MONTPELIER, Vt. -- More women are taking up the largely male dominated sport of hunting to stock their freezers with local foods and as cultural influences - like movie heroines and marketers - make it more socially acceptable.
Researchers say many of the new female hunters did not grow up hunting and are joining spouses or boyfriends in the sport.
According to the most recent data from the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, the number of female hunter rose from 1.2 million in 2006 to 1.5 million in 2011, a 25 percent increase. Between 2001 and 2011, the percentage of hunters who were female rose from 9 percent to 11 percent.
