Maybe I am just old-fashioned, but I believe she would feel a lot prouder of the kill now, and more so in the future, if she DID use an old fashioned side lock rifle.
Her first elk is something special. Having the memory of using an old style rifle, and maybe having the rifle mounted on top of the hide or set in the antlers is going to be a lot better with a wood stocked side-lock then a plastic stocked scoped gun.
She is more interested in getting the job done quickly and humanely more than anything else. My daughter's biggest fear is making a bad shot and having her animal suffer. She's made a bad shot before and had to track a wounded deer over several miles to finish it off, she almost gave up deer hunting. I was able to get her back in the saddle and she made punched three tags in OK without issues and decided she would keep hunting.
Anyway, she was given the Knight rifle for the price of some pictures of her using it hunting. Like I said we couldnt beat the deal, and she's very excited to try this gifted rifle. I'm not sure that using a sidelock would make her feel better, than using a generous gift from a total stranger who just wants to see her succeed.
