Silent Candy

By Rachel VandeVoort

Every year I inch closer to having my life back.  It is a terribly selfish thing for a mother to say.  But I say it out loud, along with a myriad of other not-so-perfect thoughts on the realities of being a mother.  The life I long to have back is my pre-child hunting life.  The days of endless miles of hiking, spontaneously exploring the millions of acres of National Forest that rest at my fingertips, happily enduring all inclement weather thrown in my path, throwing a few granola bars in my pack as ample sustenance for whatever lies ahead; all the things I took for granted as a hunter in the western United States before having kids.  

Post children, my hunting life with kids- when it exists- has become bribing the kids with chocolate to walk just a few more yards, meticulously planning the smallest hunt out the back door knowing a long drive through millions of acres would be met with “Are we there yet?” every 3 miles, packing duffle bags full of gear in an effort to prevent hearing “I’m cold.”, “I’m wet.” or the dreaded ‘”Can we go home now.”. It is spending hours the night before preparing a buffet of snacks, food and beverages to combat each “I’m hungry, what is there to eat?”.  These are just some the realities of hunting with small children who walk and talk, but all of it starts before they are even born.

I was 9 and 10 months pregnant with my first son during a Montana hunting season.  This is when I learned that serious hiking through downed timber with a baby belly waddle just doesn’t work, that same belly gets in the way of my bow draw, and no matter how fast I drive my four wheeler down bumpy forest roads it won’t put me into labor early (my doctor confirmed this, but I continued trying anyway).  I also learned it is extremely hard to push an inline wheeled game cart while 8 months pregnant, and most kids, at least mine, don’t like riding a dead dear on a game cart even though it seemed like the perfect stroller. It was then I discovered you can push a loaded game cart while carrying a small child, but it is challenging and not pleasant when the two year old on your shoulders has a load in his pants.  

There were the year’s I stopped putting in for special tags knowing, just my luck, I would draw a once in a lifetime tag while pregnant or with an infant still nursing or still needing his mom.  Then, looking at the timing of hunting season following my second son’s birth, I figured I was certainly in the clear to put in for a special cow elk tag (after your first you learn your baby will live without you for more than a few hours). Little did I know I would have one of those children who refuses to take a bottle even at 10 months old.  So that left me with an eight hour drive and 10 hours of day light for a fast, cold winter hunt thanks to a saint of a husband who, armed with a sippy cup, also agreed our child would not starve while I had one day to myself.

In all my frustration I know that I live a beautiful life and I revel in the little wins of retaining some semblance of my pre-child life while sharing the present with my children.   While my hunts aren’t what they use to be, they are getting there.  I surrendered to the fact that kids move, always, and you can’t ask them to stop; it won’t work.  This lead to the discovery of portable pop-up ground blinds!  Not formerly a tool in my quiver, but it makes for the coolest fort in the world to a kid and they can move within it unseen!  Then there is the issue of noise.  Children can make sound when you didn’t think sound was possible (who knew dirt could make noise).  However, they can’t make noise with their mouths when their mouth is full of candy.  Don’t pick just any candy; most candy is loud (yeah, I know, I didn’t think about this until I let them bring their bag of Halloween candy along).  My go to silent candy? Suckers, a whole bunch of them, unwrapped before we leave. Now, not only is hunting fun, we get to eat all the candy we want as long as we stay quiet. I’ve yet to contend with the smell of watermelon, cherry and green apple wafting from our fort in the woods, so I rely on longer shots and continue to tackle this one challenge at a time.

 The years of my altered hunting reality are paying off.  I have two new incredible hunting buddies that plug their own ears without being told before the trigger is pulled, hold hind legs for gutting (only one of them gags), take turns dragging or packing, butcher meat, routinely ask me what I think of rifle calibers like the .723 Ackley Win., and who happen to be part of the best prairie hunting ground support team on the planet, their dad being team leader.  So cheers to all you hunting moms that appreciate a Pack ‘N Play in a muddy hunting camp and have honed the skill of putting a straw in a juice box while looking through a spotting scope!  We are creating the next generation of hunters while getting our hunting life back, and it’s better than the one we left behind.

Rachel VandeVoort is a fourth generation Montanan raising a fifth generation with her husband in Northwest Montana.  She has more outdoor hobbies than time but attempts to fill every moment and is currently Trade Relations Manager with Kimber Mfg. 

Want to know more about Rachel?  Check out Hannah’s post about Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ Women in Hunting and Fishing Panel here.