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Bruce: Okay. I’m going to count it down. Five, four, three, two, one. Hello everybody out there in the Whitetail Rendezvous community. This is Bruce Hutcheon your host. And this morning we have a very special lady joining us, Aimee Burnett. And if you go to her website of Cosmopolitan Huntress and read you’ll find a lot of information about her. You go to her Facebook account, you’ll find the same thing. This lady is a lady who takes on the challenge in the outdoors, and more than that she shares her passion. Aimee welcome to the show.
Aimee: Thanks for having me Bruce.
Bruce: Okay. Let’s right jump into it. Cosmopolitan Huntress. Let’s talk about that.
Aimee: Okay. What do you want to know?
Bruce: Okay. Tell me about that… Where was the genesis of Cosmopolitan Huntress?
Aimee: I was creating a blog that I really wanted to be for women. But I wanted it to appeal to the women out there that are growing but they like to hunt. They don’t mind getting dirty but they also like to put on a cute dress and go out with their husbands now and again, because I come from a world where, or I came from a world living in Los Angeles for six years, where the women didn’t get dirty, and they had this very obscure view of women in the outdoors. They were either very masculine or, I don’t know how to explain this. They just viewed outdoor women as being nasty women, horrorish [SP], and almost tough talking. And I found in my years in the outdoors that that is just very much the opposite. I know a lot of women, they like to dress up and look cute, but they also when it’s time to go out and hunt, provide for their families, they are ready to put on their camo and head out the door fearless and excited about the adventure. So Cosmopolitan came from that magazine Cosmopolitan Huntress. I thought they were almost an oxymoron to some people.
Bruce: Let’s bring it back. Let’s talk about the hunting tradition. Where did your hunting tradition come from?
Aimee: My hunting tradition originated as a young child. My father hunts. He was in the navy, so we traveled a lot and he didn’t get to do a lot of hunting as I was growing up. He mostly hunted with my brothers when I was very young. But my grandfather hunted, and I spent a lot of time with him during high school hunting Mule deer in South-central Oregon. And it’s some of the best moments of my life were spent with him on the hunt. And that really was part of my interest in hunting, and the realization of feeding your family and what it means. And the respect that I have for these animals that give their lives to feed my family. That all started with my grandfather. And as I got older and I went through college, the hunting, I dint have an opportunity to do it. I was very involved in other aspects of my life. And then I met my husband, and he was an avid hunter. And we started going out bird hunting mostly and then gaming. And bought me my first shot gun. And it really started there, and then it just kind of developed into the deer hunting. And about four years ago, he bought me a bow. I mean that’s when it became real to me because to me there’s nothing like bow hunting.
Bruce: What type of bow do you shoot?
Aimee: Hoyt Target Vicxen.
Bruce: Arrows? What type of arrows?
Aimee: I don’t know what type of arrows. I didn’t even do an [inaudible 00:04:46]. They just gave them to me at the archery shop. I trust that guy Caleb down at Advantage Archery here in Twin Falls. He knows what he’s talking about. But I do shoot the DRT Dirt Nap gear, Dead Right There broadheads.
Bruce: Okay.
Aimee: And those are amazing broadheads. They shoot just like your field tips. There is no adjustment that I had to make when I put those on.
Bruce: Are they fixed blade?
Aimee: Pardon me?
Bruce: Are they fixed blade or mechanical? Do they open up when you hit a deer?
Aimee: No those are illegal here in Idaho.
Bruce: Okay.
Aimee: We can’t have those. So…
Bruce: So three blades or two blades?
Aimee: Two.
Bruce: And we’ll talk more about gears latter part of the show. Let’s just jump right in to the women. You are in the media yourself. And what do you hear out there? Just share with our listeners what you are hearing about women in the outdoors.
Aimee: Well, I think there’s a great deal of misunderstanding, I guess would be the best way to put that. People who don’t understand the hunting lifestyle they, not all of them, but they seem to come up with their own ideas of what it’s about. And I feel like women are more targeted. And personally I believe it because they view us as being weaker which there couldn’t be anything further from the truth. Women are strong and we take care of our families, we take care of our husbands, we go out and work for a prime job then we still manage to hunt on the side. So we do a lot of multitasking, and we are strong individuals. And I think that’s why we are targeted a lot by people who don’t understand the lifestyle. But I have found that the extreme antis that are just so far gone with their views and everything, you are not going to get through to them, but it’s the people that just don’t know anything about it and are curious. And we’ve talked to a lot of people, my husband and I and “Oh I don’t approve of hunting” and why not? What’s going on? I don’t agree in you killing those animals.” And we’re like, “Do you eat meat? Do you want to grab a good steak?” Well so do we do? We just go out and harvest it our self. It’s all about feeding our family.
And my husband and I have an enjoyable time talking to people and explaining to them that it’s not about the killing, it’s about feeding our family, and it’s about the adventure. You feel so close with Mother Nature and God when you are out there. So I think the misconceptions just comes from a lack of understanding. And the more women go out and show that this is not what you think it is and we explain how it works and what it means to our family, the more we are going to have success in helping people understand that it’s much more than killing.
Bruce: And killing is part of the hunt. What I say it’s the exclamation point.
Aimee: Right.
Bruce: It’s finishing the goal and achieving that which we set out to do. Put meat on the table.
Aimee: Right.
Bruce: Enjoying the hunt with your husband. But in the end I believe that every hunter out there, honors the game that they take. They take a second and they think how fortunate they are, one to be in our country. And two, that they have the ability to hunt. Would you agree with that?
Aimee: Absolutely. There is such a blessing to be able to go out and harvest your own food, and do so in a free country. And knowing that you are going to be able to provide for your family. And every time we harvest an animal, you feel for that animal, you are grateful that that animal gave its life so that you can live and that you can provide for your family. My husband and I always the first thing we do is we kneel down over the animal and we say a prayer. We are grateful and we are thankful that God has blessed us with his bounty.
Bruce: A month or so ago I shared a post about the last branch in Europe, Germany specifically. Every time they harvest an animal, they kill an animal they go and get a green branch and they bend down and they place it on the deer’s nose, mouth and they honor the game. Because in Europe, there’s a European a model that’s quite different than the North American model, we won’t get into that today. But for hundreds and hundreds and thousands of years, people have been honoring the game that they take. And I think our listeners, if you are not doing that think about it the next time. Aimee let’s talk about a subject that I’ve seen on blogs for women about the derogatory and I’m going to use the word vicious tweets sand texts and phone calls that are happening to some women who posted on Facebook, in a magazine by anti-hunters. What’s your take on all that?
Aimee: Well, a couple of weeks back I posted something on my Facebook regarding the hunter who lost his life in Africa to an elephant. And I was really disillusioned by some of the things that were posted by people who I believed to be my friends, but they were almost, they weren’t almost. They were celebrating the death of his hunter. Saying, “Karma. He got what he deserved.” And those people have been unfriended at this moment because I will never ever celebrate the death of a human being regardless. I don’t care what the person has done that I don’t believe in. I never celebrate the death of a human being. It’s not right. So I posted this thing talking about the role the hunting on conservation it plays. And for that end, trophy hunting. Now I’m not a trophy hunter. I hunt to feed my family. I hunt for meat. I have no interest in trophy. But I do understand that there is an incredible role that trophy hunting plays in conservation. That is a big dollars [00:12:41] to go back in to saving the very animal that they are hunting. So for instance, you may kill one elephant plus the money that you provide will protect 30, 100 other elephants in the process.
So I spent an entire Saturday morning dealing with antis on my Facebook page. And trying to explain posting scientific data and articles about the role that hunting in conservation plays. And some of those articles were published by people who are not hunters. It’s just simply people who had gone out and researched and said, “Okay. In the beginning I would have said this, but this is what the research shows.” And honestly what I learned from that experience is that these are extremists. The people that get on there and threaten your children, threaten my two-year-old and five-year-old daughter with death, because they don’t agree with what I do and then call me a sociopath. Okay who’s threatening death on two children? Not me, never.
So I really believe that those people are just like any group of people, they are extremists and nobody extremist in the anti. And you are never getting through to them, you are wasting your breath. And I posted a blog, posted it earlier this week about getting together to preserve our heritage. And I really believe that they are targeting women because they do view us as being weaker. I mean women are not weaker, we are strong, and we are multi-taskers. And especially the woman that hunt. We are going out, we are harvesting our food and we are feeding our family and we are protecting our animals, and preserving our heritage for years to come. We’re not weak.
Bruce: So for our listeners, which does have a mix of women. Right now we are running pretty close to 20%. All the data from the social networks and how somebody figures all that out. But we are running that 20%. So to that 20% that are listening today and more will join tomorrow because this is important, listeners this is important because there’s increasing evidence that women are definitely being targeted. And the things that anti or extremist are saying are absurd, vicious, maligning up to the point of threatening children. What is that all about? You have to figure out why you are hunting, why you are listening to the show and then just like Aimee said, get the research to support a position. Are you ever going to change one person’s mind that feels that you don’t have the right to do what you do? You don’t have the right to harvest an animal? I simply say to all those people, next time you have a steak, I wouldn’t eat it. Because something died so you could eat that steak.
Aimee: Well, I also believe that aside from them believing we are weaker, which those who are bullies target. Bullies target the weak. And these antis that are threatening your children, your family, they are bullies. They don’t have empathy and foresight. Women are the fastest growing demographic in the hunting industry.
Bruce: Yes ma’am.
Aimee: That’s why we are a target. If you can shake out the fastest growing group you are going to sit and make a huge blow to the industry. But they are no taking us out because we are still growing and we are still strong. And we are not afraid of them.
Bruce: No you are not. And I’m happy that you are saying exactly what you are saying on the show, because women need to hear that. I talked to the huntress Jess yesterday. And she talked about empowering women, building confidence in women and helping women. Not just talking about it but physically helping women find out what hunting is all about, what just being in the outdoors is about, because we already talked about it. It’s the sunrises, it’s the sunset, it’s the time spending with another human being and something that was created for us to enjoy. I mean I can go on and on. But thanks for sharing that. Let’s twist it up a little bit, and talk about Bella’s First Hunting Adventure.
Aimee: This is my– this is a book that I wrote for my daughter. I was looking for books to teach her about hunting because she was kind of entering into that age where she was going to start going hunting with mum and dad. She loves books and she loves reading and I really wanted to find something that worked for her. And all I found was books about little boys. And I thought no, what better way to talk to little girls who will soon be women and part of our fastest growing demographic than to make a book for a little girl. And it’s not just for a little girl, it’s for all kids. But I wanted the little girls to know that they have just a bigger world in this world and in this industry as little boys.
So [inaudible 00:18:47] I sat down one day on my iPad, and I wrote a book. And I sat on it for about a month. I didn’t know what to do with it. I talked to a friend who is a graphic designer, and she said, “Well, I can do some stuff up for you.” And then I went online and I just Googled publishing a book. And Cape Publishing came up. It’s as a Christian publisher out of Oklahoma. And they said, “Submit your book here.” Okay. I submitted my book and within 18 hours, less than 24 hours I get an email about, “We love your book. We want to move forward.” And it was that quick and it was just that fast. And it’s now published. Took about 10 months to do so, and it was really a great process because I got to be part of the illustrations and the characters in the book are actually drawn who look like me, my husband and my little girl. And it’s been a lot of fun going around and doing some book signing, and talking to little girls about hunting and little boys about hunting and just sharing this dream with them.
Bruce: And for you people out there, it’s on Cosmopolitan Huntress. Bella’s First Hunting Adventures up in the border. And I’ll just read it. Bella’s First Hunting Adventure by Aimee Burnett-Hartwig. For the first time in her life Bella is going hunting. Join Bella and her parents as they travel deep into the woods in pursuit of a buck in Bella’s first hunting adventure. The little huntress soon discovers there’s much more to hunting than she could ever imagine. And where is that, does it sit on Amazon? Or is that through your website? How do people get that book?
Aimee: You can order it through me. There’s also our Facebook page, Bella’s First Hunting Adventure, that has a lot of information on it. But you can order it on my blog. There’s a Bella’s First Hunting Adventure tab. And if you go there, it says order online. And you just click on that and it’s $999 plus tax depending on where you are at. It’s really this, kids love it. And it’s not graphic or really violent in any way. As a heart of a manner, this is about what hunting is to us. This is sustenance for our family and why we hunt, what it brings us as a family which is really about being together and sharing together.
Bruce: You are on a number of pro-staffs, and we’ve got about five minutes left. Just share with anybody, guys, girls who are listening on the show, what it took to get your fist assignment or membership or being tapped in to say, “Hey I want you on pro-staff for Ghostblind [SP]”
Aimee: Really if you go to a lot of these sites, they’ll have places for you to apply for pro-staff. And I think what really helped me out is that I’m always journaling and detailing my hunts and my life and my journey. I think as a pro-staff member that’s what they want. Because the want you out there telling people why their product is the greatest. Really, if you like a company, go see what they’ve got. A lot of times they just have open windows mostly towards the beginning of the year. And that’s kind of how we did it. The Intermountain Taxidermy and Worldwide Adventures was actually a guy who worked with [SP] me here in Twin Falls. He is a wonderful taxidermist. He does beautiful work. And I did a couple of stories with him, through my news station. And we discussed [inaudible 00:22:56] and the next thing I know he’s wanted to take me on as a pro-staff. And it’s been a lot of fun, I really love all of the products and I’m so appreciative of our sponsors because it really makes our job so much easier to have them backing us along the way. So really if you are interested, just go to their website, check it out and see what their requirements are.
Bruce: Also on your website, you have a young man that harvested a bull elk. Can you give me the back story on that please?
Aimee: Yes. This was through a program called Hunt of a Lifetime. Hunt of a Lifetime is a national non-profit that provides hunting and fishing dreams for kids with life threatening illness or injury. This young man was from Kentucky. He was 16-years-old. He was a [inaudible 00:24:00] cancer survivor. And when he’d gone through chemotherapy, they came to him with Make a Wish Foundation. And he said, “Well I don’t want to go to Disney World, I want to go hunting.” And they said. “We don’t do that.” So the next thing he knew, a nurse came in with papers for Hunt of a Lifetime. And then after he got better, and got to feeling better, he came out here to Idaho and I went along for the hunt, it was about three days long. And it was strenuous. We hunted out. We were hunting with little rifles. We were climbing 2000 vertical feet in a day. And we were definitely pushing the limit physically. And this kid was just phenomenal. He was just– I’ve never learned so much from a 16-year-old kid. And I think it’s what he endured during his time in chemo and just his faith in God.
His mum and family were worried about him coming out here, and worrying about him getting sick. And he said, “Nothing’s going to happen to me that God doesn’t want to have happen to me, so stop worrying.” And it’s like he’s 16 and to be that in tune and have that much faith is really special. So we ended up getting him a nice bow for [inaudible 00:25:24] Fairfield, Idaho, [inaudible 00:25:26] bow, beautiful bow, just climbing to the top of the mountain in about 20 minutes racing us up to the top to get a god shot. But it was an adventure and I am a big supporter of that organization.
Bruce: Thank you for sharing that. We are coming up to the point Aimee where it’s open mic. And open mic means you can share whatever wants on your heart, whatever you are passionate about for women to hear and then the gear. Shout out your sponsors. Whatever you want to do, we got about three minutes to go. So Aimee the mic’s yours.
Aimee: All right. As far as my advice for women, if you want to get involved, find another woman is that and I guarantee you she’s going to help you get involved. I love helping women get involved in this industry. We took on two female pro staffers this year. One’s an accomplished huntress, the other one is just starting out. And we did that intentionally because we want to create role models across the board. I want my new girl to share her adventures along the way with all those other new girls out there that go, “Oh my gosh, I’m feeling the same way.” or “I don’t know what to do, what did you do in this instance?” And I have to share my successes and “defeats” if you will. I don’t consider any of them to be defeats because they are all learning experiences. But find a woman, go down to your pro shop, talk to other hunters. I have found so many great people that are just willing to share and help you get you involved in this industry.
And that’s my favorite part about the hunting world. We are one big family, we stick together and we are genuninely supportive of others that are either just getting started or already on their way to the top. So if anybody has questions about hunting, feel free to hit my Facebook page or my blog, message me. I will talk to you, I will point you in the right direction. And my husband and I take youth out every year who maybe parents don’t have time to participate, but the kids are really interested in getting to do that. If you are a hunter and you have the time, offer that help to those youths. We talk to the Idaho Pitching [SP] [inaudible 00:27:59] and say, “If you guys got any kids let us know.” So last year we took out a friend of my husband, the kid shot his first mule deer. And dad is not a hunter, he’s a big fisher but he doesn’t hunt. So it was just a really great experience. And I just encourage women to get out there and explore and have this adventure because it really is just an amazing time. Every time I’m out there I never get disappointed. It’s never monotonous, it’s just a beautiful adventure.
Bruce: Aimee, can you share on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and your social network. How do they find you?
Aimee: On Twitter I’m @cosmohuntress. On Instagram I’m @cosmohuntress. Facebook I’m Cosmopolitan Huntress. And I’m actually on a new one which is called Camo Photo, which is a great App for anybody who is in the hunting world because it’s for all hunting and fishing people. So and I’m @cosmohuntress on that too.
Bruce: Okay. What was that again? Camo Photo?
Aimee: Camo Photo. Yes.
Bruce: Okay.
Aimee: It’s like Instagram, but it’s only for the hunting world. It’s great.
Bruce: And @cosmo. Could you spell that out please?
Aimee: C-O-S-M-O Huntress.
Bruce: I hope everybody got that. And this is the time in the show where we have to say thanks to Aimee Burnett for sharing her thoughts, her passion, and her beliefs with all our listeners. We are a community here at Whitetail Rendezvous and I heard Aimee echo that because whether you are hunting rabbits or elephants, we are all part of the same family. We are all part of keeping this tradition of hunting alive. And one of the biggest challenges we have right now is internally because we are not bringing the youth out of their homes, dropping their IPads or PDAs, all the devices that they have to use their time, use up their time. Yes, it’s fun, games are fun, communicating with their friends is fun but not 24/7 in this man’s opinion. And I got a bunch of grandkids. So listeners, think about how you can make a difference. One, in the hunting traditions. And two, in the life of a child, youth that you know in the neighborhood that unless you ask him, they will never get a chance to get outdoors. And a big shout out to all the women who are on the show because you are the driving force of hunting in America today. And thank you very much for that. Aimee, thanks for being on the show.
Aimee: Thanks a lot Bruce.