Hunting comes natural to nature loving girl
By BURLON PARSONS bparsons@journal-spectator.com

Staff Photo by Burlon Parsons Jenna Hubenak shows the Russian Boar-influenced sow she killed on the first morning of her holiday break.

Most Boling students spent their first mornings of holiday break sleeping in or going to a mall. Not 14-yearold Jenna Hubenak.

She was in one of her favorite places - a deer stand. While she didn't get a deer that morning, she did kill a wild hog. The 150 lb. sow with Russian Boar influence came out of the woods to feed and gave her a shot. While Jenna had shot at hogs before, she had never killed one.

This time her aim with her .243 Remington was right on target. Her reward was lots of grilled wild hog in the future.

The hog was just one of many game prizes the 14-year-old has claimed in her five years of hunting.

The daughter of Shawn and Pam Hubenak of Wharton, Jenna was going to the deer stands with her dad when she was 2.

"I wanted to go everytime he went," Jenna said. "I'd take a coloring book and crayons or something quiet to do to pass the time."

When a deer came out she would watch it and watch how her dad harvested it.

She started learning to shoot at age 8. When she had her chance to take her first deer that year she just couldn't shoot.

"My dad never pressured me to shoot or even go with him, he's let me make my own decisions," she said.

At age 9 she killed her first White Tail buck, a seven pointer. She also went on two youth hunts with the Outdoor 4-H Club the same year.

One trip was to the Y.O. Ranch and the other to the YMCA Ranch.

At the Y.O. Ranch she was only allowed to harvest a White Tail doe. But at the YMCA Ranch there were some exotics which could be taken.

She came home with an Audad ram and a Sika buck for her efforts. She was the only girl there and outshot guys both younger and older than her.

One of her secrets was not to shoot the first animal to show up.

In all she has take three does, four bucks and two exotics. Now she added the wild hog to her list.

Her room is decorated with the mounts of the four bucks and two exotics she has taken.

They serve as a reminder of her hunts and the trips she has taken to get them.

Jenna is a self-described outdoor person. She says she will take chopping wood over housework any day of the week.

She and her dad watch the Outdoor Channel together. But she says she has learned the most from hunting with him.

"I'm lucky to have a dad who will take me hunting with him whenever I want," Jenna said. "I like spending that time with him."