13-year-old takes huge bull, shares special hunt with father during Minnesota elk season

Lancaster, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings may have lost on Sunday, Sept. 24, but 13-year-old Ryker Copp definitely won. 

After watching the Vikings, Copp went out and shot an 8-by-10 elk during his once-in-a-lifetime Minnesota hunt. More than a week later, he’s still shaking from the series of events. He’s most happy about sharing a once-in-a-lifetime memory with his father, Jerred Copp. 

“I can’t even explain it, it was just really fun,” Ryker said. “I’m pretty excited because we can hang up (my elk) next to my dad’s (elk).”

Ryker applied for an elk license for a second straight year in early June. In the beginning of July, Ryker’s mother returned from the mailbox with a packet. She opened it and Ryker’s excitement shot through the roof as he realized it contained an elk tag.  

After receiving the zone 30 either-sex license, Jerred and Ryker started scouting mostly private land, but also some public ground. Jerred had a friend who connected them to some private landowners and received permission to hunt their land. 

RELATED STORIES:

Roseau siblings kill two massive bull elk during first days of Minnesota season

Ravenna hunter kills likely state record archery elk in Michigan

The Copp family lives just west of Warren, Minn., and drove a little over an hour after school and work to scout during the past few months. On Sunday, Sept. 17, Ryker and Jerred saw a big bull walk across the private land, and they targeted that particular elk for the season. 

“We saw this big elk the Sunday before the season, and the week leading up to it I kept my eye on him,” Jerred said. “He was kind of there every day.” 

They saw one small bull on Saturday and came back on Sunday morning, but didn’t see the big bull. They were worried that something had spooked it away from the area. 

Ryker and Jerred went back to camp to watch the Vikings game on Sunday afternoon. After the Vikings lost, they packed up and headed a little north of their original spot. 

Between 5 and 5:30 p.m., they saw a cow with some calves. About 20 minutes later, a pair of cows came into sight. A few moments later the big bull entered the scene. 

Ryker said the bull was about 423 yards away, so they wanted the elk to come closer. It slowly did until at about 360 yards, Ryker decided to shoot. 

Ryker had practiced to 250 yards away, but Jerred said he didn’t see any nervousness or shaking when he prepared to shoot. 

The first shot put the elk down and Ryker shot a second time to make sure it stayed down. Ryker used a .300 Weatherby Magnum to take the 8-by-10 elk, which green scored 394.25 inches. Emotions erupted quickly.  

“I think we almost jumped through the stand,” Ryker said. 

The elk was shot between 6:45 and 6:55 p.m. on Sept. 24, about a half an hour before sunset. The celebration continued once they reached camp with Ryker’s grandfather, the private landowners, and others. 

They brought the elk to Outdoor Addictions Taxidermy in Crookston. Ryker looks forward to adding more elk to the home as Jerred has gone out west to hunt elk, but he hasn’t received a Minnesota tag yet. 

“When they say once-in-a-lifetime, it’s true,” Jerred said. “It was awesome… When he made the shot at 359 yards, I was very proud of (Ryker).”