Women taking part in hunting is growing in popularity every year. According to Forbes, over 1 million women participated in the 2020 hunting season.

One main reason more women are hunting is for food. The cost of meat has risen significantly, so feeding a family has gotten very expensive. Hunting for your own food is virtually free; the only cost is a license, which costs $50.

Food you hunt yourself is also healthier. It doesn’t have a lot of the chemicals and added fats that store meats do.

Another reason for women hunting is a sense of independence. As a woman in this world, you feel more secure in yourself when you’re the person that people rely upon rather than having to rely on someone else.

Of course, well being and personal joy is a huge reason to hunt as a woman. Part of that joy is the art of trying new things, or spending time in nature.

Other health benefits that contribute to well being are the fact that you can be alone. Hunting is a primarily solitary sport where you sit alone in a blind and wait for game to appear. Being alone is so important; everyone needs that time.

There are many scientific reasons that being alone is good for you. “Being alone allows you to drop your ‘social guard,’ thus giving you the freedom to be introspective, to think for yourself,” said Dr. Abigail Brenner on Psychology Today.

Another perk is that being a hunter allows women to experience nature away from the thrills of the 21st century, like phones, media, and the pressures of daily life.

Freshman Addison Nies stated that her family has a long history of being outdoors and enjoying country life, so she and her dad are planning to start hunting together.

“We’ve always talked about hunting together our whole life. Now, we have more time and we have a place to go,” Nies said. She reported she and her father plan to learn together the skills necessary for hunting and she looks forward to the father/daughter bond.

Hunting also helps women form many useful skills, between the gun training, the accuracy in killing swiftly, tracking the animal as necessary, and the preparation process which requires you to skin, gut, and then clean/cut the meat.

While many don’t see this part of hunting, it actually helps the environment. Hunting has a huge part in helping make sure species don’t overpopulate, and the more women that begin or continue hunting means more individuals helping to control this issue.

And, of course, woman hunting helps diminish stereotypes! For example, the statements that hunting is a “masculine” sport, or that “women belong in the kitchen not the deer stand” is an outdated one, as more and more women become involved in hunting.

“I don’t think something should be for just men or just women. It doesn’t have to be all about men doing something and girls doing something else,” Nies said.