Women's First-Time Fowlers Event
By Kenzie Fitzpatrick
An Action-Packed One-Day Duck Hunt for Women
By Kenzie Fitzpatrick
Louisiana over Christmas break. Whether or not I ever killed a duck is up for debate. My grandpa would shoot at the same time as us when a flock came in, so I doubt I ever really hit one, or at least got one on my own. I have fond memories from being in the duck blinds, but eventually life got in the way, and I stopped going. I never learned to call, couldn’t have told you the correct camo pattern to wear, what license my dad would buy for us kids, or any other information about how to hunt ducks.
About two years ago, I slowed down on shooting competitions and decided I wanted to learn about how to hunt and harvest meat. I have had very few opportunities to hunt, and not many friends or family members near me who know where to go or what to do when it comes to waterfowl or big game hunting. It was at the end of last year that an email arrived in my inbox, making me drop everything I was doing to read it. It was titled “Women's First-Time Fowlers Event,” and was exactly what I had been looking for. I found out later that the only reason I received the email was because I had purchased a Tennessee hunting license that year, which signed me up for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency newsletter.
"I have fond memories from being in the duck blinds, but eventually life got in the way, and I stopped going."
The email was an invitation to a women-only duck hunt taking place in West, Tennessee, sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation (TWRF) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). It was limited to 50 women participants with a registration cost of $50. It included a discounted rate for lodging, gifts and swag, lunch and dinner the day before the hunt, ammunition, a whole day at the range shooting clays, and of course, the hunt itself. I remember registering before even reading the rest of the email.
I didn’t know what to expect as I drove to Dyersburg, Tennessee, from Knoxville, but everything about the event reminded me of my Gal’s Day at the Range event I host annually. This opportunity had a low cost, was exclusively for women, was geared towards new duck hunters, and had minimal barriers to entry. The state provided loaner shotguns for women who didn’t have their own. There were female mentors and other volunteers who helped teach women how to load and unload their shotguns, what the proper grip and stance are for shotgun shooting, and how to shoot a moving target. For the actual hunt, people all over West Tennessee opened their private duck blinds to attendees, shuttling the hunters to and from the blinds, calling the ducks in, bringing their hunting dogs, and doing so all because they wanted to give back to their community. As I write this sentence, I have tears running down my cheeks because of how grateful I am to have had this opportunity. The time and effort it takes to host an event like this is massive, and the volunteers who are there just because they want to be are what makes me so emotional.
"I didn’t know what to expect as I drove to Dyersburg, Tennessee, from Knoxville, but everything about the event reminded me of my Gal’s Day at the Range event I host annually."
Women's First-Time Fowlers Event
The entire event spanned two days. The first day was spent at Old Samburg Gun Club, where we had orientation and instruction indoors before heading to the shooting range in the afternoon for clay practice. On the second day, we split into groups and were assigned a hunting guide and a blind to chase after some ducks. Let me share what I observed, learned, and loved most about this event.
Camaraderie with Like-Minded Women
I’m a girl’s girl and was so excited to meet new friends who shared the same interests as me, who weren’t dudes. The morning of the first day was great because we were all separated into our groups, with which we would be hunting, so we had a whole day to get to know each other before being in a blind together. There was a mother-daughter duo in our group, as well as two women who were close in age to me, and our guide/mentor, Fergy. We shared what we did for work, what we enjoyed doing as hobbies, explained why we signed up for the First Time Fowler’s Event, and what kind of experience we each had with firearms. I can say that at the end of this trip, I felt a bond with these women and will never forget my time with them.
"I can say that at the end of this trip, I felt a bond with these women and will never forget my time with them."
Everyone Needs a Tune Up!
It doesn’t matter how proficient you are with firearms or how often you carry a gun or compete with one; everyone can benefit from practice. I loved that the TWRF and TWRA allowed us a whole afternoon of live fire practice to brush up on our shotgun skills. We stayed in our assigned groups and rotated to different stands that were set up to throw a clay target in various ways, replicating the flight paths of birds. I even started out pretty rusty, but I got into a rhythm soon after. On our final rotation, we visited a mock duck blind to practice shooting simultaneously at aerial targets. We learned how to only shoot in a safe direction, so we were never close to pointing our shotgun at the hunters to our left and right.
What I especially loved to see was the variety of shotguns women brought or borrowed. One lady brought her pump-action shotgun to hunt with, and she shot it better than most men. I brought my Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I Vittoria 12-gauge shotgun, a break-action over/under that not many people use for hunting ducks. I saw a lot of Beretta 20-gauge semi-automatic shotguns, as well as Benelli’s and similar models. The range portion was my absolute favorite because I shared what knowledge I had about shooting shotguns and helped a few ladies with their cheek weld and stance. Most of the Beretta semi-automatic shotguns were state-owned, and I was able to educate the ladies on the location of the shell release button on Beretta shotguns, which differs from other semi-automatic shotguns.
Towards the end of the day, I offered to let anyone shoot my 12-gauge shotgun and was not surprised to see much hesitation from everyone. The stories women shared about their experiences with larger-caliber shotguns are too familiar. Their spouse, partner, dad, or grandpa never taught them how to shoot a shotgun properly, and after firing one shell, the pain and jolt of recoil scarred them from ever wanting to shoot one again. I’ve also heard horror stories of women being handed a shotgun to shoot, loaded with slug ammunition, without their knowledge. These experiences can leave a lasting, damaging effect, and this is why I am so passionate about teaching women how to shoot shotguns. I coached a couple of ladies on the proper technique for handling a shotgun and convinced them to give the 12-gauge a try afterward. They were blown away by how easy it was to handle the recoil and shocked that they had a completely different experience than what they had in the past.
Duck Blinds, Duck Calls, & Duck Species
As an adult, I absorbed a great deal more information about duck hunting than I did when I was a kid. For starters, I didn’t know that West Tennessee was such a hot spot for migratory birds. I also had no clue that 5-star apartments buried in marshes and wetlands were what we would be hunting in. Looking back, I could have googled or done research beforehand, but that would have spoiled the surprise. The actual blind consisted of an upper deck with a dozen holes cut out, covered in straw and wetland grasses, with stools underneath each one for hunters to sit. The lower deck reminded me exactly of my old college apartments, but nicer. This blind had appliances, places to sit, snacks and drinks, was heated, and we were even served a hot breakfast from within the blind. Talk about luxurious hunting quarters.
When I close my eyes and remember hunting with my grandfather, the first thing I picture is his necklace of duck calls. I remember how at ease he was selecting a call for a specific species, and how each sounded so unique. Being in a duck blind again, listening to the hunting guide deliver calls to the sky, transported me back in time. I learned what a Pintail is and how its call differs from that of a Wood Duck or a Mallard. We had a few geese fly overhead, but they wouldn’t come down low enough to give us an opportunity. When the first bird came in and the group of us popped our heads out of the blind, we all started shooting. It was a beautiful Pintail, the first I’d ever seen, and it had no chance as it was outnumbered.
Unfortunately, that was the only duck that flew in for the group of us to engage, and that was it for the morning hunt. Most of the group departed, but I was determined to go back out in the afternoon and try to harvest another. The hunting guide, Fergy, Kaytlyn, and I sat for an afternoon hunt. While not much flew by, I was the only one to shoot at a solo Drake Mallard. It was one of the most beautiful birds I’ve ever seen, and I decided to have it taxidermied to memorialize what the hunt meant to me.
From beginning to end, the Women's First-Time Fowlers Event was incredible. I highly recommend joining the email list if you live in Tennessee and are interested in participating in their 2026 event. I learned a lot, got to teach a little, but most importantly, I met other women who support the 2nd Amendment and are interested in learning how to hunt. It is crucial to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next on how to hunt and harvest meat that is healthy, fresh, and of which we know the origin. I want to thank the TWRA, TWRF, sponsors, volunteers, and hunting guides who made this event possible.
