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Burlington Crossbow Hunter Takes World Record Elk

A Wyoming hunter now holds the world record for the largest elk killed with a crossbow. Albert Henderson took the elk in the Shoshone National Forest during last fall’s crossbow season.

The elk scored 408 points on the Boone and Crockett scoring system. Wyoming Game and Fish spokesman Al Langston says it takes an exceptional hunter to make such a clean kill with a crossbow since it means getting very close to make a shot.

“Most hunters hunt their whole life and never, ever see a 400 point plus elk, okay?” Langston says. “It’s an extremely rare occurrence for a hunter to bag an elk that size, or even to see one.”

Henderson was actually stalking a 350 point elk when he caught sight of the larger one.

“And then when he saw this one he knew this one was substantially bigger so he changed his tactics and began sneaking and crawling to try to close the distance.”

Langston says Henderson made a clean shot. The animal only traveled 100 yards before it fell.

Henderson took the elk with a general license on public lands. Langston says this shows that hunters don’t necessarily have to visit private reserves to hunt trophy elk.

Melodie Edwards is the host and producer of WPM's award-winning podcast The Modern West. Her Ghost Town(ing) series looks at rural despair and resilience through the lens of her hometown of Walden, Colorado. She has been a radio reporter at WPM since 2013, covering topics from wildlife to Native American issues to agriculture.
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