Junior Melissa Wartak always wanted to hunt, but she could never find someone to enjoy the activity with her. In December, Wartak finally went on her first hunting trip with a friend from Ball State University. They hunted for rabbit but caught none, and Wartak has not been hunting since.
"I'm trying to get more into it," she said. "But the first time you go, you can't just go by yourself. You pretty much have to have someone take you and teach you and everything. And that's amazingly hard to find someone."
Wartak is one of a small portion of hunters in the United States who are female.
According to a 2003 survey from the National Sporting Goods Association, 2.1 million, or about 11.9 percent, of the total 17.9 million hunters in the United States are female.
Saturday marks the beginning of deer hunting season for firearm hunters. While the sport is thought of as a man's sport, some women will be joining in the action during the weekend.
Alumna Ashley Spell said most people did not believe her when she told them she was a hunter.
"They never believe me until I prove my knowledge," she said.
For the past five years, Spell has gone hunting with family members in White Pigeon, Mich. Spell said the first time she went hunting, she was excited.
Her family supported her during the trip by putting her on the outside so she could have a better chance of shooting an animal, she said.
"My father yelled one was coming," Spell said. "The next thing I hear is a shot. And no deer came."
After a short search for the deer, Spell was the one to find it.
"But we found out it was a pretty infected deer, so I didn't want it," she said. "But I get teased because this could have been my first one, but I wouldn't have wanted it."
Spell has yet to kill an animal on a hunting trip.
"I have honestly hunted for five years and never hit," she said.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Web site, about 125,500 deer were legally harvested during the 2005 season, which is a two percent increase from the more than 123,000 deer harvested during the 2004 season. An estimated 2.2 million deer have been harvested in Indiana in the past 54 seasons.
While firearm season is just beginning, deer bow-hunting season started Oct. 1. Spell said she preferred using her 25-pound bow with a pull more than using a shotgun.
"A little bit of thrill, a little bit of sport," Spell said. "It's something I could do that none of the girls really did. I'm more proficient bow hunting than I am in my shotgun. I prefer bow over shotgun because it's more of a sport. A little more fair, at least."
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