Have you ever gone elk hunting? Well, I just did for the first time, and it was really fun. I had a great time elk hunting at St. Joseph’s
Youth Camp ran by Arizona Elk Society. They had a cabin for me to stay in and they cooked really great food. Staying at SJYC has been a great part of my elk hunt. Now I will talk about my actual hunting experience.

The first part of hunting is finding a place to set up your blind. This really kind guy named Bruce helped my dad and I find a place to set up our blind. This great area he picked helped me shoot the elk. While my dad and I were sitting in the blind, Bruce helped search for elk in other areas near us. On the first day he ended up finding some elk while we were in the blind.

He called us and told us that he saw some elk and that he would come to our blind and show us where the elk are. When we arrived, someone had beaten us there, so we went to the second spot he found elk. My dad and I walked around and saw some elk. My dad set up the gun, so I can shoot one. Once I was finally lined up and ready with the elk singled out, I pulled the trigger.

All the elk had started to run, so we waited. When we went to go check, the elk hadn’t died, and I had just missed it. This didn’t discourage me. I knew that this most likely wouldn’t be the only time I would have a chance to shoot an elk. The next day my dad and I had woken up bright and early so we could get some breakfast and take off to our blind. We had arrived and every once in while we would hear the elks bugling. That day I had brought my elk call so after a while, my dad had used it. Even though it worked, it was weird because the elk was by itself. With this being, it was easier to shoot because there weren’t any other elk in the way. Once it stood still, I aimed, and shot it.

My dad and I waited around five minutes after we saw it run down the hill. It had stood behind the tree for a good four minutes before it ran down the hill. My dad and I went to go check if I had shot it, and it turns out, I didn’t miss. We called Bruce, and while we were gutting it, he went to grab his trailer and pick up his friends. His friends helped drag the elk to the trailer and after that, we went back to SJVC. Once I had arrived, everyone there was so happy for me, and I had won a knife set. My grandpa had donated two knife sets to the first girl and boy to get an elk, and it turns out I had been the first girl to get an elk.

I had a great experience elk hunting at SJYC with AES. All the volunteers were so kind, and they had contributed to making my experience great. Hunting elk was fun for so many reasons such as the actual hunting part and the SJYC. Everyone was so kind, and I hope to go elk hunting there again.