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The joys of being a female hunter

Someday, in my dreams, there will be a store full of outdoor clothing.  Deer hunting, turkey hunting, fishing… a store full of every possible article of clothing that you could possibly need.  Blaze orange, camo, base layers and outter layers… it will all be there.  And the best thing about the whole thing – it will be all women’s clothing and NOT pink!

I bought my first pieces of camo this spring in preparation of turkey season.  Nothing crazy, just a head/neck cover and a long-sleeve shirt.  I had to try and figure out what men’s size I would need that would do the trick and be usable next year (while covering the baby bump this season).  I think I did it, but if there were women’s sizes, I could have easily picked out a size and been done with it.  Instead, I find myself always negotiating men’s outdoor clothing to make it work for my hunting wardrobe.

It is important went picking out hunting clothes that they fit.  Too small and you are dealing with being uncomfortable and cold.  Too big and there is too much bulk that can get in the way when you are trying to get a good shot off and you could get cold.  I actually wear ski clothes for all layers but the top when I go deer hunting.  My top layer consists of my Dad’s old wool pants (that fit me) and a men’s red/black plaid wool jacket that is a classic hunting jacket but it would not fit me if I did not have about 6 layers below it and wanted something big enough to cover me and keep me warm as I sit for 5-6 hours at a time.

I ended up buying a men’s large camo long-sleeve shirt.  I had to skower the rack looking for a large because the other sizes were XL, XXL, XXXL.  Nothing for a medium or small – clearly only large+ men hunt.   Yes, I know that I could have ordered something from a handful of online retail places but then you don’t know the real size of what you are getting, if it is wrong and you need to return it… it is just as much of a hassle as converting men’s sizes.   Plus, being brand new to turkey hunting, I might not like it as much as deer hunting and am not willing to drop $150 or $200 on one piece of clothing right from the start.

So, I had to settle on, once again, buying men’s hunting clothes for my hunting needs.  Someday we will have our own hunting clothing store and I can not wait until that day arrives and I can worry about other things each hunting season besides my clothes.

Comments

  1. I hear you! My initial strategy was to buy boys hunting clothes but the proportions aren't quite correct. This year I discovered that Bass Pro has a ladies hunting section. However, when I got home I realized my Redhead waterproof camo pants don't have any pockets!!!! I also think the sizes were a bit unrealistic. At least the gloves fit. There is much room for improvement.

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  2. Try Prios. It is expensive, but I love love love it. They fit great and are women only. Good luck.

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  3. Prios is expensive and it goes back to the issue of having to order things online instead of being able to walk into a store and buy a piece of clothing that I need. The men's shirt that I had to buy is about 1/3 the price of what Prios has it listed as and I could walk into the store and try it on. We need women's clothing outfitters to be as accessible and cost effective.

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  4. Nothing ruins the hunt like clothing trauma, a point of view that I hadn't thought about..

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