“Dad, Can I Take the Shot?” Why We Need More Women Mentors in the Outdoors

By Bobby Cole, Regional Program Manager

There are a few things in this world that I’m proud of. I’m proud to be a Christian. I’m proud of my service to this country. I’m proud of the work I have done with youth and veterans. I’m proud of my college degree... But two of the things I’m most proud of are my marriage and being a dad!

I have four amazing children. They range in age from 3 to 15. They are all special in their own ways, and I love them all more than I’m capable of putting into words. Today, I’m going to talk a little bit about my oldest daughter.

She is a special one. She’s smart, funny, a little spunky, and very compassionate. She’s a beautiful soul, and my biggest fear is that this cruel world is going to crush it one of these days. If you can’t tell, I’m very fond of her! She’s also quite the hunter!

She went on her first hunt with me when she was around 3 years old. It was a deer hunt, and I remember it like it was yesterday. It was cold, so cold that we bundled her up in so many layers that she looked like Ralphie from A Christmas Story. I’ll never forget the excitement in her eyes as I watched her waddle to our hunting spot.

We set up on the edge of a milo field where I had been seeing a bunch of deer. We had a group of deer walk within 5 yards of us. I’m still not sure if she was shaking from the cold or excitement. We didn’t end up getting a deer that day, but regardless, she was
hooked!

Since then, she has built quite the résumé. Three deer, two turkeys, and countless doves and ducks! Heck, she can outshoot a lot of adults I know!

She is at that age where she knows that she’s a hunter, and she loves it, but it hasn’t always been this way. For years, she struggled with the fact that she never saw another girl out hunting. She would say things to me like, “I don’t think girls are supposed to hunt,” Or “Sometimes I feel strange being the only girl out here.”

It was disheartening.

So I started making it a point to invite other girls to join us on hunts. The daughters of my friends and colleagues. Once I started doing this, there was a noticeable difference in her attitude, and she quickly became confident in what she was doing.

As a girl dad, it has been a struggle keeping her passionate about one of the things I enjoy the most, and I don’t think I’m the only person who feels this way. According to a 2025 article in Shooting Industry Magazine, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
revealed women now make up around 22% of all hunters in the U.S., a number that continues to climb. That is a huge percentage, and it actually lines up extremely closely with what we see in our program.

When we run the numbers, we can see that around 20% of our active hunters are female. A lot of nonprofits and government organizations identify women as the fastest-growing segment of hunting and shooting sports participation.
When we look further into our database, we can see that about 7% of our registered Volunteers are women, but only around 2% of our active volunteers on mentoring trips are women.

These numbers are wild to me, but very telling. If 20% of our hunters are female, but only 2% of our active mentors are women, then.
We’ve got a problem.

The truth is, young girls need women role models. They need to see women who hunt, fish, and enjoy the outdoors. They need to know that they belong out here too. I saw it with my own daughter. The minute she started hunting with other girls and
seeing women involved in the outdoors, everything changed. She quit worrying about whether girls were supposed to hunt and started focusing on being a hunter. So this is my challenge to the women who hunt, fish, and enjoy the outdoors. We need
you.

We need your experience. We need your perspective. Most importantly, we need you to help show the next generation of women that they belong out here.

You don’t have to be a professional hunter. You don’t need to be the best caller or have a wall covered in trophies. You don’t need 20 years of experience. You just need to care enough to invest in a young person.

There are girls in our program right now who are waiting on someone like you. The joy of watching my daughter become a young outdoorswoman is beyond compare. I love it. I love seeing her eyes light up when a flock of teal comes splashing into the
decoys. I love the way her voice quivers when she whispers, Dad, can I take the shot?”
These are moments that I’ll cherish forever, and I know she will too.

More than anything, I want other girls to have the same opportunities and make the same memories. I want them to experience the excitement, the adventure, the confidence, and the connection that come from spending time outdoors. But I can’t do it alone.

If you’re reading this and something in this story touches your heart, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You could be the positive female role model in the outdoors that a young girl is looking for. You could be the reason she discovers a lifelong passion for
hunting, fishing, and the outdoors.

Sometimes changing a life starts with something as simple as saying, “Come hunt with me.”