Women are reportedly the fasting growing portion of Wyoming’s hunting population, according to Wyoming Game & Fish. While many women across the county would like to learn to hunt as a way to provide nutritious and affordable food for their family, there are barriers that prevent them from going directly to the field.
Through the generosity of its patrons, the Wyoming Women’s Foundation (WYWF) brings together women of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds by offering scholarships to attend its annual Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt. The scholarships offered benefit Wyoming single mothers, women without a hunting network to learn from, veterans and active duty military members, and women seeking to share conservation values and outdoor experiences with other women. . So far, more than one hundred women and girls have attended the Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt with scholarships.
In 2023, the Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt Scholarship application will be open from February 15 to March 15. Applicants can learn more and apply now by visiting wywf.org/antelope-hunt-participate.
By coordinating an all-inclusive hunt that offers full scholarships, WYWF ensures that participating hunters struggling to overcome the barriers associated with hunting have access to qualified mentors, professional hunting guides, necessary equipment such as firearms, scopes, and binoculars. , and the opportunity to learn how to safely and confidently handle a rifle in the field.
According to the coordinator of the hunt, Alex Shannon, “[WYWF’s] scholarship program is vital to our success. We can’t thank our amazing sponsors enough for making this possible. ”
At the event, women of all ages with various levels of hunting experience and backgrounds have the opportunity to aim their rifles and practice shooting and handling firearms in the field before being paired with their hunting partner and a guide. Less experienced hunters are carefully paired with more experienced hunters to create mentoring opportunities. Because the women participating in the event come from a wide variety of hunting levels and backgrounds, WYWF ensures that the experience includes teaching hunter safety and ethics. The pairs then spend the next two days hunting together with a shared guide on mostly private land. Once both have harvested, activities including sport shooting instruction, archery, and fly fishing are available. Hunters also have the option of processing their own meat with the help of an experienced volunteer and learning the art of cooking with game meat.
The three-day, three-night hunting event has proven to be an incredibly enriching experience for all involved. When asked about her experience, one 2022 Fellow reported, “I didn’t think I would leave the hunt saying it was a life-changing experience. I was hoping it would be fun and that it would be something I had never done before. That he would hopefully harvest an antelope and have a great hunting story to tell. But I didn’t think it would be as powerful as it was. I didn’t think I’d be a different person when it was all said and done, but I really did.”
For more information about the event and how you can get involved, visit www.WyomingWomensAntelopeHunt.org or call 307.721.7007.
The Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunting Story:
He Wyoming Women’s Antelope Huntingwas founded in 2013 by the Wyoming Women’s Foundation (WYWF) as an opportunity to mentor and build camaraderie among women and to raise funds for the Wyoming Women’s Foundation’s work for women and girls.
Teaching women to hunt can help them feed their families nutritious food and fulfills WYWF’s mission to invest in the economic self-sufficiency of women and opportunities for girls in Wyoming. The event emphasizes hunter safety, ethical hunting practices, and conservation of natural resources.Click here for more information on the spirit of the hunt.
Questions?Check our frequently asked questions.
About the Wyoming Women’s Foundation
Established in 1999, the Wyoming Women’s Foundation (WYWF) is part of a family of funds found in theWyoming Community Foundation. WYWF makes grants and spearheads initiatives that benefit women and girls, as well as our communities at large. As a state leader dedicated to advancing women and girls, we leverage funding through our endowment and grantmaking focuses on lasting change.
Learn more about the Wyoming Women’s Foundation by visitingwywf.org