Switch The Roles: Women Hunt, Men Clean
It's no surprise that women were always outnumbered at deer camp since I started hunting so many years ago. Occasionally the wives would hunt, but they mainly hung around the camp and helped cook and clean while the husbands were out hunting. This is still very common when I go to different outfitters. Over the years, I've had a few girlfriends come along and shoot their first pig or just come for the experience, but never has a group of females completely dominated the cabin. Well, that's until recently when I had the most surreal experience at RBR Ranch in Beeville, TX.
I invited 4 outdoor women across the United States to come hunt whitetail and hogs for an entire weekend in South Texas. It was everything I imagined it being - new friendships, long sweaty days in the field, laughing until my cheeks hurt, wiping each other's tears after misses then celebrating the successful harvests, praying over wonderful meals, friendly competition while target practicing, night time spot and stalks, and many first times for every girl. The list goes on forever, but there's one thing I wasn't planning to experience: a group of men coming together for no other reason than to guide, film, cook, and clean all weekend while the women hunted. The stereotypical roles were 100% reversed for 3 full days. Let that sink in. My stepdad, my husband, and the ranch manager were all guiding individual girls in hopes of a cull buck, and put in countless hours at the ranch for weeks leading up to the hunt. They set up blinds, filled feeders, checked trail cams, reviewed shooter bucks, and put so much effort into the details to make sure it was the perfect weekend. Jeremiah Doughty (@fromfieldtoplate), a wild game chef, drove 21 hours from California to Texas to cook the most wonderful meals for us, and he even brought his friend Jeff to help him make the long haul. Each man helped in so many ways, from filming to tracking to cleaning the kitchen, and they had the best attitude the entire time. They were even patiently walking the girls through each step of cleaning and quartering their harvests.
Let's not make the common mistake of assuming that each girl was incapable of handling the pre and post hunt duties - I am simply focusing on the fact that men came together for one reason: to support women in the field. Interesting, encouraging, and refreshing are all words I'd use to describe that realization, because unfortunately that hasn't always been my experience. They were not arrogant or jealous, they didn't complain or make tacky jokes when someone missed; they just whole-heartedly supported us and I am so grateful. After talking to the men, they seem to have the same appreciation. It's just as strange for them to have a group of outdoor women that live and breathe the same passions that they do, but they were so open-minded and embraced the hunt for what it was. It's a reminder that chivalry still exists on multiple levels, it's a reminder that we're all equally capable of "bringing home the meat" or "taking care of house chores," and it's a reminder that not only do I have some awesome girlfriends, but that I have some pretty wonderful men in my life too. I can't imagine a stronger support system than mine. I know that my heart could probably explode from the joy this experience brought me, and I'm anxiously waiting for round two!
