11 Year Old's Quest For Her First Elk

[218buck]

That is awesome great job to the both of you that's a great bull you should both be very proud . All that hard work paid off this will be memories that will last forever.

[5guyshunting]

Great story and congrats to the young lady. Its more fun when its the kids with the tags. Good job to you sir.

[lancetkenyon]

I know a lot of you have seen the video of the little girl who shoots her first deer and she is shaking and does not know why. The same thing happened with Taylor. After the shot, she looked at me an said, "I am not even cold, but I am shaking like crazy." What a wonderful feeling to have, and a great experience to share with your child.

 

Well, we tagged her elk, took GPS coordinates, and headed back to the truck to pick up my wife and brother and sister-in-law, who could not get to the area in their car.

 

We got back to the paring spot, loaded up all the packs, and headed back to start the dirty work.

 

A HUGE thanks to my brother who packed 75% of the elk out while I cut it up. We were about half a mile from the nearest road, and he packed out all four quarters by himself in three trips as I was quartering the bull. My sister-in-law was good comic relief along with my wife and the "twerking" episode (story for another time). And thanks to Taylor, for helping with the pack out as well. She carried the back straps and tenderloins all by herself in her new pack. My wife took out the neck roasts and some extra meat. All I had to do was the cleaning work and carry out the head.

 

The entrance (175gr .308 Sierra Match King)

 

 

Good placement. A clean, quick, ethical shot.

 

 

The bullet was just under the skin on the off side. Took out both lungs and must have hit the nerve bundle, as the elk never moved.

 

 

The bullet (was about 50% left)

 

 

Loading up the two front quarters (the third trip for my brother)

 

 

Taylor with the back straps and tenderloins

 

 

Ready to head out for the last trip

 

 

Last one out

 

 

Back at the cabin and unloaded

 

 

That is a LOT of meat

 

 

For those of you with kids that are young, this is a feeling better than any animal I have ever harvested. It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with Taylor, something I don't get to do nearly as much as I would like to. Teaching her the things my father has taught me, and others that I have learned though trial and error or research on my own. To appreciate nature, treat it with respect, and the ethics of hunting as well as respect for the game we pursue. Seeing God's wonders in everything from a flower to the bald eagle we saw one day, to the deer and elk, to the ice on a tank, to the amazing sunrises and sets we witnessed. Thank you Taylor, for sticking it out, working extremely hard, and keeping up the spirits. I can teach you a lot of things, but perseverance is your own lesson to learn it cannot be taught.

 

And a huge thank you to God himself for my wonderful children, and His allowing us to take a magnificent animal to feed our family. Too many people forget about who put these creatures there for our enjoyment and nourishment.

 

And thank you all for the encouragement and well-wishes in this endeavor. Good luck to Doug and his son Lucas who are in 7W now, who we were in contact with daily sharing information and encouragement. Keep it up Lucas.

[Flatlander]

Great story Lance. Congratulations on doing something phenomenal as a Father and congrats to the young lady on a fine, well earned late season trophy!

 

Keep up the good work.

[AZHog]

AWESOME! Congratulations to Taylor and to you Lance! Thanks for taking us along on this incredible journey. May you have many more hunts together in God's beautiful creation.

[lancetkenyon]

To be honest, on the walk back to the truck after she shot the bull, we were discussing the hunt. I knew she was getting bored with seeing very few elk, and was a little discouraged. I told her most of the time, hunting is 99% work (walking, hiking, glassing, sitting doing nothing but observing), and 1% pure adrenalin. She thanked me for pushing her, and even making her hike that day, saying it had all been worth it, and now she sees how I can keep going for days with no opportunity at a shot or even seeing a mature animal.

 

I think she will be better prepared mentally for the next hunt now that she knows more of what to expect. I am kind of glad we did not get an opening day bull. But I am also grateful it was not a last day bull too. Not sure if I could have kept her motivated that long on her first elk hunt.

 

I can't wait to get out varmint hunting with her this winter. No Javi tags for us next year. So maybe a deer tag for her in the fall. Or maybe a spring Jr. turkey over the counter tag if we get time.

[IA Born]

Congrats on a great bull to you and Taylor! What a great story to follow along with!

[out2hunt]

Awesome job Taylor! Way to go team, one of the best threads i have followed on this site in 7 years

[Old Buck]

Congrats to hunter and dad! Fun story, thanks for posting!

[cramerhunts]

Totally worth the wait! A huge congratulations to her on a fine bull. I loved the journey and appreciate you taking the time to share it. Being a father of a 13 year old with quite a few successful hunts under her belt I can relate to everything you two have gone through. It just doesn't get any better.

[bonecollector]

Outstanding thread with a great ending! Congrats to Taylor on her elk and putting in all the work.

[loco4coues]

Awesome! I have been following this since day one. Great job and congrats to you and your daughter!

[Basser15]

Sweeet!!! Congrats.

[DUG]

I hope our girls (and boys) look back on some of these hunts and remember what greats dads we are! Lol! In 30 years hopefully they will still be telling stories of these hunts. We relived a lot of our past elk hunts this weekend while hunting because the elk were hard to find for us. Awesome job Lance and awesome job to Taylor for sticking it out and making a nice shot.

[Kelney]

Best thread of the year. She outlasted your brother in the mental part of the hunt! People, including myself easily forget how mentally and physically taxing a hunt is.