Thought I would brag about my wife for a bit. I posted my deer success pic in the deer sub forum (Iron sights muzzleloader muley doe), but I would like to post hers.

I mentioned this in my first post, but that was my first deer ever. This past year we have both been studying how to hunt right, as neither of us grew up in hunting families. We’ve read books and listened to all of the Meateater and Hunt Talk podcasts. We went all in. We’re backpackers, so why no add some hunting?

My wife has never killed an animal besides ground squirrels, and even that was a first this year. She was adamant about hunting deer and elk this year and lucked out on a September any-weapon cow tag draw here in Idaho.

She took a Friday and Monday off and dedicated it to filling her tag. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were very rough days. We logged more miles and gained and loss more elevation than we would have liked...but that’s elk hunting. We got rained on. We got cold. We didn’t sleep. We competed with wolves who were chasing the herds too.

She was getting demoralized and frankly, I was too. We busted our asses and she felt like we were doing something wrong.

We didn’t see a single elk until Sunday evening. Even though our wind was good and it didn’t see or hear us, that elk slowly vanished like a Ninja into impossibly thick brush, never to be seen again.

Again, adrenaline and a let down.

20 minutes after the first, I spotted the second elk. Just before sunset, it popped into a tiny clearing through very thick timber. I tested the wind, I ranged her and verified that it was a cow. I told her to take the shot.

She made the shot standing offhand with her sling used as a loop sling- just like I taught her. The cow didn’t make it 15 yards. It was a textbook heart/lungs shot. I ranged it at 116 yards.

She stood there with her mouth open for about 5 minutes and then celebrated.

Next came the other half of the work. She’s a nurse, so she loves to disect things

We parted it out, packed it, and like my deer, butchered and processed every thing ourselves at home.

Forgot to add that she used her Ruger American .270. Bullet was the 130 Grain Hornady SST handloaded over 60 grains of Hodgdon 4831SC. No pass through, hardly any meat loss. Looked like her heart and lungs were put in a dang blender.

TL/DR: My wife is a badass and shot a cow elk (he first big animal ever) at 116 off-hand. We have a lot meat now and we’re still sore

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Yours truly
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No offense but your wife has a weird face.  Nice Elk though!

I tell her that all the time Thanks!

Very good!!! Congratulations!!!

Did you marry the girl from the DWI burn victim poster?

Butter face

Good job to you and your wife.

Congratulations to both of you. Nothing better than a freezer full of YOUR meat going into winter...

this

Congrats to both of you..such a great feeling until you walk up to it and go "shit, what do I do now"... to both of you...

Congratulations!  Shes a keeper.

That's awesome, congratulations!

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Thanks guys! Sorry my wife is a butterface I didn’t have permission to post a rear pic.

Congrats to her, and you for encouraging this.

Nothing better than a wife that participates and enjoys the hunt, success, and work involved.

She's a keeper!

Where in Idaho?

116 offhand; nice

Boise National Forest.

Wow you two look so similar.