Angie Haas Tennison 2011 Extreme Huntress Winner!

In a contest that is fast becoming the “Miss America” of the hunting world, a new queen has been crowned! This contest does not involve evening gowns or swimsuits but beautiful, accomplished  and  extremely serious hunting women.

At the upcoming January 17-21, 2011 SHOT Show in Las Vegas; Angie Haas-Tennison will be awarded the title of  2011 Primal Adventures/Prois Hunting Extreme Huntress. The big event will be held at the Prois Hunting Apparel booth in the Sands Expo Center during a reception and press conference. The event will be attended by some of the biggest names in the hunting industry.

Rebecca Francis the 2010 winner went on the hunting trip of a lifetime will be on hand to help award Angie her prize package worth over $20,00 that includes a New Zealand hunt for tahr, chamois,and fallow deer with Fraser Safaris New Zealand and all of the necessary gear such as optics,clothing,boots,firearm and ammo.

The Extreme Huntress contest began in August with each contestant submitting an essay and photo explaining why she is a hard-core hunter. The judges narrowed the field down to 10 and in November the top 10 scored entries were posted on the Tahoe Films, Primal Adventures website where the hunting public was invited to vote through January 1, 2011.

The judging panel for the 2011 contest included hunting notables such as Larry Weishuhn host of  the Winchester Whitetail Revolution, Guy Eastman of Eastman Hunting Journal, Prois Hunting Apparel CEO Kirstie Pike, Sport’s Afield editor Dianna Rupp, Chris Brackett from Arrow Affliction T.V Rebecca Francis the 2010 Extreme Huntress and Tom Opre Host of Primal Adventures.

I asked Angie some questions  about winning this prestigious award and here is what she said…

Q. How did you feel when you were told you won?
A. On Jan 1st. all of my family and friends were watching the clock and the votes like a hawk.   We were all so nervous that something would happen and one of the other contestants would all of a sudden get a spree of votes and I would lose in the final hours.  Even when the website announced that the online voting had ended, I was still a ball of nerves until I finally got an Email from Tom Opre asking for my personal info to book a flight to the ATA show.  That pretty much cemented to me that I had officially won and a whole new set of nerves took over….now it was nervous anticipation, excitement and also a sense of relief and accomplishment.

A. My sister, Mickey Carr, and I have been hunting partners our entire life.  We are very close in age and have shared almost every hunting experience together.  One day she called me up and said that someone had told her about this contest called the “Extreme Huntress contest”.  She told me that she thought I’d be perfect for it and should enter.  My sister has good instincts both in the field and out so I took her advice and thank God I did.

A. Whatever type is successful! hahaha…. honestly I love to hunt.  I’d hunt anything and everything I could if given the chance.  My most favorite type of hunting here in Montana has to be archery hunting for Bull elk.  There is nothing more exciting than hearing the scream of a bull in the distance and then working the wind and terraine in an attempt to make a sneak on him. Talk about an aderinline rush.  I also get that same rush during the white tail rut trying to rattle in a big buck.  I can rattle for hours.  I’m just certain that the buck is going to come in if I just give him five more minutes….

A. Maybe I should give you the old stand by quote of ” my favorite place to hunt is in the woods!” HAHA
I love Montana and have basically done the majority of my hunting in my great home state. So, Montana takes the cake for me. Although each hunting experience offers something new and unforgettable. I was able to join my husband on a Grizzly bear hunt in Northern B.C. He won the hunt through a raffle for the wild sheep foundation, and that was an amazing experience I’ll never forget.  While I went to school and worked in Minnesota I spent some time hunting pheasants, ducks, geese and whitetails in the farmlands of western Minnesota.  It was a totally different type of hunt then hunting in the mountains and thick forests and it gave me a new appreciation and awareness of the migrations of the waterfowl and the ability of a deer to totally disappear into the smallest patch of tall grass or brush in an area where you’d swear no animal could hide.   I dream of someday being able to hunt the world.  When I think of future vacations I’d like to take they always revolve around what type of animal I’d like to hunt and what amazing new adventure that it could take me on.

A. I am married to my wonderful and competitive hunting husband Travis Tennison and we have 2 beautiful children,  our daughter Quin is 4.5 and our son Trent is 1.5.  We live just outside of Kalispell Montana up in NorthWestern Montana in Glacier park country.  We spend every minute that we can in the outdoors and we joke that we only work to afford to Hunt.  Our children could both say Buck and Elk before they could even say Mom or Dad.  My Daughter and Son can both cow call and bugle.  My daughter keeps asking when its going to be HER turn to shoot the buck. As for my work,  I am a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologist ( MRI tech) at Health Center Northwest in Kalispell. Which means that I am the person who puts you in the noisy tube and takes pictures of your insides.  I went to school at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis MN.  After school I worked in BonnersFerry, Idaho as a mammagraphy/ xray tech, and worked for several years for a Mobile Imaging company based out of Madison, WI where I managed 7 mobile MRI scanners in 3 different states including WI, Iowa, and MN.  I have been very fortunate in my work life and have been able to work with and for some very wonderful individuals and they’ve all been very understanding and tolerant of my hunting addiction.

A. Respect the animals, respect the land, don’t take more than your share, and always give back.   I plan on hunting with my children for as many seasons as God grants me and when its my time to go I want to make sure that my kids have learned from me that in the end Hunting isn’t about killing.  Infact, sometimes the most memorable day you’ll have is one when you come home empty handed but with a great animal encounter, an accomplished hike, a thrilling experience, or just a day full of laughter.

A. I am excited about the possibilities.  I am thrilled about the gear that all the wonderful sponcers will be outfitting me with.  Any hunter loves good quality gear. I can’t wait to meet all the new people I will be introduced to over the next several month and hear all their great hunting stories and share a few of my own.  And of course I can’t wait to go to New Zealand. I want to hear a Red Stag Roar.

Congratulations to Angie Haas Tennison 2011 Extreme Huntress!!

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What a blast! Ok, pun intended!

I went pheasant hunting last Sunday afternoon with my husband, daughter Jenny, our manager Buddy and my daughter’s boyfriend Steven. Since we don’t live in a real terriffic area for pheasants, we drove about 2 hours to Rocky Mountain Roosters located just outside of Calhan, CO for the afternoon.

We arrived at the lodge and kicked around waiting for our  friends and guides Kyle and Melanie Schomaker. We noticed when we parked  a nifty wagon loaded with hundreds of colorful shotgun shell hulls and my first impression of the outside of the complex was, Yippee I am in Pheasant country!

I have hunted in several excellent lodges in this country and initially Rocky Mountain Roosters rated high in my book. I love LOVE pheasant hunting and am always on the look out for  great places to go. I have a fairly simple criteria… many pheasants, great dogs, and comfortable setting. Rocky Mountain Roosters seems to have it all!

We met up with Kyle and Melanie and their very capable assistants, Tyler and Courtney who are also their kids. These teens certainly know their way around the pheasant field and are great assistance to their folks!

We gathered everyone up making sure everyone had enough shells and warm clothes.  Kyle let the first set of dogs out. He has some great German Short-hair dogs! My favorite was Jasmine, or Jazzy for short. She was a special soul that loved her work. Hanna was sweet also as was Bear. Very dedicated well trained pointers all.

We took off and weren’t even out of eyesight from the vehicles and the dogs hit point.  The sky lit up! At least 6 birds got up from several little clumps of bushes.

Jenny and I hit our first birds and several more came down. I was excited that Jenny was having success since she hasn’t hunted pheasants much. She was loving it! I hit a nice rooster and the guys brought 2 or 3 down that time also.

We gathered everyone up and took off down the hill again. Jazzy stopped and pointed to a bush and Steven walked up to it where a couple more birds jumped up. This was the routine for the day.

We spent several hours in the field and everyone came home with their limit. The weather was perfect and the day was simply awesome.

The time outside with my family was precious and there was enough excitement to keep everyone interested and the kids all had a great time together… even the adult ones!

Thanks you  goes out to the Schomaker family for being wonderful guides.

When we finally got home the guys cleaned the birds and I stewed them for Gumbo.

The recipe is easy and very yummy!

Anne’s Pheasant Gumbo

I cook soups and stews in general measurements so you can eyeball these…

2 lbs cooked pheasant meat, deboned

1 lb Polish Sausage (I like Hillshire Farms)

1 small onion

1  small bag of mixed veggies

1 small bag of chopped okra

2 tbs butter

2-3 tbs flour

1 box of chicken stock or 3 cups of water and a little chicken bouillon.

Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning

Cut the sausage into small bite sized pieces and brown them with the chopped onion. Add the butter and let it melt. When the butter melts, add the flour and stir  to coat the meat. Next add the pheasant meat and the rest of the ingredients. Be careful with the Tony Chachere’s seasoning  as it is spicy and salty. I usually add a tablespoon or so to the gumbo and then put it on the table in case people want more. Simmer until thick , usually 1-2 hours. I also put it all in the crock pot frequently.

Serve over cooked rice.

Anne's Pheasant Gumbo

Any woman who has an unforgettable story to tell that demonstrates her hard core hunting skills can enter the contest by submitting a brief essay and photos. Entries will be taken until September 1, 2010…so don’t delay! And, if you thought we couldn’t top the amazing contest package from last year…we did! The winner will receive a New Zealand hunt for chamois, taur, estate stag, fallow deer and even some world class fishing that will be filmed for an upcoming episode of Primal Adventures! This amazing hunt is donated by Fraser Safaris of New Zealand.

In addition, the winner will receive an amazing gear package from Prois, Bowtech, Aimpoint, Swarovski Optics, Otis Technologies, Schnees Boots and Badlands Packs. The winner will also be flown to press conferences at both the Archery Trade Association Show in Indianapolis and the SHOT Show in Las Vegas! Enter now for the experience of a lifetime!

Entries will be taken until September 1, 2010…at which time, our panel of celebrity judges will score each contestant on their story, passion for the hunt and experience. The 2010 celebrity judges include; Chris Brackett of Rut-N-Hard TV and Brackett Outdoors, Diana Rupp- Editor in Chief of Sports Afield, Guy Eastman- publisher of Eastman Hunting Journals, Larry Weishuhn of Winchester World of Whitetails, Rebecca Francis- 2009 Extreme Huntress Winner, Kirstie Pike- CEO Prois Hunting & Field Apparel and Tom Opre of Tahoe Films. The top 10 scoring contestants will be posted on the Tahoe Films website and the online voting will begin.

Enter Now! Contest rules and application can be found at www.tahoefilms.com! Tell us why YOU are the Extreme Huntress of 2010!

REVOLUTIONARY TEAM HUNTRESS OUTDOOR ADVENTURE CLINIC

COMBINES OUTDOOR INSTRUCTION WITH THE PAMPERING WOMEN LOVE

 Just because a woman wants to learn outdoors skills doesn’t mean she wants to stop being a woman. That’s why Team Huntress created the Outdoor Adventure Clinic, a revolutionary three-day event that caters to women who want to learn or expand on their outdoor skills while enjoying beautiful accommodations, spa treatments and the camaraderie of like-minded women.

 Following the resounding success of its inaugural Outdoor Adventure Clinic for women June 12-14 at the Pheasant Phun/OJ Bar Ranch in Hitchcock, S.D., Team Huntress has announced plans for its second clinic to be held at the beautiful Buffalo County Outfitters in Mondovi, Wisconsin Aug. 21 -22 – 23. 2009.

 The Outdoor Adventure Clinic offers training in archery, firearms, wildlife photography, gear and survival skills from the expert Team Huntress staff of prominent women hunters while a team of clinicians offers the kind of pampering women love: massages, facials, foot rubs, nature walks and wine tasting.

 Because the majority of the teaching staff is female, the environment is particularly welcoming for women who are interested in learning outdoor skills, but intimidated by the overwhelmingly male nature of the shooting sports. Team Huntress understands that women want and need a supportive and pleasant environment for learning – no ribbing about missed shots, no competitive bravado, no substandard accommodations that make a woman cringe.

 That formula – instruction, female staff and pampering – proved highly effective at the inaugural Team Huntress Outdoor Adventure Clinic at Pheasant Phun in June. Women who’d never fired a gun felt secure taking those first steps and found they really enjoyed what they were learning. By the end of the weekend, participants were abuzz about the shooting sports and the new friendships they’d formed.

 The Team Huntress Outdoor Adventure Clinic is the ideal gift, whether it’s a woman treating herself to something she deserves, or an outdoorsman who’s been looking for a way to bring his wife, daughter or girlfriend into the lifestyle he loves.

Team Huntress Wisconsin Outdoor Adventure Clinic

Empowering Women for Outdoor Success

DATE: August 20. 21, 22,& 23, 2009

 LOCATION: Buffalo County Outfitters, Mondovi, WI 54738

 FOR: Women ages 18 and over who want to learn or expand their outdoor skills 

BY: Team Huntress, an expert staff of prominent women hunters and outdoor enthusiast including Terri Lee Pocernich Camp Wild Girls, Kirstie Pike Prois Hunting Apparel, Barbara Baird the Women’s Outdoor News, Stacey and “Hawk” Huston A Focus in the Wild, Holly Hesyer NorCalCazadora, Jane Keller Team Huntress

  INSTRUCTION: Archery, firearms, gear, wildlife photography  

SPA SERVICES: Massage, facials, foot rubs, nature walk, wine tasting

ACCOMMODATIONS: 2-3 women per room, 5 full bathrooms, spacious great room

TRAVEL: Mondovi is 25 miles south of Eau Claire, 1 hour and ½ from MSP airport; pick-up and drop-off will be offered on 20th & 23 days. 

COST: $995 – includes instruction, meals, spa treatment, gifts from sponsors (clothing, skin care, and food), lodging and transport to and from airport for those who fly in. 

SHOPPING: Women’s hunting apparel from Prois, Camp Wild Girls will be available for purchase at discount Team Huntress rates. The Team Huntress camp store will be open.

CONTACT: Team Huntress founder Jane Keller, jane.keller@yahoo.com, 605-450-0931

We are having SO much fun planning this fabulous weekend getaway for you! there will be some serious pampering AND serious shooting and instruction.  The folks at Pheasant Phun are incredible hosts. This is SURE to be a informative and fun time for all who come! Soon you will be able to say  “South Dakota Camp” was a great time and I met the most fabulous women there!!  Visit www.teamhuntress.com for more information!