Meet Jessica – Pennsylvania Huntress

My name is Jessica. I’m 32 years old. I live in Western Pennsylvania. I am so passionate about the outdoors. Growing up I was always outside. In the woods pretending to shoot animals and set pretend traps. I thought I was some big time hunter with my mother’s yarn tied to a few branches trying to mimic a snare. O heavens I had not a clue what I was doing. I would sit for hours by the creek,(which was only a foot deep and foot wide) with my stick and some fishing string and an old rusty hook I had to beg my dad for. I never had much as a kid and I was always grateful for everything anyone gave me. Even if it was a rusty old hook. As I grew older my father began to take me with him. Fishing and coon hunting. He gave me his old rods and reels and I made the best of them. Fishing was my passion until a few years ago. That is when I fell completely in love with hunting. I got my first crossbow a Barnett Lady Raptor. I had no clue what I was doing with that thing. I finally figured out how to cock the bow and what bolts and tips to use. I was like ya, now I can get some shit done.

It was two weeks prior to the first day of archery. I got my bow sighted in and was ready to go. I was very fortunate enough to have a nice little piece of property to hunt on and not really have to worry about anyone else. So the first day of archery came. I could barely sleep the night before. I finally get to my blind and it was still dark. It was about six thirty . Time went by and I was getting very discouraged, because I haven’t seen a thing. It was about ten o’clock and here comes a monster buck, a huge eight point, with a nice big body. I started shaking. He was too far away and behind a lot of brush. I didn’t want to chance injuring him so I didn’t even take a shot. I felt defeated. Then I heard some leaves rustling not even five minutes after the first buck came by. Well I’ll be damned it was another buck. A little seven point he scared the shit out of me. I could have put my hand out of the window of my blind and touched him. He trotted on by and stopped about nineteen yards away. He turned just right then “thwack”. I got him. I waited about an hour called my boyfriend and told him you need to come help me find this buck. My boyfriend finally gets there and we set off to track my buck. We come to a peek of the first hill and there he was laying but not dead yet. He spooked and took off. Just great, I thought this is gonna be hell waiting for this old boy to kick the bucket. This was my very first deer killed that had bones on his head so I was not about to give up. We finally found him about two more hours later laying by a creek. I was so happy I could barely hold back my tears. It was my thirty second birthday that day and god gave me the best gift I could have ever asked for. I got my buck.

I learned so much about myself from my hunt that day. I never knew how much patience and dedication I had in me until that day. I also could not believe how overwhelmed I was with gratitude for that buck. I was able to provide food in a way I never thought possible for my family. I will never quit hunting because the thrill of the kill runs in my blood now. I love Hunting.