Happy International Women's Day!

Raising a Glass to Women Hunters This International Women’s Day

Hunting’s no soft gig—it’s cold dawns, muddy boots, and tales scratched out in the dirt, and women have been part of it since day one. With International Women’s Day rolling in—March 8, 2025—we’re giving a nod to the fearless women who’ve owned the wild, from ancient hunters to Britain’s steadiest shots. This isn’t fancy talk; it’s straight facts about women who’ve tracked, shot, and left their mark, showing hunting’s fair game for anyone with guts and a sharp eye.

Hunting: Hard Work, Big Payoff

Think of a morning out there: frost on the ground, breath fogging up, and a pheasant kicking up a fuss in the bushes. Hunting’s not for the faint-hearted—you’re slogging through bracken after deer or sitting tight in the wet, waiting for your shot. It’s knackering, it’s real, and it’s worth every second. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) reckons it pumps over £2 billion into the UK each year, keeping the countryside alive with proper harvests (BASC, 2023). Blokes might dominate the old yarns, but women? They’ve been right in the thick of it, and they’re not letting up.

Women in the Field: Taking Their Shot

Chuck out that image of the bearded old-timer with a gun—women are piling in. BASC says their numbers have been climbing for ten years, with more women picking up rifles and heading out for the thrill and a bit of meat for the pot (BASC, 2023). They’re up before the sun, glassing the hills or flushing birds, adding their own lines to a story that’s been around forever. This Women’s Day, we’re tipping our caps to the pioneers and today’s standouts who’ve made hunting theirs—because the wild doesn’t give a toss who’s behind the trigger.

The Lineup: From Legends to Local Women

• Paulina Brandreth (1885–1946)
  Paulina Brandreth was a deer-hunting fiend from New York’s Adirondacks. She started at eight, and by nine, she was scribbling for Forest and Stream as “Paul Brandreth” to duck the 1890s’ lads-only vibe (Adirondack Almanack, 2016). Her 1930 book, Trails of Enchantment, lays out how she’d sneak through thickets—quiet as a mouse, sharp as a tack. She knocked about with explorer Roy Chapman Andrews, matching the big boys shot for shot (Adirondack Almanack, 2016). Paulina didn’t mess around—she hunted like she meant it.
• Lady Catherine Minna Jenkins (1860s–1930s)
  Catherine Jenkins was a proper handful. In 1906, this Englishwoman stomped off to Tibet’s frozen tops on her own, nailing seventeen animals—tigers in India, argali up high—over years of mad dashes. Her 1909 book, Sport and Travel in Both Tibets, is a belter, full of howling gales and quick pulls (British Library catalog). She thumbed her nose at stuffy Victorian ways and carved her own path—proof women could take on the roughest spots and walk away winners.
• Agnes and Cecily Herbert
  These Edwardian cousins made hunting a full-on caper. Early 1900s, they tackled Alaska, the Caucasus, and Africa—sometimes together, sometimes not. Agnes wrote up their jaunts in books like Two Dianas in Somaliland (1908), a cracking read you can still find on HathiTrust. Cecily sorted the nuts and bolts, mapping out brutal treks through the scrub (The Field, 2015). They showed everyone women could call the shots, not just follow.
• Annie Oakley (1860–1926)
  Annie Oakley’s a name tied to trick shots, but she cut her teeth hunting. Born in Ohio, she was bagging rabbits and quail as a nipper to keep her family fed, flogging the lot to local shops (National Women’s History Museum, 2020). The woods were where she got that killer aim before wowing crowds later on (Shirl Kasper, Annie Oakley, 1992). Annie started from scratch and shot her way to the top—proper stuff.
• The Wilamaya Patjxa Hunter (circa 7000 BCE)
  Go back 9,000 years to Peru’s highlands—archaeologists in 2018 dug up a woman’s grave loaded with hunting kit: points, knives, the lot. Called the Wilamaya Patjxa hunter, she turned old ideas upside down. A Science Advances study (2020) figures up to half the big-game hunters then were women, sticking it to the notion it was all lads’ work. She’s the original, showing women have been at it from the start.
• Claire Sadler
  Over here now, Claire Sadler’s keeping things ticking. BASC’s vice chair, she’s a game shooter and deer stalker who’s dead set on getting more women out there. She’s behind BASC’s Women in Shooting days (BASC, 2023), and Country Life gave her a shout in its Frontispiece (2022) for mixing grit with know-how. Claire’s the steady hand proving the field’s open to all—no nonsense, just the job done.
• Victoria Knowles-Lacks
  Victoria Knowles-Lacks got The Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club going in 2011, spinning a clay-shooting meet into a proper UK network. It’s the spot for women picking up guns, greenhorns to grizzled shooters alike (Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club, 2023). She’s a clay fan, usually in tweed, and Shooting UK (2021) gave her props for keeping it lively and bold. Victoria’s made a patch where women can crack on, no faff.
• Chelsea Jones
  Chelsea Jones is the young blood stirring it up at BASC. She’s a hunter and clay shooter who’s been at gigs like the Women in Shooting Rifle Day at Bisley, writing it up for BASC’s blog (2022). She’s handy with rifles and shotguns, fading into the scenery like a pro. Chelsea’s about showing others the ropes, keeping it simple and solid—no flash, just fire.

Today’s Women: Running the Show

The women out there now aren’t just tagging along—they’re the ones to watch. BASC’s 2023 roundup says they’re leading sessions on skinning game, swapping pointers over a brew in the clubhouse, and chucking advice online. They’re mums dragging the kids out to spot roe, sisters giving their brothers a run for their money, and pals laughing through a damp day in the field. From Annie’s dead-on shots to Claire’s level-headed drive, they’re loading the game with skill and dragging more women in every year. The stats don’t lie: female shooters are up, and they’re sticking around.

Here’s to the Huntresses: A Women’s Day Cheer

Hunting’s got history thicker than a stag’s hide, a now that’s humming, and a tomorrow up for grabs. This International Women’s Day, we’re toasting Paulina, Catherine, Agnes, Cecily, Annie, the Wilamaya hunter, Claire, Victoria, and Chelsea—women who’ve tramped through time and tromp around today. Whether you’re a weathered hand or itching to have a go, their tales shout it plain: the wild’s got no bouncers. So here’s to the women who’ve grabbed it—then, now, and down the line.