Getting the Wife to Hunt

ICMDEER

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I've been trying for years to get my wife to go hunting with me. She will sometimes go along and hike or watch, but wil not get a license or hunt for anything. I took her on a backpack hunting trip to the high country the year we were married and we darn near died. It's a long story with rain, snow, running out of food, etc, but she said she'd never hunt with me again. It's been 20 years and she has kept her word.

Do you fellow MM guys have any ideas on how I can get her to go again? I go hunting a lot and I don't expect her to go all the time, but it would be nice to have her along on some of the trips. Maybe an early season antelope or some other "easy" trip would be good.

Any ideas on how to get her interested in a hunt will be appreciated.
 
ICMDEER -
Gosh, that's a tough one. Sounds like you maybe scared the crap out of her 20 years ago. :)
I would just try and ease her back into it. Tell her to go with on an easy hunt like the antelope one, but she doesn't have to get a tag if she doesn't want to. Just go with and spend some quality time together. She will get a tag if and when she is ready, but maybe she just isn't into the killing. If not, you can't force her or neither one of you will be happy.
My wife never grew up in a hunting family and didn't know anything about it till she met me. She started hunting with me by just coming out and sitting with me or making little pushes once in a while. After a year or two of that she decided to get a tag and has killed a couple deer since then. Next year, she will try for her first antelope. I know well enough not to ask her to come with on an "uncomfortable" (COLD, etc.) hunt. She hunts when the weather is nice, or when the terrain will be easy. Other than that, she is much happier in a warm house or cabin.
Good luck.

Lien2
 
Man thats a tough one. It sure does sound like ya freaked her out. All I can say is try to get her back into it slowly, and make it fun.
When my wife and I first got together, she had a somewhat bad attitude about hunting and NEVER thought that she would be interested at all. Even with fishing. I use to take her down to the Colorado River bass fishing with me and she would just "lay out" on the back deck of my bass boat. She would see me having a blast slamming bass and soon after, she wanted to try it. Then bird season came along, walking the fields with the pointers and having a blast. Soon after she signed herself up for a hunters ed. course. She has taken 3 mulies with a rifle now and just yesterday, we bought her a new Mathews Mustang bow. We were in Arizona this past week on a archery mule deer hunt and had some close calls on a few monster bucks. She has been on lots of bowhunts with me watching the stalks from a distance and she tells me the excitement just about gave her a heart attack a few times. Now she can chase em with a bow too.
You've got a tough road ahead but just let her see how much fun it can be.
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I scared my wife (then fiance) by taking her out to one of my hunting spots in CO on her very first camping trip of any kind. The absolute isolation of the area in the summertime kind of scared her to death.

Since then, I've made great strides by bringing her along slowly. She now enjoys camping (if it is in sight of other humans) and trout fishing. Having a couple of kids she wants to watch have fun helped a lot.

My frustration is the woman has a better eye for spotting game than I ever thought about. She is a rancher's daughter and can spot critters I never see. She just never hunted or camped growing up, there was always too much work for her dad to do with the cows. I have to figure out a way to drag her up to the high country during season.

Seriously, we have a great time together and she wants me to spend time with "the guys" during hunting season. She does fully support my hunting "expeditions".

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tell her that bucks have diamonds in em. the bigger the buck, the bigger the diamond. my wife hunted with me until my boys got big enough to tag along. she shot a couple deer and an elk and some quail, etc. it just wasn't for her. she'll still skin and butcher and cook it all up and all that, but trompin' around in the cold and wet just didn't do much for her. so now i let her stay home with a hot skillet waitin' for some backstrap to fry. i have an aunt who is gettin' on in years who will hunt anything anywhere. i have about as much fun hunting with her as anyone i've been with. but she was raised horseback and sees things different. she got herself a part time job in the summer punchin' cows. most women are homebodies. just be glad she lets you hunt and don't bug ya about it. i've seen some guys through literal hell and then a dee-vorce because they married wrong.
 
My wife's a LOT better lookin than the game warden. Besides, she's great company and I like being around her. But you guys are right. She knew I am a hunting NUT when she got me and she has NEVER complained about me spending time or money on chasing muleys.

Thanks for the solid advice. I'll try to start her on an easy hunt. She does like the camper trailer or "roughing it" with her inflatable monster air mattress, so I'll do something that's fairly accessible and not very physically demanding with her. Our kids are about gone and maybe in a couple of years when the nest is empty, she'll get more interested in chasing critters with me.
 

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