This was a solo hunt that I did in my hometown in Washington State. I had watched this bull in velvet in July and knew he was the one I wanted for the year. He hung around until his velvet came off, then he disappeared. When September arrived and the rut kicked off, he resurfaced with a small group of cows. 

From a blind, I was able to get the perfect 26 yard double lung shot. He only made it about 50 yards before quickly expiring.  After my shot, I called my dad to come help me track blood and find the bull. The blood trail was really good so we found him in a short 10 minutes. I handed my dad my phone to start recording, when I knew we were getting close, so he could capture my true reaction. 

I did this hunt 100% on my own while my husband was on a deployment to Afghanistan. I feel very blessed to have gotten this bull and provide meat for my family all while keeping up the household and raising our two kids on my own. 

Being a military family is hard, but hunting is what keeps me going and makes my husband's long deployments a little easier. 

It also shows my kids that hard work and perseverance pays off, and even while "the man of the house" is gone, mom can still get stuff done.