The Slayer Hunting Podcast
The Slayer Hunting Podcast
Episode 5: Women waterfowlers defy stereotypes in the field
Victoria Hannah has hunted all her life, so she’s well aware that when it comes to waterfowling, women are in the minority. Now she’s sharing her enthusiasm with others in the hopes of not only keeping the sport alive, but altering its current demographics — making room for more women in the field.
Victoria’s passion for hunting is evident. In the past, she’s pursued anything from deer and doves to black bears and pintails. In her own words, “If you can hunt it, I want to come with you.” But while she’s hunted all her life, Victoria admits there were times she felt intimidated, aware of the fact she was the only woman hunter in her group of friends. Now she’s working to make the sport more inclusive and approachable — particularly for other women.
In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, Victoria shares stories from the field as well as her tips and goals for helping others overcome their hunting insecurities.
Follow Victoria Hannah on Instagram: @victoria_blalock
Make hunting less intimidating for anyone on Slayer Calls:
- A Hunter’s Guide to Waterfowl Guns and Ammo
- 9 Things Every New Duck Hunter Really Needs: Resources and Gear
Resources for women hunters:
- The Sisterhood of the Outdoors
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Have you had good luck bringing others into the hunting fold? Leave a comment or drop a line to podcast@SlayerDuckCalls.com to tell us all about it.
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We are recording. Here today, we're with Hannah and we are doing a Slayer Calls podcast about just her in general, because she's an awesome person and she loves waterfowl hunting. And secondly, she's a woman. Here at Slayer, we're about preserving the sport of hunting and part of that is getting the youth involved, getting women involved, getting anybody who has an interest in waterfowl hunting involved in the sport. Victoria, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? Who you are, maybe how old you are, when you got involved in waterfowl hunting and all that good stuff.
Yeah. I'm Victoria Hannah. Two first names. It's a little confusing. I am 26 years old and I got into waterfowl hunting, specifically waterfowl hunting in 2014. And I went with my brother that one time and I got hooked on it, but I've been in the outdoor world. I mean, since I was in diapers. I mean, I grew up hunting and knowing about conservation and all those things. But I think waterfowl hunting has really, really stuck to me and I just wanted to get more and more involved in that. And year by year, I just kept learning and kept trying to get myself out there and it's been really, really great. And I learned so much about it every time.
That's awesome. And are ducks and geese the only thing you hunt or do you deer hunt and turkey hunt or anything like that?
I mean, I do it all. I deer hunt a lot out in Kansas. I turkey hunt, I bear hunt, any waterfowl, ducks, geese, we go dove hunting. I mean, if you can hunt it I probably want to tell you, I want to come with you. Literally anything.
Do you have bears in Kansas?
Not in Kansas, but there's a lot of bears in Eastern North Carolina. That's where I'm located. I live about maybe two hours from the Outer Banks. Real popular place towards that way is Hyde County. They have a lot of huge bears , people from all over the world and country literally come to Hyde County to shoot a world class bear.
Wow.
And that's a really, really great experience. I highly recommend it.
That is really cool. They're black bears?
Yep. Black bears. Yes.
When you say world class bear, are they like 300 pounds?
When I shot mine, I was in eighth grade. I was a little kid and my bear was 562 pounds.
Holy cow.
To me that's huge. That's huge to a lot of people, but recently 600, 7, 8, 9. I mean, they get really big out there used to be this story. I'd have to find it. There was this bear that would go to this hog farm every night and eat like hogs, just like all night long. That bear was over a thousand pounds. He was huge.
Wow. I did not know black bears got that big.
Yeah. They're very, very big. There's a lot of them. There really is.
Got it. All right. Well, so where do you do most of your waterfowl hunting?
Towards the East Coast and here and the swamps. We'll go to the beach occasionally out towards the coast. You have the Red Heads and Canvas Backs, pintails. The more popular ducks I'd say, but here right down the road, like 20 minutes, we'll go into a swamp and we shoot a lot of wood ducks. Now we're just starting to see the mallards come in, just because the temperature is finally dropping, but that's been really hard recently. It's been like 70 degrees and then it'll go to 20 and snowing and then back to 70 degrees. It's been a good season, but it's been difficult because the birds are either there or they're not.
Yeah. Got it. Well that's cool. Then what is it about waterfowl hunting that you like? I mean it is funny because we were setting out four dozen geese decoys this morning and two dozen duck decoys, some in the water, some filled decoys and the guy that we took out, one of our board members out with us, who's never been duck hunting before, goose hunting, any type of bird hunting. And he's like, "Man, you guys are crazy." We got up at five in the morning. I'm like, "Five in the morning. It's not even late. We typically get up at three." He was looking at us like we're crazy, but what is it about waterfowl hunting that you like?
I think when I went for the first time, I was the only girl. I went with my brother and his friends and I liked having a challenge and I went out there and I saw these guys shooting really well and they were so knowledgeable and they could tell you what the duck was when it was flying in the air. And I was like, "You know what, I'm determined to be knowledgeable about this." And I think it was the challenge that I just liked the most.
I mean with deer hunting, I love deer hunting and that is a challenge too, but they're just very different. I think with waterfowl, your shooting has to be just right. You've got to have the right good equipment that works for you, which again makes it more difficult for me as a woman. It's like everything about waterfowl hunting, it's a challenge, but I want to overcome it and I want to do better and I want to know everything and I don't know. I think I really just, I was hungry to learn. I think that was like the biggest thing.
Yeah. That's really cool. I think that's part of it. I always wonder what got me into it. And I think that was just watching birds work, watching good callers be able to turn them and set them right in the decoy, where the plan was to put them. I was like, "I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to turn a bird, I want to be able to lock up, come in" and and then the whole dog part of it. Do you have a chocolate lab I might have saw on your Instagram?
I do have a chocolate lab. And that has been a huge motivator for me to get out and hunt every morning at like 4:00 AM. It's when you have a dog and you bring that dog with you and their drive to go get that bird and hunt and look for that bird. And it is just unexplainable how amazing that is. You could put me in a swamp without a gun and if I could work my dog and she goes and gets those ducks, I am so satisfied. I think that is the most amazing thing.
I'm right there with you. I don't really need to shoot birds anymore. I really do it for my dog and I love to eat them and all that good stuff, but I'd love to just ... I could go out and work my dog and be just as happy. That's really cool. What's your favorite bird to shoot? I mean mallards, is it pintails? I mean, we all have our favorites. What's your favorite?
This season I've been on like a mallard kick. I've yet to shoot a mallard, but any other season I'm like, "I can't wait to go to the coast and shoot a pintail." But it seems like when you get your heart really set on a bird that bird won't ever come.
Yeah.
It's like, "Well I'll just try again next time." I mean, we're going to go tomorrow morning and the guy said that there's a lot of mallards there, so I'm hopeful I'll get my mallard tomorrow. But I do love mallards. They're just a lot bigger than a wood duck and pintails are just beautiful, but we don't get pintails here in the swamp. If we do, they're pretty lost. You have to really head like to the coast for that. I don't know. I mean, I get excited over a hooded merganser. I mean, I get excited over any duck. I'm like, "Look, y'all." They're just like whatever. I'm like it's fun. But I mean you do have [crosstalk 00:08:35].
[crosstalk 00:08:34] spec hunt didn't you? And was it Arkansas? I think I saw.
Yeah. This is my second year going to Arkansas with all girls group, which was amazing. And we set out there to go shoot ducks, but again, it's like hit or miss with the weather and everything. There weren't many ducks there, but they said we have a lot of specklebelly if y'all are interested. And I was like, "All right, let's go." And I mean, we all went and we shot ... I mean, there was a big group of us. I mean, we could shoot a lot, but I mean, it was crazy. Those things would just come in there like thousands at a time and we'd all stand up and shoot and they're just dropping. That was unbelievable. And we don't have specs in North Carolina, so [crosstalk 00:09:20].
One of the days you were hunting there, I was actually out duck hunting and I was just flipping ... It was slow and I was flipping through Instagram and I saw that you were live and I'm like, "Oh, I'm going to watch this." And it was awesome. Because when I flipped it on, you guys had some birds come in and you and a couple of the girls you were sitting next to got some shots off and it was pretty cool. The hunting got better, so I got off of it. Then I ping back on a little later, I think in the evening you guys were all by a campfire and there was I think a country singer or something, somebody playing a guitar and singing a song. I was like, "Man, that looked like a really good time."
Yeah, so that girl, the singer, her name's Priscilla Block, she has been my best friend since middle school.
Oh wow.
And I told her I was going on this Arkansas hunt. Another girl had met her in person and also invited her and she was like, "I'll go." And I was like, "Perfect." And she's never duck hunted before. Never waterfowl hunted, nothing. So she was eager to learn and eager to get set up and everything. And she came out there with us and it was so amazing to see her shoot her first bird.
There is nothing like seeing somebody shoot their first bird. I am that person in the blind, I will get to hollering and celebrating over your first bird. It was so great, but she loved it and she was like, "I want to do it again. I want to do more of this." I was like, "That is perfect." And hopefully she'll come back again and get really more involved. But I mean, she's very busy singing, so we shall see.
That's cool. And that probably leads into a good segue into my next question was I love to see youth get involved in hunting. I don't care if it's squirrels or dove or whatever, right? Or waterfowl, and just to see women getting involved and seeing that big pit of I don't know how many of you there was, 10 or something, women out there hunting. To me, that's just awesome. So what are some of the barriers of women getting involved in hunting, you think?
Yeah. And that's a really great question. I mean, for me, it's just been a little bit different because I did grow up with people hunting all sorts of things around me. If you reverse it and you look at somebody who's never hunted, never had an opportunity to hunt, they have different obstacles and they have different things they've got to figure out to get involved. And I think the biggest thing as a very new person getting into hunting, whether it's waterfowl or anything, it's just understanding the importance of hunting to begin with. Like, why are we doing what we're doing, getting up at 4:00 AM? What's the sole purpose of this? Then once you start digging and understanding the importance and you have resources like SCI and Ducks Unlimited, and they provide you with these tools and resources to get involved.
That really, really helps people get their foot in the door. Then it also just goes back to, I mean, surrounding yourself with people with the same interest. I mean, if you're somebody who wants to get in hunting and no one around you hunts, that's even harder than somebody who is around people who do hunt. I guess just getting involved and whether it's on social media, that's a big avenue to get into these women's hunts. The girls hunt that I go on, social media, if you see somebody offering women's hunts and you're like, "Man, I want to do it," but you're on the fence about it, do it.
You're going to make so many connections. And that's how you get involved is like just branching out. You've got to just put yourself out there, ask questions, meet people, message these outfitters, asking questions. They love that. And don't ever let anybody make you feel intimidated. You know? I think that's also a very big thing.
Yeah. I think that's a great point. Because my dad hunt, he hunted, he was huge and taking me all the time. I was surrounded by it all the time. I grew up with friends who hunted, right? It was pretty easy for me to fall into it. But if you don't know somebody there's ... "What gun do I buy? What ammo I buy? Where do I go? What license do I need? What clothes do I need?" And it gets very confusing and very overwhelming, pretty fast. And I think you bring up a good point about networking and especially today with social media, it's a lot easier to do that. I try to make it a point to take one or two new people every year.
This year I I've taken probably three people that have never hunted waterfowl before out. It'd be great as us as hunters, if we just made that a point. Like, every year, I'm going to try to find one person who has an interest and take them with me and see if they like it. If they don't, you just plant that seed and maybe they pursue it, maybe they don't, but it'd be awesome if we all took that as a goal or something that we strive to do.
Yeah. And I think also if you're interested in getting out there and you know nothing, and you don't really [inaudible 00:14:49] we just talked about, definitely take the hunter safety course. You will learn a lot leading up ... I mean, you'll learn so much in that course. How to handle a gun and what to do, what not to do. And again, you'll meet people there with the same like-minded things that you want to do. I mean, there's so many tools and resources out there and I'd definitely be taking advantage of social media.
I mean, these outfitters, you see 2W down in Arkansas where I went, they have women's outreach, literally like nothing but women's groups go. They have the guys that go down there, but if more outfitters did something, just whether it's for youth and newer hunters or women's outreach. Doing things to reach those targets to welcome them. Because I mean, think about it. If you didn't know anything about hunting or anything and you wanted to get into it, I'd feel so intimidated by everything.
You just want someone to open a door for you and if we can do that, then we need to do that. Like you said, bringing people, bringing kids, like the SCI, their slogan at one point was hunt with your kids, not for them. My dad has lived by that. You hunt with your kids, not for them and that that'll change your just lifestyle.
Yep. No, that's a great slogan, a great thing to live by. Without hunters, the sport will die off. I mean, the numbers are dwindling and then I look at the conservation side of it too, if it wasn't for hunters, then the land keeps getting developed and pretty soon our waterfowl will be gone and wildlife and all that good stuff. It has a trickle effect. I think it's super important. I think it's awesome that you're involved in these groups and that you look passionate about it, which is awesome. Who's your favorite people to hunt with?
Definitely family. I mean, I'm married now, so I love to hunt my husband. That's a really great thing, as we start our family, but growing up, it was like my dad and my brother. And now that I'm married, it's me and my husband. And when we have kids, we want to pass that down to them, to family. That's like my favorite people to hunt with, for sure.
That's awesome. I've put that right up there too. And I have some really close friends I've been hunting with since I was probably eight years old and I consider them family, and it's like being in the blind without them, it's just not the same. It's weird that way, but yeah. It's pretty cool how that all comes in a full circle.
My brother has two kids. I have a niece and a nephew and my niece is five and my nephew just turned three and they got a pair of waiters for Christmas. We're going to put them in a little sled boat and pull them out there, but it was just nice to see that. They got so excited. I mean, they're so young, they don't know yet, but I mean, they're going to ... It's so great to see them that they're going to grow up knowing things like that. That's very sweet.
You don't think it makes a difference, but it does. I remember my nephew, we used to carry him on our shoulders across the rice checks to get to the pit line. And he barely remembers it to this day, but he still remembers. The only thing he really remembers is cutting the ducks beak off with a pair of scissors. He's like, "Was that the time?" I'm like, "Yeah, we looked at you. And we were like, 'I think he might be a sociopath.'"
Oh, man.
We're like, "Garrett, we started getting worried when we saw you doing that. We had to take the scissors away."
I'd never heard someone do that. I mean, you're exploring, you're learning.
He was being quiet over in the corner. Like, "What are you doing?" And we look over like, "Yeah, you probably don't want to be doing that."
Yeah. We don't do that.
Yeah. Well, Victoria, that was awesome having you on. You're a joy, you're bundle of energy, so it's awesome. And I love the fact that you're a hunter. Have to get you out here to Idaho. Some of our influencers and people we're partnering with next year, we want to bring some folks out here to Idaho. If you don't get your mallard this year, I promise-
[crosstalk 00:19:21].
... I promise you, come to Idaho, we'll get you your first green head.
Yeah, that would be awesome. I've never been to Idaho. It's probably a lot colder up there than it is down here
Oh yeah. I mean, it's actually been a pretty warm winter in Austin and those guys from Texas were up here. They were all bundled up and it was, I don't know, 36 degrees, 38 degrees. I was out in a t-shirt and they were like, "What are you doing?" I'm like, "This isn't cold." And I think two weeks ago it got down to minus two and-
Oh, wow.
Pretty cold. And that's not normal, but the duck hunting was amazing and I'm like, "Okay, this [crosstalk 00:19:55]."
Oh yeah. We hunt with mosquitoes here. That's who we hunt with down here.
Awesome. Well, thanks Victoria. I really appreciate it.
Yes. Thank you so much for having me. It's been great and I do love my duck call for sure. I tell people about it all the time and bring it with me everywhere. And people really do love to ... They're like, "Let me blow that." I'm like, "Yes, please do." They love it. I'm excited. I'm going to get another one. I like the all black one that you have. I'm going to keep growing my collection.
All right. We'll have to going to you a goose call, too.
Yeah, I'd have to practice on that one.
All right. Well, thank you.
Thank you. Have a good one.
You too.