Neda Herman started hunting at 15 and has been on countless elk hunts in Colorado and Wyoming. At age 83, she said this year’s opening day hunt was one of the best she’s ever had.
“It was the quickest one in terms of getting the elk in,” she told Cowboy State Daily.
She and her son, Todd Herman, hit a trailhead in the Bighorn Mountains on horseback at 6:15 a.m. on Oct. 1. She shot a cow elk at first daylight and they had it quartered and packed out by about noon.
“It was wonderful, I didn’t have to stay up there for two more days, camping in the cold,” said Neda, who lives in Basin.
‘One Little Horse Wreck’
Todd, who lives in Lovell, said he was nervous about taking his mother out on a horseback hunt at her age. But he knows just how determined she is.
“I was a little bit worried about her. All it would have taken is one little horse wreck up there in the trees. But it’s what she wanted to do,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
The hunting tradition runs deep in the family.
Neda grew up in Colorado, and learned how to hunt from her father.
Her husband, Nick, passed away in 2022. When he was still alive, Neda, Todd and Nick went on many hunts together.
Neda recalled one elk they had together near Hyattville; that year, they all shot bull elk.
“There we were, driving out with all these antlers hanging out of the truck, and all the other hunters were gawking. That was a good year,” she said.
Neda Herman, 83, of Basin started her hunting season out right this year, with a buck antelope. (Courtesy: Todd Herman) 
Take that, Father Time! At 83-years-old Neda Herman, from Basin, Wyoming, shot her elk on opening day at 6:15 a.m. By noon, she quartered the elk with her son and packed it out. (Courtesy: Todd Herman) 
Take that, Father Time! At 83-years-old Neda Herman, from Basin, Wyoming, shot her elk on opening day at 6:15 a.m. By noon, she quartered the elk with her son and packed it out. (Courtesy: Todd Herman)
Elk Ivory Earrings
Neda said her father had hoped for at least one son, but got two daughters instead.
“I became the ‘boy’ of the family, I guess,” she said.
Her father taught her outdoors skills and hunting from an early age.
She went on her first big game hunt when she was 15.
“I ended up getting a cow elk and buck deer on the same day. Dad was so proud of me,” she said.
Her father made her a pair of earrings from the elks’ ivories (teeth) and she’s kept them to this day.
After that first hunt, Neda was hooked; she has hunted nearly every fall since.
“After I was married to Nick, and when I went to tell Dad about being pregnant for the first time, I was so excited to tell him that,” she said.
Her father’s reaction wasn’t quite what she expected.
“He looked so glum, and when I asked him why, he said, ‘You’re going to miss hunting season.’”
She missed that fall’s season, but has had many other successful hunts since. With her father, husband and children.
She started this year’s hunting season off right. A few days before the elk hunt in the Bighorns, she and Todd went out antelope hunting with her grandson, Todd’s son Lane, and Neda shot a buck.
Early Morning Elk
On the day of the elk hunt, they were up at 4:40 a.m., to feed and saddle the horses.
After hitting the trail, they rode for about an hour in the dark. As nerve-wracking as that was for Todd, who was still worried about his mother getting into a “horse wreck,” the ride went without a hitch.
Just as the first hint of dawn was appearing in the sky, Todd spotted some elk up ahead.
He quickly took advantage of their good fortune, and got Neda set up in a spot where she’d have good odds of getting a shot, once full light came.
Not long after it was light enough to shoot, Neda set her sights on a cow elk.
“She was breathing hard. As many times as she hunted, she was still excited,” Todd said.
Neda got her breath settled, pulled the trigger and dropped the cow elk instantly with a single shot.
As a well-seasoned elk hunter, Neda knew what came next.
“The exciting part of the hunt is at the beginning. The real work starts when you get one down,” she said.
The first task was to quarter the elk carcass.
“I held the elk’s leg up while Todd did the quartering,” Neda said.
“The birds were already starting to gather,” she added.
They still had to return to camp to get their pack mules. So, rather than leaving the elk quarters out where scavenging birds could peck at them, they hauled them uphill into some trees.
“We covered the quarters with pine boughs, to keep the birds off of them and to help keep them cool,” Neda said.
Then they went back down to fetch the mules, came back up with the mules and loaded them, and rode all the way back out.
“I did a lot that day, I was tired,” Neda said.
Not Sure When She’ll Quit
Neda’s not sure when she’ll retire from hunting.
“During last year’s elk hunt, I told my son, you know, at my age, maybe this had better be my last year,” she said.
“But when the time came to put the license applications in for this year, I was like, ‘OK, let’s go,’” she said.
Neda credits her long vitality to staying active and getting regular exercise.
When asked if she’ll go elk hunting next year, she replied, “If I feel like I do now, sure, I’ll go.”
Neda said hunting has given her lifelong connections with her family, nature and wildlife.
“Being up in the mountains and hearing the elk, oh my goodness. To hear the bull elk bugling and the cow and calf elk squeaking, that is what makes it wonderful, even if you don’t get one,” she said.
Todd said he doesn’t mind bragging about his mom.
“After the hunt, I was sitting with the local coffee guys, telling them about it. Most of those guys couldn’t do it, and they’re her age or younger,” he said.
“I thought it was super-neat to go on that hunt with her. I just hope I can do it too at that age,” he added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
