Helmer has been hunting alongside her dad and older brothers since she was 5 years old. Last fall, she shot her first whitetail. She and her brothers then applied for an elk permit, which she was successful in drawing. On the opening day of the season, Helmer and her dad went out to a Sioux County ranch, where she zeroed in on the monster elk from about 200 yards away. "I tried not to think of how big he was," she told Omaha World-Herald. "Mid-bugle, I shot him."