Bucking a trend

CEDAR RAPIDS - In recent years, hunting has seen an increase in popularity with both men and women, especially in Iowa.

It shouldn't come as a shock because hunting equipment is sold at nearly every sports apparel store, and there is even a television channel dedicated to the sport of hunting.

Over time hunting has evolved from the primary way to get food, to a hobby and pastime that unites friends and family.

'My favorite thing about hunting is the people I go hunting with, because friends make it interesting and fun,” Kennedy junior Alana Johnston said. 'I've really enjoyed the friendships that have developed with other girls my age who like to go hunting, because it's cool to have a common interest.”

Johnston has been hunting since she was 6 years old. It all started when her brother went hunting and didn't take her with him.

'My brother came home after his hunting trip and told me how much fun he had, and I was jealous, so I took the hunters safety course and went hunting with him the next year,” Johnston said.

It doesn't seem like too long ago stories of women hunting were rare, but that certainly isn't the case these days. In many of the sports apparel stores where hunting gear is sold, consumers can see various hunting brands trying to market toward women who already hunt, thus encouraging more women to take up hunting, whether it's through making pink camouflage designs for guns and clothing or trying to make the clothes more 'stylish” and feminine.

While there is no doubt more women hunt now than ever before, Johnston still thinks there is a reason why some women may be a little hesitant to gear up and get their hands dirty.

'I think a lot of girls have soft sides and don't like to see animals like deer, turkey and squirrels get killed, whereas that doesn't really bother me,” she said. 'I do have a soft side, it's just not as easy for me to get grossed out about that stuff.”

Kennedy junior Colin Ralston was, like Johnston, also introduced to hunting by family at the age of 6 and was immediately infatuated with it. Ralston was first taught how to hunt by his father and tries to hunt as much as possible.

'I go hunting pretty much every weekend during deer season, because my family owns some property and deer season is my favorite,” Ralston said.

Ralston's biggest hunting achievement is a 12-point buck, but he scored his first deer when he was just 8 years old.

'My favorite part about hunting is just being out there, and the excitement that you get after you kill a deer,” he said.

Ralston has many different weapons he uses for hunting, but his favorite is a bow and arrow because he finds it more challenging. Typically Ralston gets his weapons online or goes to the hunting stores to get the right weapon for the job.

Once a hunter has killed a deer, he or she has multiple options. Some hunters have a deer taken to a taxidermist so they can have it mounted, others prefer to gut and clean the deer before taking it to a locker to be processed into meat.

Kennedy senior Hunter Matthews also favors deer season and prefers to hunt with a bow. While some hunt just for fun, Matthews prefers to take a more competitive approach to the sport.

'A lot of people think that hunting is just a bunch of people shooting stuff just to shoot stuff, but it's not like that, it's more like a sport,” he said. 'People consider basketball a sport and football a sport. I don't play a sport, that's why I consider hunting a sport. It's not like just anybody can do it, it takes practice, just as much practice as football or basketball.”

Hunting does take skill, but like anything, it takes dedication, perseverance and hard work in order to get results.

'I personally think that most people that can play basketball or football wouldn't be able to shoot a bow a well as most kids that regularly hunt are able to,” Matthews said. 'I do know some kids that play other sports that can hunt pretty well but they know that it takes time and effort, and that's something I don't think many people realize.”