Among those hunters are numerous girls and women, who, over the course of their lives, have fallen in love with tracking, stalking and shooting.
Over the next two weeks, the Cortez Journal will profile several girls and women who hunt, including a rookie, three seasoned veterans and a female hunter who enjoyed success this year.
While the women to be profiled have different stories and backgrounds, all five share a common love of hunting and the outdoors.
Skylar Robinson
For as long as she can remember, Skylar Robinson has loved the outdoors and over the years, the Montezuma-Cortez High School sophomore has hiked and camped at every opportunity.
Until this year, Robinson had relatively little hunting experience, however. Eager to spend time with her father, Dave Robinson, and possibly bag an animal, Robinson purchased an either-sex elk tag for the fourth rifle season (Nov. 12-16), earlier this fall.
“I’ve always liked hunting and I wanted to hunt with my dad,” said Robinson. “I’ve tagged along with him a few times, but I haven’t actually gone out and tried to shoot anything.”
While Robinson was initially interested in archery, she settled rifle hunting after accidently shooting herself in the hand with a bow.
“I had a little incident with the bow,” said Robinson. “I shot myself in the hand with a broken arrow and decided to (hunt with) a rifle instead. I felt like it would be better to start off with a rifle and work your way to archery.”
After sighting in her Remington 783 shortly after the end of the high school volleyball season, Robinson took to the hills in the Caviness Mountain area near Mancos in search of her elk.
Walking multiple miles with her father over the course of a few days, Skylar Robinson failed to see an elk or take a shot. Even so, the hunt turned out to be a valuable experience nonetheless, however.
“It was great catch up time for us,” said Dave Robinson. “When she comes out with me, there’s not a whole lot of talking, but we ride in the truck and spend some time. For me and my daughter, it’s always a wonderful thing.”
Check the Nov. 28 edition of the Cortez Journal for a story about a group of young from Dove Creek who, for as long as they can remember, have made hunting an integral part of their lives.