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Al Fox shot a 6 by 6 elk near Enumclaw. Courtesy photo

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Effort paid off for these two local elk hunters

Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:45 PM PST

By Tom Paulu

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Al Fox, 65, shot a 6 by 6 bull elk last month, the biggest one he’s ever downed.

Thirteen-year-old Andrew Crawford got a 5 by 5 in his first year of elk hunting.

Both stories are proof that despite the long odds, it can pay to apply for one of the myriad special permits offered by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

First bull for 13-year-old

Last year was the first time Andrew Crawford of Longview went hunting. Andrew, now 13 and a 7th grader at Huntington Junior High, didn’t get an animal. But he did get chosen for one of only two West side “incentive” elk tags this year.

All big game hunters are supposed to report their success or lack thereof to the DFW. Those who do it by the deadline are entered in a drawing for the nine incentive tags for deer and elk.

Andrew’s permit allowed him to hunt any time from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31.

He and his dad, Neil, hit the woods hard. Their 21st day of hunting, Andrew killed a 5 by 5 bull in the Margaret game unit, near Spirit Lake Memorial Highway.

“He passed up one that would have gone into the record books,” Neil said.

“It wasn’t a safe shot,” Andrew explained. “We had the highway in the background.”

The Crawfords and family friend Jarvis Swogger started hunting at 7 a.m. on Nov. 16; at 1 p.m. they spotted the bull Andrew shot at 300 yards.

He borrowed his father’s rifle, a 7 mm magnum, because his own rifle doesn’t have as long a range.

The bull’s rough score is 225 2/8. “This would make any boy proud,” Neil said.

An area few hunters ever see

Al Fox, who lives in Toutle, has been hunting for 50 of his 65 years.

He calls the 6 by 6 bull he bagged earlier this month “by far the biggest thing I’ve ever shot or imagined I’d shoot.”

Fox, too, had the luck of the draw.

He was one of three hunters chosen from about 600 applicants for the DFW’s Green River hunt near Enumclaw. It’s on heavily restricted land around the City of Tacoma’s water supply.

No advance scouting is allowed, Fox said. “They only let you in there when the season is open and they only give you seven days.

“You don’t have any idea when you go in there what it is. It’s such a big area, you still have to hunt your buns off” despite the low number of hunters.

He was allowed one helper; he took son-in-law Nathan Link.

Fox got his elk the last day of the season, having passed up two 5 by 4s.

Several friends have urged him to have the antlers measured to see if it makes the record books.

In any case, Fox said, “I’m sure I’ll never kill one bigger than that.”

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Gondolapete wrote on Nov 27, 2008 11:57 PM:

" AWESOME!!! "

loowit wrote on Nov 28, 2008 8:30 AM:

" Good job on the hunts.
FYI: the DNR has proposed a trade within the restricted Tacoma Watershed, where the public would loose 7,000 acres of public access, and gain closed land in the watershed. Now is the time to comment so hunters keep the opportunity to hunt. "

dogshead wrote on Nov 29, 2008 6:52 AM:

" The information I'd like to see in these 'great white hunters' stories is how long did the animal live (suffer) after first shot. I would think it could take a while to travel 300 yards to make the final kill if the first shot didn't kill the animal instantly. Give us the gorry details. I know, death by rifle is less tramatic than by death by preditor, but that does don't remove our moral responsibility to make sure the animal suffers as little as possible by waiting for a high percentage, close range shot. I'd also like all the hunters who wound an animal, never to locate it, to report to TDN with their hunting tale (I don't know how often this happens). That's news that could educate the public. Let's get out all the information so we can decide if we want to continue to manage our public lands as 'game farms', at great expense to all taxpayers. The last time I checked (a few years ago), in the state of Washington, hunting and fishing license fees covered only 1/3 the cost of administrating the programs. The remainer comes from the general fund. Now, realizing that we, as taxpayers, pool our money for projects for the greater good (police, roads, fire and all), I do wonder if subsidizing hunters is worthy of my tax dollars. This post should give some folks something to respond to on this Saturday morning, eh? "

Diesel wrote on Nov 29, 2008 8:54 AM:

" The very best part of this article was this:It wasn't a safe shot". By following safety practices you can never go wrong. Kudo's to Neil for teaching his son the proper way to handle a firearm. "

oregon guy wrote on Nov 29, 2008 9:26 AM:

" To Al and Andrew
Absolutly two great hunts. Way to go to the both of you. Congratulations "

Mr. Bastinado wrote on Nov 29, 2008 9:35 AM:

" "Dogshead", there are some among us that don't mind seeing a little suffering...either giving or receiving, and in fact rather relish it. "

Prairie Lark wrote on Nov 29, 2008 9:53 AM:

" The elk are not just on public lands, they are also on tree farms and in farm fields. They will do so much damage if they are not hunted and thinned. We just had someone killed on I-5 due to an elk being on the freeway. I see them quite often grazing next to I-5. How does that measure up to maybe not having an immediate kill? "In a perfect world". Keep on hunting!! "

1arealocal wrote on Nov 29, 2008 12:54 PM:

" RE: dogshead....okay now count slowly and breathe before you post. How about all hunters go out with a "lethal injection" such as a vet will give, or how about no hunting at all so all these grazing flight animals don't suffer at human expense...oh wait they no longer have a predator base so they will starve to death, which I am sure is much less painful than a .30 caliber bullet....gimme a break already. Oh yeah your tax dollars, what about the tax dollars wasted on programs that we dont need or on researching some problem that isn't a problem, get over yourself. "

tigersmom wrote on Nov 29, 2008 2:16 PM:

" Wowee!!!
I want one!! :-) WAY TO GO!!!! YOU ROCK!! "

mom of four wrote on Nov 29, 2008 3:04 PM:

" WTG to the both of you! Dogshead~you are a headache please quit making me suffer. "

Gondolapete wrote on Nov 29, 2008 3:45 PM:

" dogshead is the perfect example of someone who lives in complete ignorance..Hunting is the only effective means of animal management, and it helps a species thrive...this is not only a viewpoint..it is 100$ verifiable scientific fact..but some people allow their emotions to speak for them, and instead of rational conversation it results in completely ignorant arguments. "

Gondolapete wrote on Nov 29, 2008 3:50 PM:

" Also, are any of you anti hunters aware of just how much revenue hunters and fisherman bring into the economy??? Deer hunting alone in Michigan for instance is $100 million a year..a tad more than you animal rights folk bring in... "

slink2008 wrote on Dec 2, 2008 2:20 PM:

" I would first of all Thank you Tom for writing up a wonderful article on these two people. I so much enjoy trophy's such as this. To think that these two people were able to provide meat on there tables and enjoy the fact of being able to shoot something in there lifetime like this is wonderful! Good Job to you both! Second of all yes animals are beautiful and in the real world it would be nice that everything lives. But in reality we cant have that. Dogshead you really need to do research on conservation. Or better yet what about these people that past the law of no trapping. Now look what we have animals attacking livestock or better yet children. Remember to think before you write. Everyone saw poor tripod the cat with 3 legs and voited against trapping. I bet they didn't look into the fact that they cant even trap a mole in there yard now because of it. Anyway enough of that. I just want to say way to go Hunters! Good job! Way to go Mr. Fox your a very dear person and the best White Hunter I ever met! "

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