She Hunts Too! Part 3

    Editor’s Note-As we wrap up the series about women who enjoy hunting, we end with a seasoned local hunter. Melissa Stark has been hunting for close to a decade and still is setting big goals and bagging big deer. 
    Melissa Stark of Britton has been hunting for nine years. She got started in the sport after seeing her brothers and boyfriend Chad hunt and decided that it looked like a good time. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Stark tried her hand at bow hunting and the love of hunting grew from there.
    Stark rifle hunts but enjoys bowhunting the most. She regularly hunts around Marshall County but also enjoys branching out. “Years back, I offered to be a pack mule for my brother Jeramy’s West River hunt, and he took me up on my offer,” she explained. “And after, we began going each year.”
    She has hunted whitetail and mule deer in South Dakota and Minnesota and is planning a hunt in Wyoming next year. She has put in for elk, antelope and mule deer tags there and is looking forward to targeting new animals. 
    Stark acknowledges that hunting, especially bow hunting, comes with unique challenges. “Nobody wants it to happen, and some won’t admit it if it does, but wounding a deer can happen to the best of us,” she stressed. “We always want a clean kill and no suffering for the animal.  I have great respect for them, so I always feel some guilt when I take a life, but I feel worse if I wound it.” 
    Yet, Stark loves the experience of hunting and the environment it lands her in. “Sitting in a tree. Being still. The smells. The hike. The crisp air. The sunrises. The sunsets. Watching all of the animals,” Stark answers when asked what she most enjoys about the sport. 
    She added, “I recently read a quote about bowhunters: ‘Most bowhunters understand that much of the time, they carry more going into the woods than they do coming out,’ and that is very true.  As bowhunters, we walk out of the woods empty handed 90% of the time, but for a lot of us, it’s what we leave behind that makes it successful.”
    Stark recalls one of her best hunts taking place during archery season last winter. After some bad seasons in the previous years, plus that big ice storm last November, Stark admits that she was feeling cursed. Yet, ever determined, she and her boyfriend Chad cleared ice-damaged trees from their hunting area and set up a blind in a new spot.
    After two fruitless days, fatigue almost led her to skip a morning hunt. However, a last-minute change in wind direction prompted a reluctant decision to go out, despite a heated vest and electric socks with dead batteries and missing gear. 
    In the blind, after an hour and a half of nothing, a doe came into Stark’s view. And then a monster buck appeared. She thought her chances to bag the buck had slipped away when it backed off. Then she recalled an extra shooting lane suggested by Chad, and the animal had walked right into it. 
    “I kept whispering under my breath, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ because I dreamt of this moment for the last eight years. It was so perfect, what an opportunity - I better not mess it up, I thought.” 
    Stark’s shot was true! She patiently waited for another hour to leave her blind. She and Chad tracked the huge deer and located it within 75 yards. The culmination of eight years of dreams and perseverance, Stark’s big buck will soon be displayed on her wall. 
    When asked what advice she would give to other women who are interested in hunting but haven’t tried it, Stark offers encouragement and possibly even assistance. 
    “Don’t be afraid to ask for help to learn,” she emphasized. “Most hunters love showing newbies the ropes, and most of us will answer questions all day long because we love talking about hunting so much.  The hunting community will support you along the way.  And if I’m not in a tree myself, I’ll come help you dress and drag your deer.”