When I was about 12 years old, I shot a robin with my BB gun in the front yard of our suburban Houston home. I was aiming, but I never honestly thought I'd kill something if I hit it. Hell, I had shot myself more than once by accident and nothing happened with that weak air rifle. But, lo and behold, I nailed this poor sucker with a perfect shot right to it's head. But, it didn't die.
My father, who was an avid hunter and outdoorsman, happened to be outside and immediately called me over. He told me that I had to put the bird out of its misery. With tears streaming down my face, I couldn't do it, so my dad twisted the bird's neck while I watched. I never hunted a single day in my life after that moment.
Now, that doesn't mean I have anything against people who hunt. I'm no fan, but if you want to do it and you do it responsibly, whatever floats your boat. But, this new trend of former beauty queens hunting for big game is just plain weird.
The Daily Mail (naturally) did a spread of photos of some of these "Killer Queens" as they called them including one shot of a blond woman wearing her "Miss Nebraska" beauty pageant sash next to what seem to be like 20 animal heads including a zebra in her house decorated by a taxidermist and Ethan Allen.
There is also the recent story of a woman who put a picture of herself gloating over the carcass of a lion in Africa on Facebook that caused quite a stir. The woman, who was slated to be in an upcoming Discovery Channel reality series, was scratched from the TV show thanks to an online petition decrying her actions.
There's even a TV show specifically for female hunters called "The American Huntress" on something called The Sporstman Channel, which is apparently a thing. The show's Facebook page includes photos of the ladies with their kills.
It's all part of a new trend of women who aren't just glad to see you, they really have pistols in their pockets, which is all well and good. Since I was a kid, I've known women that hunted with their husbands. But, this is something different.
The thing that most vexes me about big game hunters in general and these ladies specifically is that they are glamorizing sport hunting often for trophy animals that have no business being hunted. They pose with mountain lion and elk and black rhinos. They sprawl across grizzly bear rugs and drape themselves over bison.
In a recent Facebook post by the American Huntress, a photo was posted with a dead lion and the following caption:
Hunting lion with Tam Safaris, the traditional way; on the ground,on foot. Finally spotted this guy on a kudu kill. Unbelievable hunt! What an adrenaline rush.
In the photo, the "Huntress" has a high-powered rifle with a long-range scope. Yes, that's the "traditional way" lions were hunted. And, of course, lions were RARELY hunted before there were weapons like these. They were the hunters and those who did track them did so for protection and self preservation, not so they could hang a pelt on their wall and post a pic on Instagram.
Hunting for sport has always made me uncomfortable, but tacking on a cosmetic smile and some heavy cleavage is just gross. If you want to hunt, hot ladies of hunting, by all means, do your worst. But, maybe have enough respect for nature not to post a selfie afterward. At the very least, don't make sure your hair and makeup are perfect beforehand.
