Haylee’s Passion

My passion for hunting began at a very young age. I remember watching my parents leave with friends to go deer hunting, and the excitement that filled the house when they returned with a deer. I was fascinated by my parents and my grandfather working together to create unique foods from the harvest: blood sausage, head cheese, and much more. It was a process of respect, tradition, and family. I patiently waited to be asked to join the hunt. Although that invitation never came during my childhood, the passion quietly stayed with me, waiting to resurface.

It did years later when I married Jeff. My husband, Jeff Goulet, comes from a deeply passionate hunting and fishing family. When our children were old enough, our own adventures began.

Fishing came first. Sharing that passion with our kids was incredible. I still laugh about the trip where I challenged a seasoned fisherman that I could catch a fish without bait, and I did. That story still gets brought up around the table.

Then came hunting. When Jeff decided it was time to teach the kids to hunt, I felt my muscles tense and a nervousness rise up in me that I had carried for years. If I was going to support them, I needed to do it fully. That meant taking gun safety classes, at the same time as my children. I think they were impressed that Mom muscled up the courage to sit beside them and learn something that intimidated her.

From there, my journey into deer hunting began.

I’ll never forget our first hunt. My daughter and I were placed on top of a deer stand on a camper. It was early. It was freezing. We thought no one could see us. We were like bobble dolls, standing up, sitting down, trying to stay warm, looking and waiting for deer. Later, during a break, one of the hunters laughed and said, “What are you two doing up there?”

“Hunting. Looking for deer. Trying to stay warm,” I replied.

Apparently, we had been “glassed” the entire time.

Every year after that, my daughter and I were placed in the same stand. We developed our own silent hunting sign language and created memories I will treasure forever. The boys still claim we move too much, which is why it remains “the girls’ stand.”

Then came 2023. Jeff told me I was ready to travel with him to South Africa on his first international hunting trip. He even said I could hunt if I wanted. I carefully planned for my camera to be my “weapon,” and if I waited until I was last to hunt, surely we would run out of time.

On the drive to the airport, my nerves nearly got the best of me. We actually had to pull over on the interstate so I could have a brief conversation with the road. But we made it.

What I didn’t realize was that I wouldn’t be able to talk my way out of the hunt, and that turned out to be one of the greatest gifts. With Jeff by my side and two incredibly patient professional hunters guiding me, this left-handed shooter in a right-hand-dominant hunting party shook uncontrollably as I shot my first gemsbok in South Africa. Shortly after, I harvested my first blue wildebeest, just 32 minutes after leaving the lodge.

Something shifted in me.

We returned to South Africa again in 2025, and this time, I was the first hunter in camp. Calm filled my soul as I walked a narrow mountain path, despite my fear of heights. My professional hunter quietly said, “When you’re ready, take the shot. Only take it if you feel 100 percent comfortable.”

For the first time, I truly did.

A new competition has arisen. What began as uncertainty had transformed into confidence. I went from being unsure about hunting to taking my longest shot at 288 meters. I can confidently say that, thanks to my awesome husband and our patient, professional hunters, I am five-for-five. I have skills that I still need to refine and learn.

Our journeys in the field became more than hunting; they became opportunities to serve. Conservation and humanitarian efforts are now at the heart of what we do. That, however, is a story for another day. – Haylee Goulet