Mike Giles
Kim Ganey of Jena, Louisiana recently joined Billie Norman, Tes Jolly and a few other lady bowhunters at The Shed Hunting Lodge near Butler, Alabama for her first bowhunt. Ganey works with Norman and overheard her talking about going bowhunting. “I thought it might be something that I’d like to do, so I asked Billie about getting started bowhunting,” said Ganey. “I attended a Becoming an Outdoors Woman archery class about three years ago and really liked it. And that planted a seed,” she continued.
After attending a get together at Norman’s house and shooting a bow there, Gainey decided to buy herself a bow. With the help of Billie Norman and Carl at a local sporting goods store, Ganey purchased a Browning Micro Adrenalin bow and started planning her hunt. “My husband Mike was just blown away that I wanted to start bowhunting,” Ganey said. Norman didn’t think she’d follow through with buying a bow, but was glad she did and quickly made arrangements for her to join SHE Hunting Team Member Tes Jolly and the others at the upcoming hunt.
After arriving at the camp Ganey quickly made herself at home in the woods and experienced a bit of beginner’s luck, according to Norman. The first couple of days the deer weren’t moving much, except where Ganey was hunting, that is. “I saw several deer but didn’t get a shot and even had a doe and a spotted fawn about 2 feet away from my ground blind, said Ganey.”
“I’ve seen things that I’ve never seen before and it was a fantastic day even though I hadn’t gotten a shot,” related Ganey.
Deer magnet
The next morning was more of the same for Ganey as she continued to have deer feed near her, but none presenting shots. “During the afternoon hunt I hunted a ladder stand and had three does come by me around 4:30,” said Ganey. One of the does came within range and Ganey took aim and let the arrow fly and promptly missed her first deer.
The lady hunter thought her day was done and she would just spend the rest of the day sightseeing. Twenty minutes later that all changed very quickly as another deer approached from her right.
“A rack buck appeared from the right of my stand and came right by me and presented a perfect shot,” she continued. Ganey quickly drew her bow and let an arrow fly just as the buck came into range.
Thwack!
The arrow flew straight and true and sliced through the deer like hot butter! “I thought he’d been hit bad and watched where he’d run off and noted the spot mentally,” said Ganey. “I texted my husband back in Louisiana and then Billie and waited for the others to come help.”
“While I waited on the others to come I had two more huge bucks and a small 4 point come out and I watched them awhile,” continued Ganey. Larry Norton and Henry Billiot came out and Ganey showed them where she had last seen the buck. Norton promptly spotted the blood-soaked arrow and knew the deer was hit pretty well.
The proof
“I didn’t believe that I’d killed the buck until they came back with him a short time later,” exclaimed Ganey! Ganey’s first kill turned out to be a nice five point buck. “Hunting’s not just for boys, girls can shoot guns and bows too,” she noted.
“Some women are afraid of guns, but bows are a good place to start and they’re not as intimidating,” advised Ganey. With a lot of encouragement from Tes Jolly, and instructions from her mentor, Billie Norman, and the rest of the girls, Ganey was successful in her first hunting experience.
And what better place to have that experience than The Shed Hunting Lodge according to Larry Norton. “We don’t trophy hunt here, although we’ve had three first time hunters that killed trophy bucks scoring in the 150’s,” said Norton. Norton allows the hunters to harvest a buck and a doe on their three-day hunts and the only stipulation is that one side of the buck’s rack must be forked.
“It’s all about fellowship and making memories with friends and family,” he said. And Kim Gainey and her friends surely made lifetime memories on this hunt. As an added bonus, Ganey’s new bowhunting friend, Billie Norman, harvested a deer as well!
Contact Mike Giles at 601-917-3898
or e-mail him at Giles1958@bellsouth.net
