Gaby — Raised in the Bush, Building a Legacy
Gaby from Ambush Hunting Apparel on hunting while pregnant, raising her daughter Deanna in the field, and why being a hunter means being damn proud of it.
Some people fall into hunting. Gaby was born into it. But what she's built from that foundation — a confident hunter, a business, and a daughter who roars at stags — that part is entirely her own.
From the moment you start listening to Gaby, you feel it. There's a groundedness to her that comes from decades of quiet mornings in the bush, of learning to read the land, of knowing that everything you need is already out there if you're patient enough to find it.
She's a mum, a hunter, and the founder of Ambush Hunting Apparel. But more than any of those labels, Gaby is someone who has lived this life authentically — not for the content, not for the following — but because the bush is simply where she belongs.
Born into it
Gaby's hunting story didn't start with a course or a social media account. It started the way the best ones do — with family holidays that weren't beach holidays.
Our family holidays weren't like beach holidays or apartments. It was in the bush. So pretty much always hunting, camping or fishing. Always raised around it and just kind of fell into place.
The nights before a big trip, she couldn't sleep. That electric anticipation — the kind that still hits her the same way today, lying there planning where to start the hunt, visualising the property, running through the spots — it never left her. What she carries from those early years isn't just the skills. It's the feeling. The four of them out there — mum, dad, brother, and Gaby — building TPs, sharing camp, being together with no one else around.
Her first deer — field to fire
Her first deer came close to twenty years ago. Red deer — always the target. Growing up in Queensland, Gaby and her family would chase reds across country she now knows like the back of her hand. Her first, a little spiker, came with her dad beside her.
It still seemed to have taken me ages to shoot. But it was just all those nerves and everything going through my head — squeeze the trigger, make sure it was the perfect shot. And then finally I squeezed the trigger, and down he went.
A clean shot. And then, hands in — straight into the field dressing, same as she'd been doing alongside her dad before she'd ever taken her own animal. For Gaby, it was never shoot and walk away. It was always start to finish. The family meal after every successful hunt: Hungarian goulash, cooked slow over a campfire in winter. The whole process — field to fire — is the point.
Hunting while pregnant — and beyond
When Carly asked whether Gaby had really gone out hunting while pregnant, the answer was as straightforward as you'd expect.
I don't like anything holding me back from what I love doing. And yeah, even after I had my daughter I'd still be going out. It's an outlet as well for me.
She was successful on those hunts. Of course she was.
Deanna — a hunter in the making
Gaby's daughter Deanna is almost eight. And she is already, by every measure, a hunter in the making. She spots fox poo. She identifies rub trees. She roars at stags — and they roar back. At this year's roar, with the hills erupting around them, Deanna let out her biggest call and three stags answered. Gaby recorded it and sent it to her dad. He was so proud he could barely speak.
Deanna is already asking when she can get her firearms licence. Gaby's answer: not that far away, honey. But what's most striking is the intentionality behind it all. Gaby explains the why before every hunt. She asks Deanna which tree they should sit near. She gives her the feeling of being involved, of making decisions, of having her own role in it. Nothing is forced. Everything is invited.
On Deanna's Mother's Day worksheet at school — "What's fun with Mum?" — she wrote one word: hunting.
Ambush Hunting Apparel — gear for women, by a woman
When Gaby started hunting, the gear options for women were exactly what you'd expect: her brother's hand-me-down Ozcam pants, three sizes too big, and not much else. The idea for Ambush Hunting Apparel had been cooking for a while. What held her back? Herself, mostly — the kind of person who'll mentally map every single thing that could go wrong before taking a step. But she took the step anyway. And once she did, everything fell into place.
I wanted to start a line not just for hunting, but also every day. People are out there advertising what they love — I thought, I'm not going to be afraid to share what I love either.
Every part of the production — embroidery, screen printing, design — is done with local Australian businesses, most within half an hour of her home. She supports them the same way she wants people to support her.
About Ambush Hunting Apparel
Designed by Gaby, made with local Australian businesses — hunting and everyday wear built for women who actually wear it in the field.
"Be damn proud"
Towards the end of the episode, Carly asked Gaby what she'd say to the women who are curious about this life but not quite sure yet.
Be proud to be a hunter. Be damn proud. Don't shy away from what you love and that journey that you're taking. For me, it's not a phase. This is my passion.
And when it comes to what makes someone a hunter — is it the moment you take your first animal?
I think when that passion ignites in you and you pursue that — that's when you're a hunter.
That's it. That's the whole thing.
Gaby's not building a legacy by telling Deanna who to be. She's building it by showing. By being the kind of hunter and the kind of woman that her daughter can see and think: I want to be like that.
Thank you, Gaby. You're building something that'll outlast all of us.
🎙 Women Who Hunt Podcast — Episode 26 · 8 min listen
Listen to the full episode
Gaby — raised in the bush, building a legacy with Ambush Hunting Apparel.