Under Wing: A Great Hunting Adventure

I strolled into the Louisville Airport dragging a roller bag nearly as big as myself with a camo pack on my back and a gun case (complete with two TSA locks) in hand. “That’s quite the bag you’ve got there.” Commented a guy waiting in the check-in line. “It’s where I hide the bodies.” I responded with a smile.  The truth is, I typically pack very light. I’ve journeyed around the globe, however, traveling for a hunt requires a few more materials than a backpack trip to a tropical beach or the jungles of Southeast Asia.  Either way I was out of my element on this trip because it would be my first hunting adventure outside of the US. 

I located my friend Olivia patiently waiting for me to join her at the United Airlines counter.  She was a bundle of excited nerves which reflected my feelings exactly.  This was my first time flying with a firearm - Savage’s Renegauge Waterfowl.  We were bound for a hunt of a lifetime in Alberta, Canada.  This was to be an all-female hunt in which myself and my friend Courtney would act as the hunting mentors to two women who had never hunted waterfowl before.  That’s correct.  We were each taking a friend with us TO CANADA who had never hunted ducks and geese in their lives.  This was a hunt that every waterfowler dreams of.  I had a sneaky suspicion that Olivia would be returning to the US with a new addiction.  One I had only picked up myself a few years prior.

My journey into waterfowl hunting began with an organization called the American Daughters of Conservation.  The ADC is a nonprofit which is dedicated to North American conservation efforts while brining women and young girls together to expand their knowledge of the outdoor sporting world.  As a Southern Indiana native, I had not experienced duck hunting before.  I had always been told it wasn’t worth the effort where I was from and didn’t know anyone locally who went.  The ADC was planning a duck hunt at Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee, and I was lucky enough to get in on it.  That hunt in Tennessee with a group of eleven other girls sparked my love for waterfowl and I’ve since been able to hunt Arkansas, North Dakota, Illinois, Kentucky, and Texas as well. 

If you’re a female and looking for a way to get into the outdoors, meet other like-minded females, or searching for a hunting mentor, groups like the American Daughters of Conservation, Wildlife Women, or the Sisterhood of the Outdoors are all great ways to get involved.  Olivia and I had gained a relationship through the ADC, and I was happy to invite her on this hunt, knowing her outgoing and fun-loving personality would be a perfect addition to our group.

We landed in Calgary without a hitch, meeting up with Courtney and her friend Lyndsey on our connecting flight.  Between our easy conversation and laughs, I could tell we had a great group for our upcoming hunting adventure.

Due to COVID, simply getting through customs in Canada is an adventure in itself.  You have to download a specific app to your phone with all of the proper forms filled out.  A specific COVID test must be done within 72 hours of your flight.  You have to have a quarantine plan in place and know exactly where you will be heading.  The fact that all four of us were traveling with firearms caused a buzz with security. 

“We’ve never had this many women traveling with guns,” one of the officers commented.  He then continued to ask us very specific questions. Where were we going? What were we doing? Would we be filming? What outfit were we going through?  I was sweating by the time we finished and were able to leave security, but also thrilled we made it through without a hitch.

Later that evening when we finally made it to the lodge and met up with Beth Shimanski, whom I had previously had the pleasure of meeting in North Dakota, and Joe Dickie our video man; we received a message from the guys at Ole Dog Outfitters to go outside and look to the skies.  It was there we discovered the Northern Lights dancing across the night sky.  We stared in awe while the lights shifted and moved.  I knew then that this was the beginning of a great hunting adventure, and I was even more thrilled that I was going to be able to experience it with such a great group of women.

The following day we woke before the sun and made our way to an ag field with decoys set up and ready for the morning.  Each of us were given white jackets, shells, and placed in a field seat amongst the decoys.  We were targeting snow geese on this morning and all of us waited in excited anticipation as birds began to make their way into our setup.  When I say birds, I don’t mean just a few small groups like I’m used to in the US.  I’m talking a SNOWNADO of geese.  Birds everywhere.  I struggled to even take it all in.  At one point I looked over to watch Olivia who had a look of complete awe and excitement on her face.  It was so rewarding, being able to share the experience of her first waterfowl hunt with her. 

The anticipation had me nearly shaking when one of the guides finally called the shot.  Birds dropped from each direction and all I remember hearing was one of the guides yell, “HOLY…” (You can imagine the expletive.) “You girls shoot better than most of the guys we get out here.”  The look on his face was one of complete shock and I could not have been more proud of our group in that moment.  He immediately declared he was going to begin calling different shots, now that he knew we could shoot, and we ended our hunt that morning with a mixed bag of snows, mallards, pintail, and one unfortunate speck.

The remaining two days of our hunt were much the same.  I’ve never seen more birds in my life.  At one point while I was in the layout blind, I couldn’t keep myself from giggling hysterically as ducks sailed in from all directions.  It was unlike any waterfowl hunt I had ever experienced.  I remember laying there thinking, “Is this real life?”  I was in the mecca of the waterfowl world. The land of living skies.  It’s hard to describe what I was feeling being able to share the experience with such an amazing group of women; appreciation, empowerment, elation, and pride are all very fitting.  The icing on the cake was recognizing that I had helped spark a new passion for waterfowl hunting in Olivia, and I know that’s something she will carry for years to come.  That’s the thing about the great outdoors.  The love for it begins as a small flame and grows to encompass our very being.