Barbie Bags an Elk!

 What a blog title! Actually, it should be the title of a children's book. It would definitely be a best seller, read in every school world-wide. 

It would go something like this:

This is Barbie, she is a hunter. This is an elk. Barbie put the elk in a bag. 

             

Maybe not exactly like that, but I am getting ahead of myself. 

Both Barb and I have been applying for elk tags for 6 years now. The elk population here in the Black Hills very good so they allow a number of bull and cow hunting licenses each year to control the herd and reduce elk/car incidents. On average, it takes 15+ years to get a bull elk tag, meaning, we would be well into our 70's by the time we got one. Cow elk tags on the other hand, do not take nearly that long, so last year when we applied, she decided to try for one. A few weeks later, she received notification that she was successful in pulling a tag!

Now we just had to wait for the season to open on December 1st. She practiced shooting two rifles; a .300 Win Mag with a scope and old school lever action 30-30 with open sights, the kind you see in a lot of the old westerns. We would bring both guns and use one or the other depending on how far the shot was. Although we have had 70-100 elk in our area recently, they have moved on, so we had to go out and search for a herd elsewhere. 

Opening morning, Forrest, Barb and I awoke at 5am for a 6am departure and 6:30 sunrise. Within 30 minutes we had spotted a nice herd of 50 or so. They were about a mile off the road on the edge of a hill, but they were on the wrong side of the road for Barb's hunt zone. We watched them for a while seeing if they would move our way, but they did not, so the search continued. 

An hour or so later we spotted a couple of elk bedded on a hillside 150 yards from us as we were driving a forest service road. But alas, they were both bulls, off limits for us. 

Then it happened; she received a text from a local rancher who she had contacted several days earlier about hunting on his land. The text said he has had a herd on and off in his horse pasture for the past few days and she was welcome to come over and hunt. 25 minutes later we were getting a tour of his property. The elk had left for the day, but he said if we came back the next morning at about sunrise they should be there. 

The three of us were there the next morning watching 20 or so elk, waiting for the sun to get high enough to distinguish the bulls from the cows. We set up on them about 200 yards away and waited. As the sun rose, they started leaving the field and filtering off into the forest. By now, they were 250 yards away, a good 150 yards further than Barb has ever shot before. She kept watching them through the scope while Forrest and I watched through binoculars. We found a cow that did not have a calf with her and focused on that one, talking Barb through the shot. I knew the gun was capable of a shot that far, but was Barb? I told her to just focus on her aim and if she was comfortable to pull the trigger. Seconds passed and nothing..... then she said "I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened". That is when I saw the safety was still on. 

Safety now off, Forrest was ranging it and said "260 yards". I told her to hold an inch or so higher than she wanted to hit and pull the trigger when she was ready. By now, several other elk were behind the cow, so we had to wait for them to clear. Once they were clear, the rifle went off and I saw a puff of dirt fly up on the far side of the elk. My first thought was that she missed, but then the elk took several steps and fell over! She had made a perfect shot!

I turned and looked at Barb and she was full out crying. Not because she had shot something, but because she was so happy and relieved. Her biggest worry was that she was going to make a bad shot and just wound the animal, but she made a perfect, quick and humane shot, and she was so happy. 

I know that some of you have a hard time reading this, and that is okay. If you are a meat eater, you realize that it has to be harvested one way or another, but most do not have a firsthand role in doing so. Harvesting your own meat brings you closer to nature, makes you appreciate all that God has given us and have a greater respect for the animal. There are pictures of Barb and her elk at the end of this post, so those of you who want to skip it can do so, but if you do look at it, look at the hillsides and the surrounding area, you will not find a prettier sight anywhere else in the world. It was the perfect morning where Barb got to share this experience with "her men" (her words). 

We called Kevin, who lives about 3 miles away from this location and he helped us load it into our truck. No easy task, as it had to weigh over 500lbs. The rancher drove out and congratulated Barb, she gave him a big hug, something it looked like he was not quite used to. I chuckled inside, yep, Barbie is a hugger!

When we got home, Forrest and I hung and skinned it allowing it to cool off. Did I mention it was 7° when we were hunting? None of us felt it at the time, but after the hunt, we noticed our fingers and toes were numb. 

Over the next two days Forrest and I processed it and got it in the freezer. Meanwhile, inside the house Barb would jab me by saying "Looks like I am the provider for the family this year". Oh boy, I am never going to live this one down! I could not be prouder of her!

Pictures below....