Wyoming Girl, 12, Stuns With One-Shot Kill From 600 Yards To Bag Huge Elk

The September day was rapidly fading as 12-year-old Kaci Bulkley settled in for a shot at her first elk, a huge bull, 600 yards away.

She couldn’t quite get her custom-built 7mm Remington magnum rifle steady enough, so her dad, Hazer Bulkley, offered some help.

“I wasn’t feeling too steady. So my dad took off his shoe, and put it under the gunstock” Kaci told Cowboy State Daily.

That provided the solid rest she needed, so she pulled the trigger and landed a lethally solid hit.

“He (the bull) took about 10 seconds to go down. He went about five yards and fell over,” Kaci said.

The bull’s antler rack scored in the 320-inch range, not bad at all for a first elk. Kaci has also bagged coyotes, antelope and a mule deer buck that scored 184 inches.

Though her hunting career is just getting started, Kaci is already selective about the game she’ll take.

“I only shoot boy animals,” she said.

And she likes to hold out for the bigger ones.

“I don’t see a reason to shoot anything smaller,” she added.

Hazer said that for his part, he’s hopeful that his daughter will continue to share his love for hunting.

Wyoming and the West have many species to pursue; he looks forward to take her on bear hunts, mountain lion hunts and more.

And despite her accomplishments at an early age, Kaci has stayed grounded and humble, Hazer said.

“It's a fine line, growing up as a kid, between bragging and just being honest,” he said.

‘A 12-Year-Old Girl Can’t Shoot 600 Yards’

Hazer and his wife, Kris Bulkley, said they were proud to share a photo from Kaci’s hunt on social media.

There was praise, but also some armchair quarterbacking.

Hazer said some commenters noted that Kaci isn’t wearing fluorescent orange, legally required for big game hunting in Wyoming, in the photo with her bull.

But he’s quick to point out that the photo was taken well after the shot was taken and the hunt was over.

By then, it had gotten dark and cold and Kaci had put on a hoodie, he said.

Kris said some commenters were incredulous about Kaci making the shot.

“People were saying there’s no way a 12-year-old girl can shoot 600 yards,” she said.

For Hazer and Kaci, it comes down to practice and the right equipment.

“I practiced shooting at 500 yards right before the hunt,” Kaci said.

Hazer is a gunsmith and said he puts work in to making the family’s rifles accurate.

“We don’t go looking for those long-distance shots. But we have the equipment and the confidence to make them,” he said.

The Benefit Of Private Land

Hazer said the family is blessed to hunt on private land, which they’ve owned for about 50 years.

He thanks his parents’ foresight for their good fortune.

“My parents, they paid for private land instead of fishing boats,” he said.

Kaci said going and watching wildlife on the property is just as gratifying as hunting.

Hazer added that they don’t take the land or wildlife for granted. They do what they can to keep the herds healthy, such as hauling in water for the wildlife.

“We don’t keep it (the land) just for ourselves. We’ll let family and friends on to hunt as well,” he said.

‘Brutus’

As far as how she plans to top this year’s elk, Kaci said she plans to just keep hunting hard.

“We’ll see when we get there,” she said.

Her bull had a huge, healthy body, and the meat has been excellent table fare, Hazer said.

While the food is the true reward of hunting, Kaci is also proud of the full shoulder mount a taxidermist made from her bull.

“I called him ‘Brutus.’ It just sounded right. I didn’t have any rhyme or reason for it,” she said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.