”