MEN NOT NEEDED ON THIS HUNT WOMEN HAVE AN ALL-FEMALE OUTING TO SHOOT WILD BOARS.

Byline: Rochelle Kaplan Special to the Daily News

LEBEC - This time, it would be the men's turn to stay home and take care of the kids and household chores. It would be the husbands who'd become envious about what their wives were doing.

This time, it would be a women-only bowhunt, designed to afford female hunters the confidence to track wild hogs.

``When I hunt with my husband and he pushes me and says, `C'mon, go get him,' I just choke,'' said Cindy Seitz-Krug, a mother of two from Bakersfield. ``He puts so much pressure on me when we hunt together. It's crazy. I put enough pressure on myself.''

One of five female participants at a recent women's-only event on acreage specifically designated for bowhunting at the privately owned, 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch in Lebec, Seitz-Krug could be considered a veteran hunter, having previously shot pigs as well as an elk. Looking forward to this unique occasion, she had to diplomatically discourage her husband from coming along by emphasizing that it's ``only women, honey'' and ``we always hunt together, anyway.''

After four unsuccessful years of trying to put together an all-women's bowhunt at Tejon Ranch - known for its wild Russian hogs - Don Smith, owner of Big Country Outfitters in Simi Valley, pulled off the feat with the help of Sandy McCain, a member of the California Archery Hall of Fame. A distinguished archer and bowhunter who holds numerous records and has been both a state- and national-level archery and bowhunting champion many times, McCain works to promote the sport that dominates her life and the life of her family.

``It's important for the women to transfer the confidence they got from their husbands to themselves,'' said McCain, who teaches archery and bowhunting at the Department of Fish and Game's Becoming an Outdoors Woman program, as well as at the National Wild Turkey Federation's Women in the Outdoors. ``Women are always so busy taking care of everyone else, like making sure everyone else in the family has new equipment and neglecting to buy things for themselves. They need to take time for themselves, too. By doing this with other women, they gain so much confidence. The fellowship of the women is what it's all about.''

Persevering in his quest to create an annual excursion for the ladies - and with the assistance of McCain - Smith was pleased to finally host the inaugural event, which he plans to continue every November. Rather than being dismayed that only five women ultimately signed up for the weekend - three others backed out at the last minute - Smith sees it as a solid beginning, with more and more women participating in the future.

``I always thought this would be a kick to do,'' said Smith, a retired cement truck driver who's been in the guiding business for six years. ``The terrain here is easy. This is something I know they can do. I know they can develop a knack for tracking pigs here. And, if they can be successful hunting pigs, they can hunt anything.''

Along with McCain and Seitz-Krug were first-time game hunters Colleen Reagan of San Diego, Renee Marshall of Pine Valley and Cyndee Musser of Bakersfield. Marshall and Regan's archery-equipment outfitter and instructor, Jim Velazquez, accompanied the women, serving as guide and mentor. According to Reagan, Marshall and Musser, all three husbands gave their blessings and encouragement as they headed off on their own.

Marshall, a San Diego-based escrow officer who came close to hitting a pig on several occasions Saturday, persevered and cleanly killed one at exactly 7 a.m. Sunday morning. Although she'd been tracking an enormous, vociferous boar hidden within the wild-grape canopy on the Vaquero field adjacent to the ranch house, she was not disappointed when a few smaller, more-youthful males bounded from their refuge and stopped just 20 yards in front of her. Focusing solely on the shot and calm beyond words, she let the arrow sail at the precise moment the hog stepped forward, exposing his vulnerable spot: just below the rib cage.

``It was picture-friggin perfect,'' said Marshall of her first-ever harvest. ``Everything you want to go right, did. It was awesome.''

Not only had she attained her goal of killing a pig, but Marshall did it without the supervision of either a guide or her husband. Like many female hunters, Marshall became accustomed to hunting with her husband for moral support. Fiercely independent, she yearned to do it solo.

``It was time to cut the umbilical cord from my husband and go hunting with the girls,'' said Marshall, who's into her second season of hunting. ``It's a big step, but it builds up your confidence. Without your husband as your backbone and your support, scenarios come up, and you need to know what to do.

``Now, after being around all these women and getting to know them, I won't need my husband anymore. We'll still continue to hunt together, though.''

Musser, on the other hand, was a hunting widow for the past six years. She'd successfully resisted husband Glen's constant prodding to come hunting with him until recently.

``My husband had been bugging me to come hunting with him for the past two years,'' said Musser, a stay-at-home mother of two. ``He always said to me, `I want you to be like Mom,' because his mother always hunted with his father. I finally gave in so we'd have something to do together.''

Coincidentally for Musser, Glen was on hand all weekend for the women's hunt because he's a part-time guide for Big Country Outfitters. Working every other weekend at the ranch as Smith's right-hand man, Glen's turn just happened to fall on the same weekend as the women's hunt. With very little 3-D animal practice, but under the expert guidance of her husband, Musser shot her first pig on the first day of the hunt on the Vaquero field, adjacent to the ranch house. Unfortunately, after tracking its blood trail the next morning and finding a lightly bloodied, intact arrow in the brush, Smith and Glen determined that the wound was most likely superficial.

``We kind of owe it to the animal to find them, and we look for them until we don't find any more blood,'' Smith said. ``Since no vitals were hit, she'll probably heal up.''

Still, Musser was awestruck at having hit the sow at all, especially since she uses only 30 pounds of draw weight.

``Glen kept saying, `Aren't you excited?' and I'm like, `I don't know. I don't know how I feel,' '' Musser said. ``His heart was racing, though. I could feel it.''

Not one to mince words about his favorite pastime, Glen said, ``I tell you, I've shot a lot of animals, and this was the most exciting one ever. Now, I think I've created a monster. Pretty soon, it's going to be, `Bye, honey, I'm going hunting.' ''

After briefing the women Friday afternoon on the topography of the region as well as to the location of the pigs, Smith drove everyone to a restricted part of the ranch called the ``Monte.'' He'd counted 60 wild pigs there during the past two weeks and deemed the area an excellent spot to hunt. Although no one got a pig the first day, Smith had no doubts about their abilities.

``It's a learning experience, but these ladies are tough,'' Smith said. ``I told them, `You ladies know how to shoot and you just have to go out there and put something on the ground. If it's under 150 pounds, you shouldn't have any problems.' ''

With that in mind, and just after Marshall released her deadly arrow, Reagan shot at a boar that she assumed to be ``about 90-100 pounds.'' Hunting in the same Vaquero vicinity but to the west of Marshall, Reagan saw only the top half of the pig because the wild grape obscured a complete view.

``As soon as I heard (on the two-way radio) that Renee got a pig, I had pulled back on my bow, but I shot high,'' Reagan said. ``The arrow stuck in his back and then he just walked away through the trees like nothing happened.''

Heading toward the Vaquero after hearing about Marshall's kill, Smith, Glen Musser and Velazquez observed through their binoculars what they judged to be a 275-pound boar strutting about with an arrow in his back. Confirming the hit wasn't life threatening and then finding the arrow shaft - the pig would eventually work the broadhead out of its hide - Glen told Reagan that had she aimed lower and killed him, she would have had a lot of envious men around her. Especially in view of the fact she uses 50 pounds of draw weight when most men use between 60-80.

``Women have great intuition, and they should use it,'' Smith said. ``If all women could shoot 60 pounds, the men would be in trouble.''

Marshall, a slender woman of average height, uses 55 pounds of draw weight, and McCain - a 30-year veteran - uses 65 pounds. Marshall equips her arrows with 75-grain, 3-bladed fixed broadheads and plastic vanes. McCain, conversely, uses feathers. All of the women, however, agree on one thing: Bowhunting is the most ethical way to harvest an animal.

``When you're matching wits with the animal,'' Seitz-Krug said, ``you become the predator. Bowhunting is just more personal because you're right there with the animal, not 300 yards away with a rifle.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) Cyndee Musser of Bakersfield was one of five women who participated in a recent females-only bowhunt in Tejon Ranch in Lebec.

(2) Renee Marshall of Pine Valley poses with her first-ever wild boar, which she recently hunted at an all-females bowhunt in Lebec's Tejon Ranch.

(3) Renne Marshall is on the lookout for wild boars through high brush during the recent all-female bowhunt at the Tejon Ranch in Lebec.

Rochelle Kaplan/Special to the Daily News