3rd Annual Sisterhood Of The Outdoors Youth Antelope Hunt
On October 24th, 2019, youth, Savinnah and mentor, Brittany headed to the big town of Wright, Wyoming (population 1,816) for a 3 day antelope hunt hosted by the Sisterhood of the Outdoors (SOTO) and Crazy Horn Outfitters. This hunt was the 3rd annual youth antelope hunt where 4 young girls, nominated by Sisterhood staff came together for a hunt of a lifetime. Ranging in hunting experience, these bright eyed young ladies came from all over the United States- Kansas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Back Row (left to right): youth Audrey, Courtney Nicolson, youth Dakota, Brittany Waldman, Shantane Strohschein, youth Savinnah, youth Lily Front Row (left to right): Amy Ray Williams, Ashlee Lundvall, Kinlee Denny
The Sisterhood of the Outdoors is dedicated to empowering the next generation of lady hunter, and they offer opportunities for women to learn to hunt, fish, and shoot. They call themselves “women with an unbridled passion for the outdoors” and that is exactly what the SOTO group is. SOTO strives everyday to provide support for lady hunters, but they also do their fair share of giving back, especially to our youth population. “We believe we have to give it away to keep it. It’s our passion to create opportunities to mentor others and share our love of the outdoors. We are blessed to be able to pay it forward and create the next generation of lady hunter said” President and CEO of SOTO, Amy Ray.
Dana & Mike with Dana’s First Deer
Savinnah is a kind, humble, and tenacious 14 year old young lady who has had great involvement with the Outdoor Mentors Program. It was just 16 years ago (2003) when Dana, was enrolled in the Outdoor Mentors Program and matched to the one and only Mike Christensen. Mike and Dana went out hunting more times than they could count. Dana soon became Mike’s new hunting buddy and the rest was history. After going through the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, Dana and Mike’s match ended, but naturally, the two kept in great contact as Dana went on the have a professional career in the sheet metal world and met Michelle, Savinnah’s mom. Dana started to introduce the sport of hunting to Savinnah and encourage her to attend some of the Outdoor Mentors hunts. Savinnah soon became a regular at our hunts, fundraisers, and any shooting events we had. She loved the outdoors and loved sharing the sport with Dana and others in the program.
“In my opinion, Savinnah is the poster child for determination and compassion” said mentor, Brittany Waldman. “I knew that sharing this hunting trip with Savinnah would be one that I would never forget. I knew that I was going to learn a lot from her in those days hunting through the grasslands of Wyoming” said Brittany. Savinnah is an excellent marksman, but there is always room for improvement and an excuse to go to the range. Shannon Selstedt with FTAC Academy, LLC worked with Savinnah on shot consistency and gun positioning for a back country hunt. Naturally, Savinnah excelled at placing every shot in a nickle sized cluster. There was no doubt that Savinnah was going to demonstrate a successful shot out in Wyoming.
Day One
Sunny and 65, the girls all set out for the range first thing in the morning. The girls would be shooting the one-of-a-kind Weatherby Vanguard Camilla .308 rifle for the weekend equipped with a Leupold Optic Scope. The girls still getting to know one another, took turns shooting the rifle down range to become comfortable and familiar with the safety and action. Once dialed in, it was time for the hunt to begin! It was a long morning and afternoon tracking antelope herds and attempting to get a shot on one. There was not much luck until the final two hours of legal shooting time. Audrey, off in the distance rang out a shot. Learning a very valuable lesson on hunting ethics, she had to fire one more shot at the antelope in her sights. Tears of joy and excitement rolled down Audrey’s face in those final moments of shooting.
Moving very quickly, the group field dressed Audrey’s beautiful antelope and moved down the road to another location where a herd of antelope were spotted. Dakota, acting quickly, was able to get on her gun and make a clean 150 yard shot dropping her antelope in his tracks. Dakota was accompanied by her mother, Haley Newnam. Haley the former co-host of The Ultimate Hunt was used to being in the middle of the action, however, during Dakota’s antelope hunt, she watched from a distance with tears of pride welling up in her eyes. A moment of joy that neither of them will forget. With sunlight fading and a truck full of hungry teenage girls, the group loaded up and called it a day after a long 13 hours of hunting.
The Annual Youth Antelope Hunt was started with the intention to provide a Wyoming big game opportunity to young girls to show them what the sport is all about. Owner of Crazy Horn Outfitters, Shantane Strohschein shared that her favorite part of the Annual Youth Antelope Hunt is “watching the girls bond and create friendships like we all do on our Sisterhood hunts. For kids, it is sometimes hard to do, but at this event they quickly realized they have things in common… their laughter and smiles are what this is all about!”. This hunt would not have been possible without all of the generous sponsors who stepped up to be champions for the event. Strohschein goes more than the extra mile to make this hunt possible for 4 lucky girls. She stated that, “I fundraise and organize because I want each event to be a memorable, once in a lifetime experience for the girls and their families. Without the support of others it would not be possible”
Day Two
Day two in Wyoming came with much cooler temperatures and strong winds. That did not stop the girls from setting foot out the door to fill two more tags. It was a slow morning locating herds of antelope out in the dusty colored sky. The antelopes seemed to have started their migration pattern already and were very bunchy. This left Savinnah and Lily ready on the gun, but they did not have any shots to take most of the morning. The group spotted two bucks and a few does out in the middle of a hay field. However, there was very little coverage to get into shooting distance to them. That only meant one thing. It was time to break out the belly crawl technique. Savinnah, Brittany, and Kinlee belly crawled 100 yards out to a ridge where they had a clear shot at either of the bucks standing out and grazing in the filed. Savinnah, confident on the Weatheryby rifle, got the antelope sighted in and ranged hi at about 295 yards away. The antelope continued to graze for what seemed like hours, oblivious that the girls were there. At this point, the weather had taken a turn or the worse and it was beginning to snow and spit sleet. The wind gusts were strong enough to where the girls had to reconfigure where to a line a shot at on the antelope. Finally, the antelope provided a broadside shot and Savinnah sent a shot down range only to knock him down in his tracks! Brittany and Kinlee immediately dog piled Savinnah when they saw the big buck go down. Keeping her composure but grinning ear to ear, you could see the sense of accomplishment in Savinnah’s eyes.
Day Three
If you thought that day two was cold, you might want to add on another layer of warmth for day three. Waking up to a nice 2 inches of snow, the girls had one thing in mind. It was time to fill Lily’s tag. Lily showing nothing but courage and tenacity and went on numerous stalks that morning only to come up empty handed at the end of each one. Trying to change their luck, the girls stopped to have lunch in the field when a lone buck and doe came wondering into distance. Just like that, sandwiches and chips went flying through the air and Lily, Shantane, and Kinlee took off in the field to get Lily into shooting position. No luck again, but they did not stop there. It was time for a pursuit. Through the snow packed hills Lily sent a 220 yard shot down range to successfully take down her antelope. In the blistering winds and snow, Lily, beaming ear to ear, hauled her antelope out of the filed.
Memories & Friendship That Will Last A Lifetime
These young girls did not just go on their first antelope hunt. They stepped outside of their comfort zone to try something new- something that was unfamiliar for them. They persevered through harsh conditions, missed shots, and celebrated each other. Their parents trusted their mentors and young daughters to own their hunt from start to finish. Though what sounds like a short hunting trip is really a memory that all parties will share for a lifetime. The friendships that are created and cultivated over those days of hunting are ones that will never be broken.
Special thanks to Sisterhood of the Outdoors and Crazy Horn Outfitters for hosting yet again an incredible youth hunt for these young ladies. To Amy Ray, Shantane, Ashlee, Courtney, Kinlee, and Glen- these young ladies will carry your mentorship with them forever.
Thank you to the Kansas Hunting & Fishing Facebook page for fundraising to send both Brittany and Savinnah to Wyoming.
Athlon Optics, thank you for equipping Savinnah with the best optics around. Those binoculars were put to good use!
