Emma Valade shot her first elk in 2019.

My wife, Emma, is quite a lady. As many of our faithful readers know, before we started dating, Emma’s only experience with a firearm had been being the recipient of the butt end of a cruel joke. Over the months and years, with practice, she really began to enjoy hunting, and her shooting skills improved rapidly. In 2017, she killed her first deer and one each in 2018 and 2019.

This year in August we were blessed with the arrival of a third member of our family hunting party, our son Andy. All throughout the fall of 2019 as we endeavored to fill our tags, Andy came along with us. He is a natural born hunter, but as is the case with infants, he has yet to develop his skills of stealth. Taking a newborn afield presents many such challenges in the stalk. Needless to say, we were wondering if Emma was going to even see an elk much less get a shot at one.

Then there was the question of Emma’s equipment, namely her rifle. The .243 Winchester, Emma’s favorite deer rifle, is legal to use for elk hunting, but I feel it is a bit too small to be considered ideal for such employ. Elk can take a lot more persuasion to bring down than your garden variety mule deer. After acquiring a 7mm-08 Remington I felt like we had taken a huge step in the right direction. The fixed 4x scope was a touch to the small side, but where Emma doesn’t feel the need to shoot past 200 yards, I felt it was adequate for the job.

On Dec. 23, Christmas Eve eve, a coworker and I were feeding cows when we spotted some elk a half mile off in the hills. We both felt that as long they were undisturbed that we could put an evening hunt on them together with Emma. When the time came I handed my rangefinder to Baldy and gave Emma a kiss for luck. It was decided that Andy and myself would remain in the rear, observing from way out of earshot while Emma and Baldy made a hunt. While I played with Andy, I kept the radio close in the cab of the pickup, certain that I would get a call telling me happy news. After about 30 long minutes, my wife’s dream of getting her elk came true.

As it was relayed to me by a very excited huntress, they covered the ground quite quickly and quietly but were nearly blown out when a herd of antelope were spooked and ran toward the elk. Although the elk were wary, Emma and Baldy were able to sneak into them at 235 yards. After some searching, Emma spotted a lone cow standing broadside to them. She sat down and, resting steadily on her knee, sent a 140-grain bullet directly behind the shoulder of the cow elk. At the shot, the cow jumped and trotted off a few yards before piling up. Just like that, my hunting partner filled her first elk tag. After calling us up, they took pictures while Andy and I drove up to meet them. She couldn’t have been more excited, and I could not be more proud. What a wonderful way to end the year and start off the Christmas holiday!

Do you remember your first elk? Write to us at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com!