Maine
There’s only 1 rule in this Maine online hunting group: No men allowed
For generations, the stereotype of outdoorsmen in Maine has been that they went to looking camp, pursued their quarry and informed their tales — all whereas leaving their wives and girlfriends at residence.
Today, ladies are a quickly rising proportion of licensed hunters within the state. From 2010 to 2020, the quantity rose from 17,078 to 23,723, a rise of 39 %.
From 2019 to 2020 alone, the quantity grew practically 16 %.
Regardless of the uptick in curiosity, ladies discover it exhausting to combine in on-line looking discussions which can be typically dominated by males. They’ve posed questions on public Fb pages, web sites and boards, solely to be subjected to ridicule and undesirable advances. However one Fb group has got down to present a supportive place for girls to have their questions answered — and has swelled to greater than 5,000 members within the course of.
Offering a welcoming and informative surroundings for girls aspiring to embrace looking was the rationale Christi Holmes of Grey created the Maine Ladies Hunters Fb group.
The Machias native, who didn’t develop up looking and fishing, has turn out to be an achieved outdoorswoman. She realized one thing was lacking.
“I skilled firsthand the challenges that every one new hunters face, after which possibly some extra problem with being a feminine hunter,” Holmes mentioned on the Maine Ladies Hunters sales space throughout the current fortieth State of Maine Sportsman’s Present on the Augusta Civic Heart.
“I needed to wrestle by way of instructing myself and discovering mentors,” mentioned Holmes, who’s an open air columnist for the Bangor Each day Information.
Many ladies aren’t taken critically in the case of looking. Holmes recounted visiting a sporting items retailer and being requested if she was looking for her husband.
“Now I preserve my Maine Information hat in my automobile and I put that on once I go into Cabela’s,” mentioned Holmes, who’s a Registered Maine Information.
Many different Maine ladies and ladies have skilled comparable conditions. The keenness of excited present patrons, together with males accompanied by their daughters, was palpable as they visited the Maine Ladies Hunters sales space.
“Ladies stroll by and say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know this existed,’” Holmes mentioned.
She began the Fb web page after her experiences with the Maine Ladies Fly Fishers group. Holmes knew one thing comparable was wanted to bolster feminine hunters.
The Maine Ladies Hunters web page, created 4 years in the past, now options 5,200 members and is open solely to ladies and ladies.
“There’s one thing to be mentioned about, should you submit a query, it’s going to get answered by different ladies,” Holmes mentioned. “And that’s empowering for the one who’s answering the query.”
The web page gives ladies with a supportive place to ask essential questions on looking, reminiscent of do you hunt when you’re in your interval and the way do you pee in a treestand?
“The main thought isn’t that girls may be consultants on this area. It’s a male-dominated sport,” mentioned group member Stacey Wheeler of Bowdoin. “Historically, the person is the hunter and the lady is the gatherer. It doesn’t need to be, and that’s precisely what we’re making an attempt to vary.”
Members additionally recognize having a spot the place they’ll talk about conditions they encounter afield, reminiscent of the frustration of taking a shot and lacking.
“We’re a judgment-free zone, there to empower one another, assist one another be taught,” Wheeler mentioned.
“It attracts an increasing number of ladies in to actually perceive not solely looking or fishing, however simply what the outside is all about and the way we is usually a commodity ourselves,” she mentioned.
Holmes mentioned looking may be intimidating for newcomers. They have to be taught the legal guidelines, observe protected and efficient use of firearms, and present correct respect for pursuing recreation.
“You’re taking the lifetime of an animal. That is critical enterprise,” she mentioned. “There’s so many issues to be taught.”
Group members vary broadly in age and background and are available from throughout the state.
Make no mistake, Maine Ladies Hunters members aren’t simply sitting again and chatting on social media. They get collectively within the area and share looking and fishing experiences.
A handful of ladies just lately went on a snowshoe hare looking journey within the Lincoln space. The group additionally sponsors a duck looking occasion and has members who’re trappers or are focused on that aspect of the outside expertise.
“I began organizing occasions the place we are able to meet one another after which go on guided hunts,” Holmes mentioned. “It’s a bit of extra reasonably priced, extra approachable, for girls who’ve by no means hunted.”
In the course of the sportsman’s present, Maine Ladies Hunters performed a seminar, “Maine Ladies and the Outside,” to generate extra dialogue.
“In case you’ve by no means seen an image of a girl looking that appears such as you, [then] you don’t assume you are able to do it, that it’s not for you,” Holmes mentioned.
Within the hope of increasing their ranks, Maine Ladies Hunters has a sister group known as Maine Ladies Anglers. Their outings embody ice fishing, smelting, freshwater fishing, striper fishing and groundfishing.
Maine Ladies Hunters even have an Instagram account, @mainewomenhunters, and a web site, mainewomenhunters.com, which options attire and different emblem merchandise.
Holmes mentioned some former group members who moved away have already fashioned comparable organizations in different states, whereas ladies who’ve come throughout the Fb web page have been impressed to create their very own teams.
The supportive ambiance is a profitable technique for girls keen to speak extra about looking and fishing.
“We simply discover the greatness in everyone’s story and exemplify it,” Wheeler mentioned.