Most adults know what it’s like to have obligations interfere with something they really love to do. For bowhunters, marriage and a career can reduce your time in the field, and having kids makes it even more difficult to go hunting. Suddenly, hunting shifts from something you love to do, to one more thing to try to fit in. Some bowhunters even hang it up entirely because it’s a hassle with everything else in their busy schedules.

Now, I have to be sensitive to the fact everyone has different circumstances, but I also want to point out that the ability to pursue bowhunting while raising a family has a lot to do with setting priorities, communicating well with your spouse and children, overcoming challenges, not forsaking your dreams, and even finding ways to weave your kids into your hunting lifestyle. I know — this doesn’t work for everyone. But, if bowhunting is something you absolutely love, then perhaps you just need to reevaluate the trajectory of your family life and make some changes. Bowhunting probably won’t look exactly like it did prior to starting a family, but maybe it will look even better.

My sister, Clair Marshall, and her husband, Andrew, find that to be true. They know what it’s like to go from bowhunting without kids to juggling family life with daughters Timber and Haven while still pursuing their passion for bowhunting. Just as God blessed them with their two children, He also provides ways for Andrew and Clair to integrate the girls into their outdoor and hunting lifestyle. They’re truly grateful that He does.

Here’s their story. I hope you find it fascinating, and if you have children of your own or plan to someday, perhaps their story will open your mind up to how bowhunting with a family can look when you prioritize and plan.

Priorities and Perspectives

Sometimes, it’s easy to take opportunities that are readily available for granted. If we could hunt constantly, we’d eventually forget how lucky we are to be able to do that. But, when we have a limited amount of time to hunt, we tend to chase it with greater fervor because we value those less frequent opportunities.

“We’ve started to do outdoor activities even more now that we have kids,” Clair shared. “Before, even though we had more time to hunt without the commitment of raising kids, we’d often make up excuses if it was too windy, too cold or too hot. Having kids could have been the ultimate excuse for us to scale back on hunting, but instead, we jump at every chance we get to go hunting because we want to make the most of every opportunity.

“Our priorities and perspectives in life changed immediately when we had our first daughter, Timber. Prior to having kids, we felt like we made hunting a priority and didn’t let other things get in the way, but now that we’ve seen this side of it — raising kids and hunting — we’re more committed to it than ever. We’ve decided that we want the outdoors and hunting to be priorities in our family.” 

Andrew rounded out Clair’s comments with his perspective.

“Growing up,” he started, “I didn’t have the luxury of a father or family member who hunted and could take me hunting. I don’t want our girls to say that someday. I not only want to teach them to hunt as they get older, but I also don’t want them to hear us making excuses. We want them to see us overcome challenges and pursue and accomplish our goals.”

Constant Communication 

Obviously, nothing is easy about going bowhunting when you’re balancing work and family life. There is a lot of give and take between husband and wife that must happen for it to work logistically, and there is certainly no room for selfishness. So, how do Clair and Andrew find the balance needed to successfully raise children and do a good amount of hunting every spring and fall?

“Communication,” Andrew said. “We talk things out and stay on the same page. If we didn’t, neither of us would be able to go hunting, and even if we managed to go, it wouldn’t be enjoyable. There are a lot of checks and balances that come with being a provider for my wife and our girls. I have to be able to check all of the boxes before I can even think about stepping out the door. It’s a challenge, but we love the challenge. We’re also getting more mature as parents and more understanding of our girls’ needs, which makes everything more streamlined than it was a couple of years ago.”

Clair agreed that good communication is key to raising a family and going hunting. 

“Communication about the specifics of each day is also important,” Clair said. “We don’t have a set schedule for who hunts on which days. We base our decision on what that particular day looks like with the weather and our schedule. If the weather is nicer and it’s easier for me to get out, Andrew is happy to stay behind while I hunt. If it’s not as nice out or if I already filled my tag, then he goes. It’s not about our individual wants or needs. It’s a moment-by-moment evaluation of our family’s needs.”

Andrew shared similar thoughts. “Our No. 1 goal is to provide for our girls,” he said. “Their needs have to be met, and they need a safe and comfortable environment.”

The Challenges

Again, no one ever said bowhunting while raising a family would be easy. The Marshalls said there are challenges specific to their individual roles as husband and wife, father and mother.

“For me,” Clair explained, “the challenge is recovering from having back-to-back kids and a lot of sleepless nights. The energy and physical aspects can be very hard for me to push through at times. My other challenge is making sure everything at home is in order before I leave Andrew and the girls to go hunting. I have to run through a quick mental checklist, which involves making sure the house is clean and things are picked up, and that I have something planned for supper. I don’t want to come home to a mess, and I want it to be as easy on Andrew as possible because I know he is tired from work.

“Another challenge I’ve gone through is figuring out nursing. With Timber, I nurse her right before I’d go hunting and then have to be back at a specific time to do it again. Haven took the bottle very well, so Andrew could bottle-feed her when necessary. So, there are challenges specific to each kid.”

Clair went on to say that it might seem like it’s easier for a husband to leave and go hunting, but then she remembers that Andrew has weights on him that she doesn’t have. Basically, she concluded it all evens out.  

Andrew shared his individual challenges. Not only does he work outside of the home and have National Guard commitments, but he also said, “Even though I have Clair’s blessing to go, I feel kind of guilty about hunting and enjoying the outdoors while she’s at home with the girls. I sometimes feel like I shouldn’t be out there, that I should be at home. Fortunately, Clair and I share a common goal: If we have open tags, our goal is to fill those tags and put meat in the freezer. It helps to remember that.”

Involving Everyone

Andrew and Clair always take Timber and now Haven to retrieve deer they harvest. When they grow up, I’m sure they’ll look back fondly on the memories of exploring and finding Daddy’s and Mama’s “deew,” as Timber calls deer. Since Clair and Andrew live far from family and don’t put their kids in childcare, the only way they can hunt together as husband and wife is by bringing the kids. It’s not always glamorous, as the girls are too young to understand you have to be quiet in the woods. 

“During turkey season, we sometimes hunt together and bring Timber and Haven with us,” Clair said. “They’re still very young and can be noisy, but we have a great time. Although it’s good to stretch them and challenge them a little bit, we don’t want to make our girls incredibly uncomfortable in the outdoors. We don’t want them to associate any negative memories with hunting.”

Andrew and Clair also take the girls scouting and shed hunting during the spring, and Timber already shows excitement with each shed they find. She loves antlers.

Making Hunting Memories as a Family

Some of bowhunting’s most special memories have unique twists and turns or involve friends and loved ones.

“The most special bowhunting experience I can think of is a turkey hunt we did when Timber was a baby,” Clair said. “At the time, we had the crazy idea of taking a 7-month-old baby turkey hunting with us. It was the first turkey season after having a baby, and we just knew that we wanted to include her.

“We really didn’t have high hopes, especially because Timber was in a phase of babbling. But, turkeys are less sensitive than deer to noises, especially when they’re distracted by decoys. We went out a few different times and didn’t see much, but then it all came together beyond our wildest dreams. One afternoon, a tom came to our decoys and was so mad he had no idea what was happening in the blind. I shot him, and he went down within seconds near the decoys. 

“We were marveling at the moment, and suddenly another tom came rushing into the decoys. He was torn between beating up the jake decoy and the tom that I had shot. While he was confused about that, Andrew handed Timber over to me, picked up his bow and shot that tom. Although we always talked about how cool it would be to double on turkeys with our bows, we hadn’t previously done it. To accomplish it with our 7-month-old daughter in the blind with us was incredible.” 

While Andrew looks back fondly on that hunt as well, he called out his first archery buck as a top memory. Timber was only a few months old, and he had some close calls with bucks before everything came together.

“It was a brisk, overcast mid-November morning,” he recalled. “Watching the buck come toward me and feeling the adrenaline rush was an unbelievable experience. I remember putting the pin where I wanted it and releasing the arrow. Clair came and helped me recover the buck with Timber strapped to her. She helped me as much as she could as we dragged that big-bodied buck for about 400 yards. We were pretty tuckered out by the time we got him out of there.”

Final Thoughts

Life often gets in the way of things we love to do. But, through smart planning and prioritization, many of us can still chase our dreams on one level or another. The Marshalls have taken this approach, and hunting has never meant more to them than it does now that they are balancing family and the hunting lifestyle. Family matters, and so does bowhunting.

Sidebar: The Fruits of the Harvest

Venison — it’s what’s for supper most days at the Marshall dinner table, and if it isn’t venison, it will likely be wild turkey. Clair shared some details about why eating wild game is so important to her and Andrew. 

“We believe in the resourceful and self-sustaining lifestyle,” Clair said. “Harvesting our own meat means we don’t have to rely on a grocery store. The other thing is we know exactly how the meat was obtained — in an ethical and respectful way. Also, we love the health benefits of knowing that the meat we harvest doesn’t have additives or anything artificial. If there is anything more challenging or that goes against the status quo, we gravitate toward those things, and we’re already exposing our girls to the lifestyle we proudly pursue.”

Photos courtesy of Andrew and Clair Marshall