Passing The Torch: An Interview With Brenda Valentine "First Lady Of Hunting®" Part 2

Brenda, above, wearing Mossy Oak Obsession with her Mossy Oak Custom-Fit Seat Covers, available here.

Now that the spring season is here with Turkey hunting at its peak, ProMaster Parts were fortunate enough to talk with Brenda Valentine, the First Lady of Hunting® and a renowned spokesperson for the National Wild Turkey Federation.

During the second part of our discussion we touched upon her involvement with the NWTF, and her own personal hunting preferences.

Be sure to first read part 1 of our interview.

With your current involvement within the hunting community, you’re also a spokesperson for the NWTF (National Wild Turkey Federation). Could you tell us a little about your involvement with them and how you’re joining in with the turkey hunting this spring season?

Yes, I’ve been a national spokesperson for 10 years for the National Wild Turkey Federation, and in doing that I’m a liaison between our volunteers in the field and the corporate headquarters. I go to different states to encourage and tell people what the latest happenings are. Recently they (The NWTF) made a statement on how they stand on changes in gun laws, and maybe next time it’ll be about new habitats or maybe it’ll be about releasing turkeys in new areas. We’re also very heavily involved with our veterans, our children, and our women. I go to different activities, whether it’s a women-in-the-outdoors weekend where they learn all kinds of outdoors skills, or maybe it’s a social turkey hunt for kids or disabled people and wounded veterans. There’s no two (activities) that are exactly alike. There are activities every week, and sometimes I travel extensively just doing speaking engagements to outdoors people.

So a lot more giving back?

Oh yes, that’s what it’s all about. Spreading the word of conservation.

So touching on some aspects of hunting which are more personal to you, I’ve heard that you’re more passionate about hunting with a bow than anything else. What is it that connects you to the bow so much?

Well you’ve got to be a better hunter for one thing! It tests your skills. You have to get closer, you have to be more precise with your shot placements, and it’s a quieter, more peaceful time in the outdoors. I love bow hunting because it’s almost an art form. It’s comparable to fly fishing compared to trotlines, because you have to have the skill to be successful and you have to also be a better woodsman. With the stalking and quietness, it just requires so much of you. It raises the bar as a hunter.

So when hunting with a bow (or hunting in general really) what’s the most enjoyable part for you? The chase or the catch?

Oh, always the chase! Because you’re just matching wits, and you know from the get go that you are outwitted because God gave the animals so many more intense senses to protect themselves. You know that they have the advantage. Their hearing is better, their eyesight is better, their nose is better, and just every once in a while you get lucky. But no amount of high-tech tools will ever match the instincts that an animal has. So it’s definitely the chase. But honestly, though there are a lot of times when the chase is fulfilling, it also comes down to the bottom line of we like the meat. I’m here right now marinating a wild turkey breast that I took last week which I’m going to grill tonight, so every once in a while you like to be successful just to fill your freezer.

That’s great. Well hopefully we get the chance to talk again in the future, so as one final question until then; at this point in your career, having been a hunter for so long, are there any goals that you have for yourself in the near future?

Not as far as a huge hunting goals, such as taking a specific animal or anything like that. I guess my goal is to spend as much time in the outdoors as possible. I live on a farm so I’m enjoying improving habitats. My goals are to provide good habitats for a large variety of animals, from honeybees and songbirds, to white-tailed deer. I’ve also been out doing prescribed burns on grassland and so on. You know, really I guess my goal is to maintain good health and enjoy every minute that I can outdoors.

Thank you very much for taking your time to do this interview with us Brenda. Enjoy the spring season!