My Start In The Outdoors

Hi, my name is Synthia Wilson. I began my early childhood years as the daughter of a Midwest Kansas farm family of four and grew up the first 10 years of childhood living in the outdoors as my playground and my paradise. As a child I spent my free time in the woods, playing in the creeks, exploring coyote & fox dens, looking for rock fossils and seeking other treasures such as turtle shells.  By today’s standard I would have been considered a “Tomboy”, but to me it was all about having fun. My motto as a young girl and still is that it was “Not fair that only the boys get to have all of the fun.” My early childhood memories included gigging frogs & going fishing at my grandmother’s farm ponds. I also went along on fishing trips with my family to local rivers in the area. I became the most successful turtle fisherman in those parts, even though I was often fishing for catfish instead. Yet, I was a successful angler as a child and enjoyed catching bass, crappie & catfish. When I was about eight years old I began to go bird hunting now and then with my dad. Though I was never the one handling the shotgun at that time, I learned several safety rules and where to hunt for quail & pheasant. Hunting and fishing became a part of my family heritage. My parents influenced my desire to be a huntress also. My father (Ralph Mars of Vermillion, KS) hunted deer, rabbits, squirrels & coyotes, plus was a fur trapper for beaver & raccoons and occasionally took a bobcat. My mother (Barbara Cook-Shelton) grew up in Wyoming with a family that hunted elk, moose, mule deer & antelope for part of their main stay of food, plus had to deal with bears and cougars preying on their livestock. Some of the women on in my mother’s family are also hunters, out west.

The Passion Began To Grow

I grew up in a generation of kids that played Cowboys and Indians and always liked to pretend I was the one with a bow and arrow and this love stuck with me, blooming later in life.  My initial interest in bowhunting was sparked when I took a class my senior year college on Traditional Archery, shooting a recurve bow. I was immediately hooked and wanted to own my own bow some day to hunt with. I married my husband Ken a year later in 1985 and told him that I wanted a bow some day. Then Ken gave me my first Browning bow 7 years later, for Christmas in 1992. I started shooting at local 3-D Archery Tournaments and Clubs, winning first place in all but my first tournament. On my first deer hunting trip out, I took a buck within 10 minutes of getting up in my tree stand, which I consider beginners' luck! It was a great experience to share with my husband, as he was as excited for me as I was. My first 3 years I hunted mostly with my husband, Ken, and brother. Ken had not hunted deer before we were married, but began to bowhunt with my brother, Stanley Mars, 4 years before we started to hunt together and had taken his first deer in 1989. Stanley, who now lives in Estes Park, Colorado, is an accomplished hunter as well.

I currently shoot a 2005 Hoyt Sierra Tech bow, which I was set on after having the opportunity to tour the Hoyt plant in Utah. As for hunting deer, I have become independent in my thinking and tactics, building upon my own experiences and from learning the behaviors of the deer that I hunted. I have also had the benefit of learning tips and getting advice from my peers,and from my husband as well, whom I respect greatly. I am completely addicted to bow hunting and have such an incredible deep passion for hunting that sometimes it’s hard for me to get my mind off of it during hunting season. My favorite weather to hunt in is the winter with snowfall on the ground or in the fall when there is frost cover on everything. When I am hunting all of my senses come alive and I am so stimulated by all that is around me; the sounds of the song birds, watching the animals play, hearing the turkeys call and listening for that small snap in the woods that might indicate something is near. The types of deer hunting I have done is: from a tree stand, make shift ground blind and still hunting. I have never left the woods empty handed because the knowledge gained is in itself valuable. Hunting is a stress reliever for me and gives me the peace in my soul that can not be found anywhere. It is the part of living for me that makes me really feel alive! There are some lessons you can learn from others and some you must simply learn yourself. I have had some years that were better than others, seeking to bring home meat to show for my work. I now am comfortable relying on my own instincts for hunting tactics, deciding on a hunting location and timing. I am determined but am not a trophy hunter and will take whatever healthy, mature deer gives me the right opportunity. In addition to deer hunting, I enjoy hunting turkey, coyotes, rabbits, pheasant & quail. I had been a small game hunter before I started hunting deer. Due to time constraints that I now experience with having young children at home, in 2008 I plan to begin rifle hunting deer in Missouri or other states where I may have the opportunity. But I plan to still reserve some days to bow hunting whitetail in Kansas. I use a Browning 20 BPS pump gauge shotgun, a New Model Henry Golden Boy 22 mag lever action rifle and a Model 7400 Remington 30-06 rifle. My husband has taught me everything I know when it comes to shooting guns.

Sharing My Passion For Hunting

I enjoy sharing what I have learned with others and began to be a volunteer instructor for Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks teaching Bowhunter Education classes with (NBEF) and became the Organizing Instructor/Area Coordinator in the Kansas City area until 2008. I helped to certify over 500 students between 2001 & 2008, putting in as much as 300 hours per year into volunteer work. I have attended Becoming an Outdoor Women weekends, Women in the Outdoors events, National Wild Turkey Federation events, Whitetails Unlimited banquets and Little Jakes event for youth with my daughter.

I now am a part of educating hunters in a different venue, by holding free “Whitetail Deer Hunting” 1 hour Mini-Seminars and a fee-based, 1 day Skills Workshops. I began doing these classes locally at retail locations such as Bass Pro Shop and Cabelas in 2007 and have been the keynote speaker at various banquets for special interest groups. It is my desire to motivate women, men, and youngsters to start hunting and to share tips I have learned and to teach them to measure success based on effort. In addition to writing for Women Hunters I also enjoy reading and commenting on Field & Stream’s online women’s commentary “FS Huntress”.

Family Life

Ken & I both like to hunt & horseback ride together when possible but now that’s rare. We wanted a family and were able to adopt 2 children after 16 years of marriage, which changed things for us dramatically. I spend a lot of time at home now, caring for my family. When we do spend some time together we normally must hire a baby sitter, so I really understand the time constraint challenges that other mothers with children face. I do like to hunt with friends, too, but this is also rare, so I hunt by myself most of the time. I hope some day to meet other women that would enjoy bowhunting together. Activities we share with our children include: boating, camping and fishing. I have a 7 year old daughter, Selena, who is anxious to follow in my footsteps and wants me to take her turkey hunting this year for the first time. I helped call in some turkeys for my niece so I am sure I can help Selena get a chance to take a nice turkey as well. She already is a great angler and enjoys going to “Youth Fishing Derbies” together, trout fishing and pond or lake fishing. I also have a 2 year old son, Clayton, who will be able to participate when he gets older. I really get a kick out of getting my family outdoors and doing things with them. My responsibilities at home limit my time outdoors considerably compared to the past, so I have to make the best of each opportunity that I have and cherish it. I find that I often draw on past hunting experiences when focusing on happy and peaceful memories.

• National Bowhunter Education Foundation.
• Kansas Dept of Wildlife & Parks Hunter Education

Memberships:

• Kansas Bowhunter’s Association 
• Women in the Outdoors
• National Wild Turkey Federation
• Whitetails Unlimited
• WomenHunters Club