My First Hunting Trip

Here's a little bit of a backstory for you: 

I didn't grow up around hunting or guns or anything like that.. never owned one, never even touched one until 2009, right after my high school graduation.  My hubby (boyfriend at the time) and I went down to Florida to visit his aunt and uncle.  His uncle is a retired police officer, owns a few guns, and enjoys going to the shooting range once in a while.  Well, when we were down there, we went with him.  There I was, watching Paul and his uncle shoot the targets (jumping out of my skin every time one went off) thinking I would get away with just watching.  That didn't last for long. Of course they wanted me to shoot too. It'll be fun they said.. ;).  So, I manned up and took the gun, pointed at the target, and shot it. Little did I know, the shell casing would pop out the back. Well, indeed the hot shell casing popped out, landed on my shoulder, and within seconds I was screaming and crying in the middle of the gun range because I thought I had shot myself.

I have yet to hear the end of that one...

Here I am after that incident: fake smile, watery eyes and all-

So, now to the real story here:

Ever since we've been in Washington, I've tried to be more adventurous & outdoorsy: hiking, fishing, kayaking, etc. So, when I was invited by my husband and one of our closest friends, Petey, to go hunting with them, I agreed. I have to admit, I was super nervous to be around a gun (especially a big ol' rifle) after my previous traumatizing experience, but I was excited to challenge myself and to be outside of my element.

We hiked about a half mile up a mountain where I eventually took a deep breath and conquered my fear.  I shot the rifle and even hit my target!.. which was a tree...I refused to do any Bambi killing ;)

I ended up having a lot of fun on our little adventure.  We didn't kill anything (which I wasn't too broken up over), but we had a good time hiking and talking and searching.  Near the end of the night, we made a little fire and sat around it, maybe had a beer or two ;), and listened to the coyotes howling (which is really a beautiful sound..and a lot less terrifying than you might think).  This was a really positive experience for me, and I have to say, I'd definitely do it again!