Getting Your Wife To Go Hunting

[rebecca francis]

Luke and Becca Moffat wrote a great article discussing how to get your wife or girlfriend to go hunting. They each provided their own perspective on what works and what does not. Check it out....

http://www.rokslide.com/2012-01-09-05-12-00/general/194-getting-your-wife-to-go

 

[littlebuf]

good write up with some sound advice.but i always like to mention you dont have to make "getting them to go" a mission in your relationship. ive been married for a while (not as long as some but longer than maybe others) and my wife and i have had a very successful marriage,one of the main reasons is that we allow each other to be who we are and love one another for that.we dont try to change the other or persuade the other over to our side or to be interested in what interest us.we share common interest and we have our own passions as well. i just mention this because of how i came about learning it.dont put too much emphasis on getting your wife to go hunting and being discouraged if she doesnt.or worse yet let that be the start of a wedge between you two.my wife has never hunted a day in her life,she never will.yet i am in the field constantly and have a ridiculous gear obsession, she is always in support of both and has yet to nag or try and stop me from doing what i do (god bless her) the reason for this however is the mutual respect and earnest care for each other and there interests that we share for one another. invite your wife/girlfriend to go,always make sure she knows the option to come is open.do your self a favor and dont make it a mission to "get your wife to go" just paying forward some lessons learned to a young guy out there that may benefit from it. still though read the article,its a good one

 

[tradair1980]

good write up with some sound advice.but i always like to mention you dont have to make "getting them to go" a mission in your relationship. ive been married for a while (not as long as some but longer than maybe others) and my wife and i have had a very successful marriage,one of the main reasons is that we allow each other to be who we are and love one another for that.we dont try to change the other or persuade the other over to our side or to be interested in what interest us.we share common interest and we have our own passions as well. i just mention this because of how i came about learning it.dont put too much emphasis on getting your wife to go hunting and being discouraged if she doesnt.or worse yet let that be the start of a wedge between you two.my wife has never hunted a day in her life,she never will.yet i am in the field constantly and have a ridiculous gear obsession, she is always in support of both and has yet to nag or try and stop me from doing what i do (god bless her) the reason for this however is the mutual respect and earnest care for each other and there interests that we share for one another. invite your wife/girlfriend to go,always make sure she knows the option to come is open.do your self a favor and dont make it a mission to "get your wife to go" just paying forward some lessons learned to a young guy out there that may benefit from it. still though read the article,its a good one

Amen ,to that brother!!!

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

Good article! Its good to have a team here that is responsive to the questions not just in what you ask in the forums, but in the time spent on a well thought out article! Thanks.

 

[luke moffat]

good write up with some sound advice.but i always like to mention you dont have to make "getting them to go" a mission in your relationship. ive been married for a while (not as long as some but longer than maybe others) and my wife and i have had a very successful marriage,one of the main reasons is that we allow each other to be who we are and love one another for that.we dont try to change the other or persuade the other over to our side or to be interested in what interest us.we share common interest and we have our own passions as well. i just mention this because of how i came about learning it.dont put too much emphasis on getting your wife to go hunting and being discouraged if she doesnt.or worse yet let that be the start of a wedge between you two.my wife has never hunted a day in her life,she never will.yet i am in the field constantly and have a ridiculous gear obsession, she is always in support of both and has yet to nag or try and stop me from doing what i do (god bless her) the reason for this however is the mutual respect and earnest care for each other and there interests that we share for one another. invite your wife/girlfriend to go,always make sure she knows the option to come is open.do your self a favor and dont make it a mission to "get your wife to go" just paying forward some lessons learned to a young guy out there that may benefit from it. still though read the article,its a good one

Very true man!!! We all need our "me" time. That said I also understand everyone's situation is different. I am away from home 180 days a year anyways due to my job, so if I wanted to spend the time afield that I want and still have a relationship, I was willing to see if she was into it. If not, of course I'd have to curtail my outings. If she didn't go with me and I kept going in the field as much as I currently due I'd see her able 1/4 of the year. Certainly don't have to force your spouse in the field, but basically saying you might give her a chance and she might end up really liking it, but never given the chance or outfitted for success. Obviously go with what works for you though is the main thing. What we wrote there was basically what we each felt worked as far as seeing if she was into the backpacking/hunting scene, turns out she was and it has been great. But like i said in the article, if you don't have a willing participant then no matter what you do it won't work.

 

[philw]

Great write-up, excellent job to both of you.

 

[rebecca francis]

I agree that if your wife has no interest in hunting then you shouldn't push it. But there are a select few women who actually love it. When I was dating, before I met my lifelong BEARGUIDE, there were a lot of guys that would run simply because of my knowledge and passion for hunting. I love being out there, and I am so lucky to have a guy who supports that. I would rather go hunting than any other activity. But it is more than hunting....it is just being out in the mountains or nature. Lee and I have been hunting without each other, but not because we wanted to. It was because of circumstances. Last year I hunted about 45 days without him.
Anyway, Luke and Becca that was a great article and some couples can turn hunting into a shared passion, as you two have. Becca I think it's great that you have developed a true interest in it, and Luke I think it's great you support her. Thanks for your input!

 

[Becca]

Thanks Rebecca, and everyone else for your comments!

I believe that at least some women will develop an interest or passion for hunting and the outdoors if they feel like they are invited, and their partner is invested in having them along. I certainly don't mean that anyone should force this or any hobby on their significant other (or children, or friends) if they don't show an interest, but I sometimes think that there are women out there who are interested but intimidated to give it a try. I also hear from a fair number of men (here and elsewhere) who would like to at least try sharing outdoor experiences with their wives, but are unsure how to get started. Luke and I wrote this article separately, and it was really fun seeing how similar our perspectives were on what it took for me to get started. Unlike Rebecca, I didn't grow up hunting and so when Luke and I met it was all new to me. Now it is a huge part of my life, and of our life together.
Everyone's experience will be different, but I hope our perspective might be helpful for at least someone out there

 

[bearguide]

i was not happy about being left out on rebecca's 45 days of hunting without me, so maybe your wives won't like being left out either

 

[luke moffat]

Lee, but it makes it worse knowing what you are missing out on.....sometimes ignorance is bliss, watching Rebecca get to take off and go hunting has got to be killer for ya knowing all the fun she's gonna be having.

 

[Yellowknife]

How I did it

Despite being raised in rural Alaska, my wife had very little outdoor experience. However, she was willing to be a little adventurous, so this is how it went for me.

First I got her started on a little canoeing and fishing. She loved it.

We also did quite a few camping trips, and really got her hooked on that. Taking her hunting started off as basically an extension of that experience beginning with with weekend trips camping near the jeep:

Pretty quick we were backpacking in:

And the next step was just to buy her a rifle:

What can I say, it worked for me. She is as good a partner in hunting camp as she at home. Unfortunately, babies have interfered with hunting together the last couple of years, but we will be at it again as soon as they are out of diapers.

Yk

 

[T43]

This article led me to this site. It was a good read and very appreciated. My wife grew up hunting and I figured it would be a no brainer when we went out the first time. I made many huge mistakes including, poor rifle selection, limited practice and most of all not acknowledging that even though she had grown up hunting she had never filled a tag. The first animal she took was the elk she made a less than perfect shot on with a small caliber rifle that died slower than she expected and caused her to lose interest instantly, all issues attributed to my lack of proper preperation. I have spent a lot of time over the past few years realizing and attempting to resolve my mistakes. She has agreed to go on a hunt with me again but she has no intent on getting a tag or packing a gun. I figure I now have a fresh start. This article and a few others like it have been very helpful in giving me ideas as to how to do it right this time. Too Bad I didn't have this information when I was 23 and knew everything. The good thing is I have learned a lot about getting new hunters involved with the sport in a positive way. My nephew will be headed out this fall and my 4 year old daughter is already a pretty good hand with an elk call.