Wow! Who would have thought that I would be writing for any kind of publication? What an honor. I really hope to keep you all entertained with my experiences in this wonderful country God placed me in. For 16 years I have been hunting with my husband and his friends, not knowing how much fun it could be hunting with other women. Until I met Alyssa Haukom and Susan Phoenix-Miller when they came out for an "all girl" Mountain Lion hunt. We may have been skunked by the cats, but because we are girls and we can, we still had fun finding sheds, pretty rocks, rusty stuff and arrowheads! That was just what I needed. Thanks ladies, I'm ready for more!
Although my family moved many times before I was 18, I always considered southern Arizona as home. My Dad was an avid hunter all through his youth, until he married my Mom who is a non-hunter, and had three little princesses running around. When I was younger we would take family camping and fishing trips, but even they slowed down when we got so busy just growing up. He figured his hunting days were over and devoted his time supporting his girls in more "feminine" activities. My poor Dad was so out numbered!
I spent a good majority of my youth playing softball, soccer, showing/training/riding horses and countless other activities that not only kept my candle burning at both ends, but my Mom's running on fumes! (I guess sliding in the mud and having road apple fights in the barn were more of Dad's idea of "feminine"!) I practically lived at organized camps during the summer and was always the girl that taught the boys how to play in the outdoors. Never afraid to get dirty and never afraid to try new things.
I loved the outdoors and had no idea what I was missing until I met my husband, Aaron in 1989. In just one summer with him, I saw more wildlife then I had seen in my entire life. I had a Bull Elk threaten to charge me while riding my show horse back to camp. I was so amazed by the animal and scared for my horse, that when I was asked how big it was, all I could say was "BIG"! Thinking back it was the coolest thing to experience. Although I still cannot recall just how big it was! Now I know to count the points!!!
My husband had to start from ground up with me. Not only did he have a non-hunter on his hands, but also I was a self-proclaimed with no reason at all, anti hunter. I couldn't believe that he could kill these animals, but I was open minded enough (or twitter-paited enough) to see what he had to say and teach me about it. I don't think I had shot a gun more then ½ dozen times growing up. The first thing he did was slap me down in the mud of western Washington State with a .22 rifle, to teach me how to shoot. Now I was used to getting dirty, but this was really dirty. I was mud from chin to toe!
After a few challenges of hunting both sides of Washington State, we moved back to my husband's hometown of Elko, Nevada. 16 years later I have switched from that .22 rifle in the mud, to a 30-30 in the trees, onto a 7mag in the desert and finally to a compound bow in the mountains. I'm not sure which is more fun, the reaction I get from that manly man when I tell him I shoot a 7mag or the reaction I get when I tell them that I am hunting a Mountain Lion with a stick! Archery has brought a whole new world of adventure to me.
We have three fantastic kids that keep me more then busy, Alyssa - 14, Madi - 12, and Austin -10. When I am not hunting or shuffling kids from basketball to wrestling or from riding horses to baseball, I spend my time instructing kids to ride horses, singing at church and around, and teaching Hunter Education, all on top of a full time job. (It doesn't sound like much on paper - but my neighbors ask if we are reimbursed on our mortgage for time we are not at home!)
God shows me daily what a miracle worker he really is and has given me the drive and strength to do it all. He has blessed us with much success in the guide service we started up in 2002 and continues to shine down on us no matter where we are or what we are hunting. Please visit us at www.hooknhornguideservice.com.
I truly believe that it is not always about the kill, but about what else God sends you home with.
God Bless Julie Hughes
