Tayla’s Corner – The Beauty of Hunting

As a woman hunter I am constantly asked why I need to have my hair and makeup done to head out to the woods. I have had negative comments on my pictures due to the fact my hair was curled while I was hunting. Now, it’s a good idea to avoid spraying the perfume and hairspray before going out on a hunt. However, as a working women my hair and makeup just might so happen to be done before I go out after work for an evening hunt. This should not stop any woman from going out. Usually, when people have a comment to make about it I simply respond, “ya gotta look good for the picture”. If you plan on going hunting after having or wanting to get ready for the day there are plenty of ways to cover your scent. I know plenty of people that turn to different scent away products while showering. I try to use a shampoo and conditioner that does not have a strong perfume scent. Afterward, try to avoid hairsprays, perfumes, and strong scented lotions. If you have a hood or hat use that to cover your hair and keep some of the scent in, especially if it is windy.

Opening day of shotgun season I went out to my property with my dad and a family friend. I get up in the stand while it was still dark out. With only five minutes until legal shooting time I heard some rustling behind me. I assumed it was the woods waking up and a squirrel or chipmunk was running around. It is just now light enough for me to see everything clearly. I look behind me and see this large body. I immediately knew it was a deer but was waiting for it to pick up it’s head to determine more. I slowly get my 12 gauge ready just in case, I always like to be ready. It walks down to the river in front of me then lifts it’s head up. The rack was extremely wide and was definitely a wall mounter. I picked up my gun, put him in my sights, and shot right at legal shooting time. I texted my dad and said I was going to go back to the truck and wait while him and our friend finished hunting.

At this point I was so excited that I tagged out on bucks for the season so I was letting everyone I knew about it. I had not even seen the buck I shot yet because I had to wait for my dad to get done hunting, but I knew it was a great buck. As I’m sitting in the truck I look up and coming across the street are two bucks. One was a small, young buck and the other was a more mature buck with a broken tine. Here I am sitting in the truck and bucks are walking right up to it looking at me. I start taking pictures and sending them to my dad to let him know I attract all the bucks whether I am wearing makeup, my hair is done, or I smell like perfume. They walked right up to the truck and looked at me and stuck around for a while and made their exit.

It goes to show that women do not have to skip the makeup or the curled hair to go hunting if they do not want. There is no rule book to what you have to wear to the woods. I decided to go out with makeup and the results were the same and even better than usual.