The Extreme Huntress™ Competition is about preserving the outdoor heritage and aims to create positive role models for women who want to participate in hunting. Joining in is one of Extreme Huntress’ Finalists, Jamie Belknap. Jamie is a firm believer that her duty is to be a positive advocate not only for female hunters, but youth hunters, disabled hunters, and hunting as a whole. She recounts the top three takeaways she bagged from her training in Texas. As she shares her superb hunting tradition, learn why you should vote for Jamie and how to do so.
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Extreme Huntress 2 – Finalist Jamie Belknap
I’m traveling out to Spokane, Washington. I’m talking to Jamie Belknap. Jamie is a finalist in Extreme Huntress. Jamie, welcome to your special show.
This is exciting.
Jamie, let’s talk about why you’re a finalist in Extreme Huntress.
I am a finalist in Extreme Huntress for the second year in a row. I didn’t do as good as I wanted to. I didn’t do as good as I thought I would. I had some personal things going on back home. I was six months away from getting a divorce. I decided I deserve to do it again for myself. After a long time thinking and saying, “Should I apply again?” I was talked into it by myself honestly. I applied again as Jamie Belknap with my maiden name and gave myself the second chance that I didn’t think would ever come on again. I applied again and I’m so thankful I did because I was able to meet three amazing women from all around the world and show the Extreme Huntress what I was capable of because the first year I didn’t think I did my best. That’s why I applied for the second year in a row. It was awesome and I can’t wait for all the episodes to air.
Where are they’re airing?
The episodes are airing on Facebook. They are on Extreme Huntress’ website, Roku and Amazon Fire.
Folks, go to what www.ExtremeHuntress.com?
Yes, or I have a Facebook page. That’s Jamie Belknap Extreme Huntress 2019. Extreme Huntress has been sharing all the episodes on their Facebook. They’re about fifteen minutes long and they air every Sunday.
Don’t ever let a man outshoot you. Share on XTell us about the experience down in Texas. What ranch was that again?
We started out at FTW Ranch, where you have this SAAM training for the first three days. We went to a privately-owned whitetail ranch for the remaining days of the week. It was pretty awesome at the FTW Ranch. We got the opportunity to be trained by the world-known amazing military sniper trainers and the things that they taught, I can say they made me a better shot. I didn’t know that you’re supposed to do some of the things that they told us to do. I’ve honestly never had a professional sniper stand over me and say, “This is how you do it correctly.”
That was probably my biggest takeaway from that entire trip was learning how to shoot long range with a long range scope and knowing how to use the turrets. When I go to the range, I’m basically shooting either my scope or my friend’s scope that they’re dialing in the MOA. They’re not telling me how to do it. I didn’t even know what MOA meant until I went to this SAAM training. Now that I know “minute of angle” means and how to dial in the scope and how to shoot long range properly, I don’t think that anything could stop me.
Let’s take three top takeaways that you learn about shooting from your training.
The number takeaway I had from my shooting was, they call it a booger flicker. What it is, is with my trigger, I was breathing but I wasn’t holding my fingers still on the trigger. It was like, “One, two, three, shoot,” versus take a breath and slowly squeeze rather than moving my finger. That helped me with my control a lot. That was hard for me at first because I’m also an archery hunter. I’m so used to pulling up through my shot with my release. When I’m laying there and I have the trigger, my fingers able to move. That was my number one biggest takeaway was trigger control. My second one was they call it building a house. You have the gun completely stable beneath you. They gave us these gloves to wear. I don’t remember the exact term of the glove and to hold underneath the stock. Your hand is generally on your shoulder and you have absolute complete control of the rifle. My third takeaway was learning how to use the turret system on a long distance rifle because that was something that I had always wanted to learn.
You talk about the hunting tradition and yours is rich because in your bio you nail it right from the get-go. Let’s talk about that Jamie Belknap’s hunting tradition.
What you’re mentioning in the bio is when I said I did not get into hunting, I was born into it. I’ve been saying that for years so deep in my heart. Because I learned how to read reading hunter ed books. I got my hunting license when I was eight because every night watching hunting shows with my family. When my friends were going on family trips, they were going to Disneyland and I was going to Africa or they were going to California and I was going to Wyoming doing antelope hunting. It was something that I didn’t even think twice of it. I didn’t know why none of my other friends were going hunting.
I didn’t know why my friends didn’t know what a bear tasted like because that’s how my brother and I grew up. I will never forget my grandfather and I were extremely close. I was the only female Belknap, but when grandpa died, the last thing he said to me is don’t ever let a man outshoot you. I’ve never forgotten that. For me, getting my friends involved in hunting so they can understand why I’m never home on the weekends from September to February, why I am always gone. I want it to be able to share these experiences with them so they can carry on the tradition and maybe hopefully raise their children in the same way that I was raised.
If somebody wants to vote for Jamie Belknap, how do they do that?
Make sure to have a positive light and a good intent for what hunting actually is. Share on XIf you want to vote for me for Extreme Huntress, head to ExtremeHuntress.com. There is a 2019 voting tab in the top right corner. Scroll down, find my name, click for me if you want. The other girls are awesome. You can vote for them too, but I’m asking you to vote for me. You type in your email and you will get an email from PollDaddy.com. Once you get the vote from PollDaddy.com, you must confirm it because there are up to 600 votes that have not been confirmed yet so they did not count. If you follow me on Instagram, the link is in my bio.
We meet in the airport and we’re traveling hunting someplace and I go, “You’re Jamie Belknap. I heard you’re a finalist in Extreme Huntress. Why should I vote for you?”
You should vote for me because I feel even once this competition is over, I will still be positive advocates for hunting. Not only female hunting but hunting in general and being able to get other people involved is important to me. If you vote for me, you will help me be a positive light in the hunting industry. There’s so much negativity and there’s so much wrong going on. That’s my job and the other finalist for Extreme Huntress to make sure that we have a positive light and a good intent for what hunting is.
You’re an ambassador for hunting for a whole year, is that correct?
Even if don’t win Extreme Huntress, I will continue to be because I didn’t win.
How does somebody vote for Jamie Belknap?
You head to www.ExtremeHuntress.com. There is a 2019 voting tab in the top right corner. You can click my name and vote for me. Type in your email. You will get an email from PollDaddy.com to confirm your vote.
Where on social media can they find Extreme Huntress?
Extreme Huntress is all over Facebook. It’s on the Extreme Huntress Facebook page, my page, all the other girls’ pages. We also have an Instagram page. Extreme Huntress Official is their Instagram page. I’m all over Instagram with the Extreme Huntress journey.
Let people know again about the heart, soul and the passion that you have for hunting.
Aside from Extreme Huntress, I’m also a board member for Northwest Sportsmans Club, which is a nonprofit organization we started here in town. We do free hunter education, and disabled shoots and hunts, and getting the community involved with the hunting and fishing. What I do for the club is I am the chairman for our Track Chair campaign. At our annual banquet, we raised over $20,000 to give away a wheelchair with snowmobile tracks from TracFab to be able to get somebody back out in the woods doing what we all love. We were able to give away two.
We’re hoping to give away three track chairs. Aside from Extreme Huntress and aside from me teaching first grade and getting my friends involved in hunting, I’m also very big in the community here in Spokane with getting other women, youth, disabled hunters, everybody in the community to get them into hunting. It is my duty when I wake up in the morning to be a positive advocate for not only female hunters, but youth hunters, disabled hunters, and hunting as a whole. It’s something I’m extremely passionate about.
With that, we’re going to say thank you, Jamie Belknap, for representing women across the globe and being a finalist in Extreme Huntress 2019.
important Links:
- Jamie Belknap
- Extreme Huntress
- PollDaddy.com
- Instagram – Jamie’s Instagram
- Extreme Huntress – EH Instagram
- Extreme Huntress Facebook – EH Facebook
about Jamie Belknap
Hello, my name is Jamie Belknap from Spokane Valley, Washington. Last year I was a finalist on EH, but last year I was Jamie McCarthy from Idaho. I am applying again because Extreme Huntress taught me so much about myself that I did not know was possible. It lit a fire inside of me that I do not think can be put out. Over the past year I was able to hunt in Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Before Extreme Huntress, hunting has always been a passion of mine, but now I cannot think of anything else that makes me feel so at peace.
I can remember being very young hunting with my family, not knowing that my friends were not spending every weekend in the woods like my family was. Because from a very young age, hunting was my life and it was normal. It was normal to be picked up from school to go sit in the deer stand. As I stated last year, I have been able to hunt in Namibia, Alaska and all over the US. I want to raise a daughter one day with the same values and passion that my family has instilled in me. I want to continue to promote female hunting in a positive light and share my passion with others.
Extreme Huntress allowed me to make many life long friends and hunting companions. The producers, judges, cameramen, and guides at YO allowed us ladies to bond, explore our inner strengths as individual huntresses while working alongside with each other. I want to push myself to better myself as a hunter and learn from other ladies the techniques in which they have brought to the competition.
I believe that my work and growth is not done. The milestones that I have accomplished as a young female hunter have just begun and I am willing to push myself for my own growth, but more importantly so that I can take these skills and ideas home to the Pacific Northwest to continue educating other women and youth in my area.
This year if I make it back down to the Legendary YO Ranch Headquarters, I will do whatever it takes to take home the title.