Oct 15, 2020
Does it feel different shooting a whitetail deer versus a squirrel? Everyone has a different take on that… and it’s different for every hunter. This week Artemis is joined by Sam Seaton of the Archery Trade Association. We talk about new hunter recruitment, your headspace in the field… AND some archery-themed topics, like what pop culture means for bowhunting interest (Katniss Everdeen, ya’ll) -- and, something you’ve maybe never heard of…. BOWFISHING.
2:00 Blanket forts: So… “hibernatory?” #yeswecan
7:00 Becca’s first hunt: A gray squirrel in Kentucky… Am I a hillbilly? Or is this kind of fun?
7:30 Battered and fried squirrel, mmmm
8:30 Western pine squirrels are a little small to bother with… but those urban squirrels in your backyard? Huuuge
9:00 “Tell us about yourself” -- why is it always so hard to distill yourself into a couple of sentences!?
10:00 For adult-onset hunters, it’s so interesting to revisit your pre-hunting headspace -- the why-would-anyone-shoot-Bambi? Mindset
15:00 The emotional warm-up to pulling the trigger that first time. Is it easier with a squirrel, than, say, a whitetail deer? Is it easier on the fourth day of a hunt versus the first?
18:00 On not taking the shot when you have it because your headgame/confidence quotient isn’t in the right space to take an animal’s life.
19:00 Do we sometimes take shots that we KNOW will miss to avoid this inner conflict?
20:00 ‘Thank you for not pressuring me’ - not every successful hunt results in a kill, especially with new hunters
22:00 Person-to-person mentored hunts: Priceless
24:00 Archery Trade Association: Supports the bowhunting and archery industry.
26:30 Field to fork, or hook-to-cook events - SO MUCH FUN - and a great way to reach new hunters
29:00 “The Hunger Games” books/movies spurred a lot of interest in archery, especially in young women. Don’t we all have an inner Katniss Everdeen?
30:00 National Archery in the Schools Program - huge force in getting new people into the sport
31:00 The Avengers movie (character: Hawkeye) and The Walking Dead are other media hits that boosted the public’s perception of archery as something totally badass
32:00 Katniss Everdeen: Just seeing her wield a bow… does it plant some kind of seed in girls and women? Like, “Hmm… maybe I could do that…?” The more we see people like us doing something, the more it seems real
33:00 But Katniss isn’t enough. You need access to a PLACE you can shoot a bow, you need access to EXPERTISE (even if it’s YouTube), and you need COMMUNITY, which is different where you go
36:30 Bowhunters United - a consumer-facing group for bowhunters to advocate for the sport in general, from recruitment to conservation (aaaand discounts! Plus a coffee mug)
39:00 Bowfishing = you shoot fish with a bow and arrow. No, really. It’s a thing! Totally different arrows. They have a string on them... the idea is to hit a fish and reel it back in.
43:00 Bowfishing at night with a spotlight helps you see them better. Regulations are different state-to-state -- in Idaho, for example, bowfishing regs are specific to invasive fish species like carp
47:00 We’re not sure, but there MIGHT be a guided fishing trip opportunity for bowhunting Asian carp… there are already carp-only tournaments. Maybe a work party, even? Anyone?
53:00 Hunting season is upon us! It’s a special, magical time of year -- and we can’t wait to hear more from you. Tag @artemis_sportswomen, join our Facebook community, or shoot us an email, artemis@nwf.org