The joys of being a female hunter

by Apr 28, 2013Uncategorized

The joys of being a female hunter

Someday, in my dreams, there will be a store full of outdoor
clothing.  Deer hunting, turkey hunting, fishing… a store full of every
possible article of clothing that you could possibly need.  Blaze
orange, camo, base layers and outter layers… it will all be there.  And
the best thing about the whole thing – it will be all women’s clothing
and NOT pink!

I bought my first pieces of camo this spring in preparation of turkey
season.  Nothing crazy, just a head/neck cover and a long-sleeve
shirt.  I had to try and figure out what men’s size I would need that
would do the trick and be usable next year (while covering the baby bump
this season).  I think I did it, but if there were women’s sizes, I
could have easily picked out a size and been done with it.  Instead, I
find myself always negotiating men’s outdoor clothing to make it work
for my hunting wardrobe.

It is important went picking out hunting clothes that they fit.  Too
small and you are dealing with being uncomfortable and cold.  Too big
and there is too much bulk that can get in the way when you are trying
to get a good shot off and you could get cold.  I actually wear ski
clothes for all layers but the top when I go deer hunting.  My top layer
consists of my Dad’s old wool pants (that fit me) and a men’s red/black
plaid wool jacket that is a classic hunting jacket but it would not fit
me if I did not have about 6 layers below it and wanted something big
enough to cover me and keep me warm as I sit for 5-6 hours at a time.

I ended up buying a men’s large camo long-sleeve shirt.  I had to
skower the rack looking for a large because the other sizes were XL,
XXL, XXXL.  Nothing for a medium or small – clearly only large+ men
hunt.   Yes, I know that I could have ordered something from a handful
of online retail places but then you don’t know the real size of what
you are getting, if it is wrong and you need to return it… it is just as
much of a hassle as converting men’s sizes.   Plus, being brand new to
turkey hunting, I might not like it as much as deer hunting and am not
willing to drop $150 or $200 on one piece of clothing right from the
start.

So, I had to settle on, once again, buying men’s hunting clothes for
my hunting needs.  Someday we will have our own hunting clothing store
and I can not wait until that day arrives and I can worry about other
things each hunting season besides my clothes.

4 Comments

  1. I hear you! My initial strategy was to buy boys hunting clothes but the proportions aren't quite correct. This year I discovered that Bass Pro has a ladies hunting section. However, when I got home I realized my Redhead waterproof camo pants don't have any pockets!!!! I also think the sizes were a bit unrealistic. At least the gloves fit. There is much room for improvement.

  2. Try Prios. It is expensive, but I love love love it. They fit great and are women only. Good luck.

  3. Prios is expensive and it goes back to the issue of having to order things online instead of being able to walk into a store and buy a piece of clothing that I need. The men's shirt that I had to buy is about 1/3 the price of what Prios has it listed as and I could walk into the store and try it on. We need women's clothing outfitters to be as accessible and cost effective.

  4. Nothing ruins the hunt like clothing trauma, a point of view that I hadn't thought about..

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Erin Merrill, author of And a Strong Cup of Coffee, is president of Women of the Maine Outdoors, a senior writer for Drury Outdoors, a contributor to the Northwoods Sporting Journal and passionate all things Maine, Hunting, and the Outdoors.

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