Eight-year-old girl becomes youngest person in Michigan to successfully hunt an elk

Eight-year-old girl becomes youngest person in Michigan to successfully hunt an elk, bringing down a 400-pound animal with a rifle from 200 yards

  • Braeleigh Miller, 8, of Sunfield Township, Michigan, went hunting with her father 
  • Gunnar Miller says they spotted elk in Western Michigan on December 14 
  • Braeleigh used a .308-caliber adult rifle to shoot the 400lb animal 
  • Gunnar Miller said his daughter shot the elk from a range of 200 yards 

An eight-year-old girl has set a Michigan record for being the youngest person ever to hunt an elk after she downed a female with a rifle from more than 200 yards.

Braeleigh Miller of Sunfield Township says she and her father were out hunting on December 14.

‘They (the gang of elk) were all still in the field when it got daylight, and we waited for legal shooting hours, and we snuck across the field and they were in a perfect position in the field, I mean it couldn’t have unfolded any better,’ Braeleigh’s dad Gunnar Miller told WXMI-TV.

Miller said that he and his daughter managed to locate the 400lb elk the night before with the help of a guide.

Braeleigh Miller of Sunfield Township, Michigan, poses for a photo on December 14 with the 400lb elk she shot from 200 yards away – making her the youngest recorded person to successfully hunt the animal

Miller's friends on Facebook sent their congratulations to the girl for her accomplishment

Miller’s friends on Facebook sent their congratulations to the girl for her accomplishment

The young girl is seen left with the .308-caliber rifle she used to shoot the animal. Her father, Gunnar Miller, is seen right looking on

The young girl is seen left with the .308-caliber rifle she used to shoot the animal. Her father, Gunnar Miller, is seen right looking on

Gunnar Miller congratulates his daughter and gives her a hug to celebrate the shooting

Gunnar Miller congratulates his daughter and gives her a hug to celebrate the shooting

Braeleigh Miller said that she has bragged to her family that she has set a hunting record even though she usually the only girl among her relatives.

‘It’s cool for me because I’ve never set a record before, my Dad hasn’t set a record before, and my grandpa hasn’t set a record before, so I’m like to them, “Ha-ha”,’ she said.

Gunnar Miller said he was so moved by his daughter’s accomplishments that he got choked up and had tears in his eyes.

‘Yeah I got pretty worked up, I was pretty excited,’ he said.

The proud dad said that some on Facebook were initially skeptical when told of Braeleigh’s accomplishment.

‘There were a few people on Facebook that were pretty skeptical being the size of the gun and the caliber of the gun and the amount of the kick that it has being that it was a full size,’ he said.

‘It wasn’t a youth gun or anything, it was a full size rifle, and a .308-caliber has a little bit of a kick to it, but she handled it like a champ.’

Gunnar Miller hopes that more children Braeleigh’s age will take up hunting.

Gunnar Miller hopes that more children Braeleigh’s age will take up hunting

Gunnar Miller hopes that more children Braeleigh’s age will take up hunting

In October of last year, father and daughter posed next to another animal they successfully hunted

In October of last year, father and daughter posed next to another animal they successfully hunted

‘Youth hunting in Michigan is a dying sport, and that’s why Michigan actually opened the mentor youth program after studies that have proven in Michigan is that the younger a kid is when they actually get into hunting, the more likely they are to continue it throughout their life,’ he said.

‘So doing that study and everything obviously I would have gotten my kids into hunting at a young age no matter what, but to have the opportunity to have them be the one that’s pulling the trigger and actually harvesting the animal at a young age is a huge opportunity for them that we didn’t have when we were younger.’

Braeleigh Miller said one day she will take her children hunting as well. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk