By Ken M. Blomberg

It happens every August.  A cutting expectation sets in – sometimes early in the month, more often towards the end.  Exactly what triggers this disorder remains a mystery, despite several theories by experts.  For those of us afflicted with this ailment, it’s specific to the host and has only one cure.

For this scribe, the anticipation starts with the stridulation of crickets out our back door.  Their chirping, produced by rubbing forewing “teeth” together, calls out to others of their kind and in the process, activates something lying deep within me – an anticipation – a yearning for yet another fall season. And then, a wave of migrating nighthawks passes overhead. Baltimore orioles and hummingbirds disappear from the backyard bird feeders. Blackbirds and grackles flock together and fly in mass over farmland crops and marshland cattails. My pulse rate, and that of many others, increases.

The role of hunting in human evolution has shown researchers that early hunter-gathering men demonstrated an altered state of testosterone. Endorphin and adrenaline rushes experienced by modern hunters have also been well-documented.  Upland, waterfowl, and deer hunters have been “wired” for science and produce heartbeats over 120 beats per minute during hunting situations.  Beyond all that, the physiological excitement that attracts one to hunt also produces a sense of well-being and is strengthened by anticipation, preparation and post-hunt activities. And today, women have entered the picture in droves.
According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s latest National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, 10.3 million American males hunted in 2016, a number that has been steadily declining in recent decades as traditional wildlife-sustaining habitat is obliterated by strip malls and tract housing. Fewer distracted suburban young men are hunting. However, according to an exhaustive survey, 1.1 million women hunted in 2016, and their participation is statistically holding steady. These dedicated outdoor women—of all ages, professions, education and cultural backgrounds—make up an increasing proportion of licensed American hunters.

Earlier this week, Wild Press Publisher Thomas R. Pero, sent me the following: “It may surprise many to learn that this fall more than 1 million females over age 16 will enthusiastically take to America’s woods and waters to ethically harvest wild game. And pheasants and ducks and deer they bring home are in most places across the American landscape more abundant than since frontier times. Hannah Stonehouse Hudson of Bayfield, Wisconsin and Trisha Steffen of Medford are among 18 individual female hunters across the country profiled in a revealing new book called ‘Why Women Hunt.’ The book is the first of its kind. Author and hunter K. J. Houtman of Minnesota takes an intimate look at the lives of these adventurous outdoor women. Their diverse personal stories explore what motivates them to connect—spiritually and physically— with the natural world in one of humankind’s most ancient food-gathering rituals.”