A Half Pint.....Elk Hunt??
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
You're dang right! Half Pint is going elk hunting! She beat astronomical odds and drew an any weapon bull elk tag in the best unit here in SD with only 3 points. The SD guys will probably burn our house down when they see this! :) Full disclosure up front, as this is an any weapon tag there is a good chance this may turn into a gun hunt. She wants to use her bow but she also understands this may be almost a once in a lifetime opportunity for her so we'll be packing heat as well. We're going to try with the bow and if we can't make it happen we're breaking out the artillery. She will be shooting 50#'s out of a Hoyt Carbon Spyder FX with a 400gr arrow tipped with a 100gr VPA so her set-up is elk friendly. The season runs the full month of October, and we should be able to hunt 10 days or so (dang school!) I'll keep this updated and post updates on the hunt as it happens. Since this may turn into a gun hunt and I know that bunches up some guys panties, I am more than happy to move this to the community forum if appropriate. I just know a lot of you guys like following along on Half Pint's adventures and this should be a doozy!
BTW...mom and dad are both still waiting to draw, I now have 14 points for archery and mom has 10 for both archery and any weapon so maybe just burn down her room :)....and I think she may be grounded for the entire summer for getting her mom's tag but that is still up in the air:)
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
Looks like we better keep working on that pack weight :)
Looks like we better keep working on that pack weight :)
I guess it was foresight, she was already working on her pack training this spring!
From: Liv2HntBigBullz
02-Jun-17
No good deed goes unnoticed. I followed the turkey thread and the passion for hunting that she has and the young foresight to pass it on by giving her bow to another was awesome. Congrats to half pint go get an elk!
From: Charlie Rehor
02-Jun-17
If she can comfortably shoot that weight she is good to go but regardless of weapon this will be a really cool thread. Best always! C
From: LINK
02-Jun-17
Awesome, I can't wait for it. You have some real toads up there.
From: NoWiser
02-Jun-17
So cool! Congrats! I can not wait for the story, regardless of the weapon used!
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
I just wasted some time looking at draw odds and calculated her odds of drawing this tag. They were 1 in 13,140!!!! When it got down to her "pool" in the lottery there were 4 tags left and 52,560 numbers remaining in the pool to draw from! She had 3 numbers/chances in that 52k since she had 3 bonus points. Unreal!
From: GhostBird
02-Jun-17
Awesome. Good things happen to good people.
From: stealthycat
02-Jun-17
log it well, take lots of pics and show up - congrats on the elk tag/hunt to come !
From: LUNG$HOT
02-Jun-17
Congrats Half Pint! Go get em girl. Can't wait to follow this thread REGARDLESS of the weapons used!
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
I think I've said this before but this kid is the luckiest kid in the world. If anyone is missing a golden horseshoe I think she may have stolen it. She actually won the rifle we'll be packing on this hunt a couple months ago at our RMEF banquet. Fill out a couple raffle tickets, win a rifle, get your old man to apply for a tag against impossible odds, it's a sure thing! You can't make this stuff up. Crazy!
From: WV Mountaineer
02-Jun-17
That is awesome man!!!!!!! The heck with school it more days are needed. :^). I can't wait to see this. Opening this made my day.
From: tobywon
02-Jun-17
Awesome and congrats to you all and don't move it anywhere even if she uses the gun. Let the panties get wadded up. Can you just ask her to spout off 6 random numbers between...say 1 and 44 for me and send a pm.....no particular reason :)
From: Scar Finga
02-Jun-17
Excellent news for sure, congratulations! I am sure she will have an awesome hunt! Keep us posted!
Scar.
From: Bowfreak
02-Jun-17
This will be a ton of fun. Good luck to you both. I will be following the upcoming threads for sure.
From: deerhaven
02-Jun-17
This is going to be an awesome time for both of you. One you will always remember. Tell her congrats and you keep in mind how truly blessed you are. The best of luck can't wait for the story!
Mike
From: Willieboat
02-Jun-17
Looking forward to watching this unfold..should be really cool !
From: boothill
02-Jun-17
So how far will you have to travel to get into the elk hunting area? Will it allow you much time to scout this summer and early fall? Congrats half pint!
From: Mark Watkins
02-Jun-17
Brotsky, Congrats to Half Pint, you and your whole family!!
What an opportunity!
Looking forward to following along!
Mark
From: Buffalo1
02-Jun-17
Best of luck Half Pint. Train hard, hunt smart and shoot well. Relish the wonderful opportunity.
From: trkyslr
02-Jun-17
Congrats again Brotskys!!! Can't wait to get the text BBD! Good luck!
From: Zbone
02-Jun-17
Great stuff... Good luck!!!
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
Boothill, the unit is about a 5 hour drive from my house. I am infinitely familiar with the unit though, I deer hunt it every year and have helped someone with an elk tag in the unit for the last 10 years or so. I could realistically drive out there the night before with no scouting and reasonably expect to be in elk right away at sunrise on the opener. That said, it just so happens I have an archery mule deer hunt planned in that unit for 9 days leading up to opening day of elk this year. It's safe to say that those 9 days will be spent equal parts deer hunting and scouting for elk. Hopefully I have a good bull located for her for opening morning!
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
Just so you guys know how good this unit is....this is a picture I took late last fall through my bino's with my phone so quality is bad but gives you an idea of the "target rich" unit she drew. We won't be too picky either, any good 6 point or big 5 point will fill the bill very nicely! The success rate last season on an average of 5.9 days hunted was a whopping 88%!!
From: boothill
02-Jun-17
Sounds like the luck needs to be on the elks side. How many tags and how big of an area is it? If this is anything like the turkey hunt it should be another fantastic story to follow.
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
If it's anything like the turkey hunts we've been on I'm going to need a high capacity magazine! Bahaha! Thanks boothill!
There are 250 tags allocated and it is a sizable unit.
From: Timbrhuntr
02-Jun-17
Oh man big time I can't wait to follow along gun, bow whatever !!
From: Vids
02-Jun-17
That's awesome, good luck to you guys! Reading your threads makes me look forward to taking my kids out one day.
From: Crusader dad
02-Jun-17
Dude, that is freakin awsome! I am already looking forward to that thread.
From: IdyllwildArcher
02-Jun-17
She's drawing 50 lbs? Wow, I think you're going to have to lose the "half" prefix.
From: t-roy
02-Jun-17
This is gonna be a fun one to follow for sure!
My wife wants to know what the fingernail theme is gonna be for this hunt!!
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
Ike, she's at 45 right now and draws it easily. I'll sneak a turn in here and there over the summer and she'll be up to 50 and not even know it! Her upper body strength and strength in general is very good due to her gymnastics training. During the offseason our school has a strength and conditioning program for our athletes so she lifts 4 times a week!
From: Brotsky
02-Jun-17
Troy, we're talking about it last night and she says, "Hey, don't you need that Sitka gear to hunt elk? I watched a video of ladies in that sub-alpine Sitka women's gear on instagram. I'm definitely gonna need some of that before I hunt elk!" My response was "Looks like I'm gonna need a second job!" Ha! I can only imagine what's coming when we get to the nails! Wait until she finds out that elk have teeth you can turn into jewelry! Elk are probably already heading to WY!
From: fisherick
02-Jun-17
Congrats on the special tag, although she would like to harvest as a bowhunter, she is a hunter first and should not worry about weapon choice on this forum. I for one will follow this thread and cheer her on. Good Luck!
From: drycreek
02-Jun-17
Bow, gun, machete, big rock, whatever, I'M IN !!!
From: midwest
02-Jun-17
I don't care if she uses hand gernades....looking forward to this one!
From: Medicinemann
02-Jun-17
Take your video camera....and a camera with a wide angle lens....you'll need it for the smile when she gets one down.
From: crazyhawksfan
02-Jun-17
First off congrats on the tag! Jealous sob over here! Sounds like it should be a super fun hunt with those elk numbers too! Needs to be September already!!
From: Rickm
02-Jun-17
That is awesome!! She may not appreciate the magnitude of this tag but it's great to see a young hunter draw a tag like this. If your time is limited don't wait too long to switch to the bang stick!! Remember this is a kid not us??
From: HUNT MAN
02-Jun-17
I am with Midwest. Just can wait to see that smile behind a big bull! Hunt
From: Ron Niziolek
02-Jun-17
Brotsky - you and Half Pint have some of the most entertaining and enjoyable hunts/posts. Can't wait for this one to go down. Best of luck! Ron
From: BULELK1
03-Jun-17
Good for her! & Dad--
Keep us in the loop
Congrats young lady
Good luck, Robb
From: Brotsky
03-Jun-17
Thanks for all the kind words gentlemen! Half Pint and I are off to run a 5k this morning. I'm sure she'll smoke this old fat guy but that will be the start of our training!
Just a quick note on weapon choice, Kia is a bow hunter. The kid is insane about bowhunting and is no fan of guns AT ALL. It's going to be tough getting her to pick up the gun but I have a feeling it will be fine once the moment arrives!
From: ElkNut1
03-Jun-17
Sweet, good luck to her!
ElkNut1
From: t-roy
03-Jun-17
I'm laying money that she gets it done with the bow!
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
03-Jun-17
I can't wait to watch this one til the end. Please keep it right here all the way. Best of luck!! Jeff
From: donnybowhunter
03-Jun-17
keep us posted.. good luck half pint
From: Brotsky
04-Jun-17
Did a 3D shoot today and Kia made sure she emptied her quiver into this target! I wish you guys could see how excited she is for this elk hunt!
From: otcWill
04-Jun-17
Enjoy every second, bang or twang!
From: Brun
04-Jun-17
Congrats to her and please post the story here regardless of what weapon she uses. Good luck
From: arlone
05-Jun-17
I too enjoy the Brotzky's hunts, stories and photos. Will be following along as it's the only elk hunting I'll be doing. Good luck Half Pint!
From: Habitat for Wildlife
05-Jun-17
Congrats! Looking forward to the story.
From: Paul@thefort
05-Jun-17
Nice! Looks like fun for all included. my best, Paul
From: Franzen
05-Jun-17
Sounds like a blast! I am envious. Good luck to you all.
From: Beav
08-Jun-17
Congrats to her! Can't wait to see how this hunt plays out.
From: buckfevered
09-Jun-17
Her hunt will be awesome because you guys unt for the hunt and the fun of the chase. Dad and daughter, what could be better. Can't wait till Sept. I can see it now, hunt all day, get to camp and cell service to check Kia's progress, repeat.
From: orionsbrother
09-Jun-17
Just saw this with one of my kids looking over my shoulder. Congratulations from us and count us in for following along.
From: JohnB
10-Jun-17
Lets just change her handle to wonder woman! Good luck Kia!
From: Brotsky
16-Jul-17
Ki's has been working hard this summer getting ready! Shooting and weight lifting for gymnastics has her increasing her draw weight and she's shooting good out to 40 yards now. Only a couple more months to go!!!
From: deerhaven
16-Jul-17
Good job Ki! The preparation part is some of the best part of the whole package. Looks like you are enjoying it. Good luck with the last 2 months it will go so fast.
From: Ron Niziolek
16-Jul-17
Kia, you're going to do great! And this is only your first elk hunt. You will become addicted!
From: Medicinemann
16-Jul-17
If you think the Sitka gear is expensive, wait until she tags her bull. Since the odds will be astronomical for her to draw again in SD, she'll need you to put her in for tags in at least six other western states......EVERY YEAR!! It's probably a blessing that only Kia drew....it would have taken away from the adventure if multiple family members had tags. This allows you to focus on just her.....
From: Tomichi
16-Jul-17
Don't let SCHOOL get in the way of her education....
From: Brotsky
16-Jul-17
Jake, she already has her mount picked out and her necklace design picked out for her ivories. I really hope she's able to tag a bull put all this planning, and talking elk with her has been worth everything so far!
From: jordanathome
16-Jul-17
Go get'r done!!!!
From: BULELK1
17-Jul-17
Practicing/shooting sure will add to her confidence.
Very exciting for sure.
Good luck, Robb
From: Treeline
17-Jul-17
Totally awesome experience for you and Kia! Savor every moment!
Looking forward to the pictures and stories!
From: Brotsky
07-Aug-17
The work continues to be put in by Kia and me to a lesser extent! We have her clothing situation all squared away and we have her firearm all dialed in and her bow shooting just keeps improving. We're really going to have to put in a lot of work this week with shooting and general elk talk, etc. This will be her last week to focus on elk training, then we're off to Florida for a week and then school starts. Kia's been shooting when she can but she joined the working world this summer too so it's been a lot to balance! I have my first scouting trip planned over Labor Day weekend so I'll try to post a bunch more updates after that. If any of you guys are in Sioux Falls stop down at the Falls Overlook Café and buy an ice cream cone. There's a good chance you might get a serving of Half Pint with your ice cream!
From: Sage Buffalo
07-Aug-17
I shot a moose with a 45" Hoyt Raider back in '95. Aluminum arrows - so if she is good with shot selection shouldn't be an issue.
From: Brotsky
19-Sep-17
Man have we been busy! A trip to Disney right before the hurricane, scouting and shooting, and getting everyone back to school! We are only 11 days away from the opening of the first ever half pint elk hunt! It's really starting to settle in for her now that she gets to shoot one of these things! She's getting that nervous excitement we all know so well from our own big hunts. She is super pumped up! I leave on Friday to start my preparations and scouting for her hunt while I do a little deer hunting on the side. I've had a couple of cameras out the past 3 weeks as well so I'll have to round those up too. Kia is getting her "elk nails" done up this weekend so you know it's getting serious! I'll try to start posting a few updates next week leading up to the opener and then we'll have daily/nightly updates after the 1st with hopefully a bunch of pics. We are hunting 10/1-10/4 to start the season. Her school schedule is tough and she is a dedicated student, top 2% in her class of 500+ kids so studies are very important to her and to us as parents. We've talked about her limited time and she has made the decision to bring her bow and her rifle on my pack, and any branch antlered bull will be fair game. I'm happy with whatever makes her happy! Stay tuned!
From: BigOk
19-Sep-17
Can't wait to read this story!! Good luck to her.
From: Fulldraw1972
19-Sep-17
Good luck to half pint and your self Brotsky!!!!
From: APauls
19-Sep-17
So cool. Looking forward to hunt updates!
From: Big John
19-Sep-17
This one is going to be good!!!
From: hunt'n addict
19-Sep-17
Looking forward to this one. Keep us updated.
From: dakotahunter
19-Sep-17
Brotsky.... Good luck on the hunt and maybe I'll run into you. I drew the tag this year also after 19 years of applying. My daughter had a cow tag in that unit last year and it was a blast. She had a few opportunities but never could connect. Its a great family experience for sure.
From: Brotsky
19-Sep-17
Good luck to you as well Scott! It should be a great hunt and we'll have a lot of fun regardless of the outcome! Get yourself a great bull!
From: NoWiser
19-Sep-17
I think I'm looking forward to seeing this hunt unfold as much as much as any of my own hunts this year. Good luck to the two of you and have a blast!!
From: Gene
19-Sep-17
Definitely a thread to follow. Good luck young lady!
From: orionsbrother
19-Sep-17
Best of luck! I'll be following along with the kids who'll be cheering "half pint" along.
From: Paddyj
19-Sep-17
Awesome thread, good luck Half pint!
From: The last savage
19-Sep-17
Fantastic
From: t-roy
19-Sep-17
Kia
My wife is looking forward to your "elk nails" pics! I'm looking forward to your nails wrapped around a set of antlers! Good luck!
From: EmbryOklahoma
19-Sep-17
This is a good thread... good luck Kia!
From: writer
19-Sep-17
What rifle might she be shooting?
From: Brotsky
19-Sep-17
Writer, she is shooting a Browning a-bolt in .270 Winchester driving 140 gr Nosler Accubonds at 2900 fps topped with a Leupold VX-3i 4.5-14x40 with custom CDS dial. She shoots 2" groups at 200 yards consistently. I would personally have preferred something a little heavier but this rifle has special meaning to her since she won it at an RMEF Banquet and she handles it well. She feels it was meant to be her elk rifle and I tend to agree based on how this went down. If she gets her elk and we get some good photos etc I'd actually like to try to write up a story for The Bugle. It would be a good tale for the RMEF!
From: Brotsky
19-Sep-17
Thanks for the well wishes guys! You have no idea how much these threads mean to her! Here's a pic of her reading through her Cali thread she didn't know I took. There's no faking that smile!
From: JohnB
19-Sep-17
Very much looking forward to this hunt, good luck to both of you!
From: BULELK1
20-Sep-17
Start a fresh thread for the actual hunt if ya don't mind??
Looking forward for sure to her elk hunt.
Good luck, Robb
From: WV Mountaineer
20-Sep-17
Good luck Kia! I'm excited to read the hunt story.
From: Wayniac
20-Sep-17
Good luck!!
From: Timbrhuntr
20-Sep-17
Have fun enjoying the hunt !
From: SoDakSooner
27-Sep-17
pulling for her. I know three other folks with tags this year and I guarantee they will not be toting archery equipment.
From: T Mac
27-Sep-17
Good luck Kia! Brotsky great story enjoy the ride!
From: venison
28-Sep-17
Good luck ! Looking forward to hearing the rest of the adventure .
From: trkyslr
28-Sep-17
Good luck kia! Shoot straight!
From: The last savage
28-Sep-17
The first pic of Kia lugging that big ol backpack reminds me of the power of an ant..good job Justin being a great father and role model.y'all will Have a blast no matter what...love the thread..thx for taking the time to take us along....
From: Brotsky
28-Sep-17
FYI guys, I'll do the actual hunt on another thread. Season opens Sunday. I've got some bulls located. One giant but he crosses the unit boundary back and forth, so he's a crap shoot. Kia joins me tomorrow night in the Black Hills and then we'll start the official hunt thread. Should have nightly updates. We will hunt through Wednesday and then have 4 more days mid month. Too warm here right now, need a little cool off. Thanks for your support!
From: Charlie Rehor
28-Sep-17
Recently had marinaded elk back straps while in Colorado. Heaven is here on earth. Get er done! Best always and thanks for your support to out Wounded Warriors. C
From: Wv hillbilly
28-Sep-17
Good luck! Thanks for taking the time to share this adventure.
From: loopmtz
29-Sep-17
Good luck...
