Hook & Barrel Magazine sat down with NYC attorney (working remotely from Dallas, Texas) and big-time outdoorswoman Lauren Brown — aka @laurenbrown8g on IG — who is so much more than a beautiful social media influencer.
As you’ll read, Lauren’s passions for hunting wild turkey, waterfowl, and learning to master her new compound bow as well as long-range shooting are inspiring to say the least.
Hook & Barrel is proud to showcase Lauren, as we see her as a strong voice and solid role model to all newcomers to the outdoor shooting sports. Plus, if we ever need an attorney, we’ve got her on speed dial.
Lauren Brown Bio
Age 38
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia
Current Residence: Dallas, Texas
Socials:
IG @laurenbrown8g
Hook & Barrel (H&B): Tell us about growing up in Virginia and when you got into outdoor activities.
Lauren Brown (LB): I moved around a bit when I was younger and moved to Virginia in the middle of eighth grade, so I consider Virginia home.
I grew up on a standardbred horse breeding farm in the middle of nowhere, and I grew up riding horses. I competed on hunters and jumpers my whole life. We were on the road every weekend during high school, going to different competitions.
I went to the University of Virginia for undergrad and rode on the equestrian team there for a while. At UVA, I majored in economics and minored in art history. I never hunted as a child.
I knew how to shoot a gun, and we fished. My stepdad hunted a little, but it wasn’t something he brought me along for.
H&B: You’re an attorney. Where did you go to law school? Tell us about your career.
LB: I went to Georgetown Law School in D.C. I moved to New York City right after law school, took the New York bar and went to work as a corporate lawyer. In 2020, my ex-husband got a job in Dallas, so we moved to Texas. I love Texas! I still work fully remote for the firm in New York.
H&B: You said you didn’t grow up hunting, so what ultimately got you into hunting and the outdoors?
LB: My ex-husband and I got a dog together — a Brittany Spaniel — and she was a pointer. We trained her, and I loved watching the dogs work for how they were bred.
It was what made me fall in love with bird hunting. I’d go out hunting with them while he was training her, and I wouldn’t even bring a gun. I would just walk along with them. But I finally bought a gun and really loved bird hunting. When we moved to Texas, we were still hunting the dog, but what really started it for me at the end of 2021 was I went on an all-women’s duck hunt in South Texas.
I met the coolest chicks, and I had so much fun. And that sort of snowballed into different kinds of trips and different kinds of hunts.
H&B: What is your favorite thing to hunt, and where is your favorite place to hunt?
LB: My favorite thing to hunt is turkey. I love waterfowl hunting, but it always amazes me that a bird with the brain the size of a pea can outsmart humans. It always feels like such an accomplishment when you get a turkey on the ground.
My favorite trip was a Gould turkey hunt with Goulds Turkey Hunt Mexico. Phil Cramer was my guide, and he was amazing! It was the coolest trip I’ve been on. I shot my dream bird, and I completed a single-season royal slam with that bird.
H&B: How was your turkey season this year?
LB: I did a single-season grand slam again this year. I shot the four turkeys in the U.S. I went to Florida for my Osceola, I shot my Rio in Texas, I got my Merriam in Colorado and I tried to get my Eastern on my property in Virginia, but it didn’t happen, so I shot it in Michigan.
H&B: What is your most memorable hunting trip?
LB: I went to Alaska last fall to do a sea duck hunt. Alaska is one of the most beautiful places you’ll ever visit — it’s truly the last frontier. We hunted for three days, and we shot scoters the first day, we shot limits of Harlequins the second day and limits of Barrow’s Goldeneye the third day. I do want to go back to Alaska for a King Eider.
More recently, I went to South Africa on a whim. I had friends bowhunting down there, and they kept trying to get me to fly down and join them. I knew I couldn’t fly to Africa in the middle of turkey season, but I was at brunch on a Sunday and had two margaritas and booked a flight to Johannesburg.
It’s probably one of the craziest things I’ve ever done. I shot my first four-legged animal with a rifle—an impala at 300 yards.
H&B: You have a lot of cooking content on your socials. Why is it important to you to cook what you hunt, and what’s the best meal you’ve prepared from a hunt?
LB: It’s important because I think it’s good stewardship to eat what you hunt. I’ve tried everything that I’ve hunted. I’ve cooked duck and geese—some are better than others. I think that’s why I like turkey hunting.
When I shot my first turkey, I used every part of that bird. The favorite dish I’ve made is a white turkey chili. I’ve served it to so many people who aren’t into wild game, and they all loved it.
H&B: What do you like to do when you’re not working or hunting?
LB: I have a yellow lab named Sig (after SIG SAUER). I bought her to be my hunting dog, but she failed out of hunting school because she was scared of guns. She goes everywhere with me.
I love to be outside with her as much as possible. We live on the Katy Trail in Dallas, so we’re always walking on the trail. I like to cook and work out.
I recently bought a bow. I had a friend who had one, and I shot it and thought, “I need one of those.” So, I bought a bow and have been shooting it. And it’s perfect for Sig because the bow doesn’t make much noise, so she likes to be out with me retrieving the arrows for me.
My end goal is to take an elk with my bow, but I still have a lot of work to do. I’m one of those people who, when I get a new toy, I play with it every day until I get good at it.
H&B: We’ve seen on your socials that you’ve done some long-range precision shooting — how did you get into that?
LB: McKenna Quinn (shopmckennaquinn.com), a Texas-based apparel brand that makes outdoor apparel for women, hosted a women’s trip to Kaian Vista Ranch in Lometa, Texas, for a long-range shooting class.
It was really the first time I’d sat down and shot rifles. We shot for two days, and then we finished with an 1,800-yard shot. It was so fun, and it was something I definitely want to do more of.
H&B: Do you have any hunting bucket list items?
LB: I’m working toward a Super Slam, which is a turkey in every state that has turkeys, so 49 states (Alaska is the only state without). I’d like to do 49 before I turn 49. I’d also like to hunt stag and turkey in New Zealand.
H&B: Describe your dream hunting trip—who would be there? Where would you be? And what would you be hunting for?
LB: I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii to hunt turkey and axis deer. I’d wake up in Hawaii, go hunting in the morning, come back down from the mountain and have a fresh fish for lunch and post up on the beach for the rest of the afternoon.
I would love to have my dog there and enjoy a Piña Colada or another pretty cocktail on the beach.
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