Posted on 10/02/2009 10:12:29 AM PDT by AreaMan
At age 5, Simon Hughes is no stranger to hunting. His first big trophy — a 12-foot-6, 800-pound alligator, may be hard to top, though.
There are hunters who go a lifetime dreaming of that big kill. Then there's Simon Hughes, who helped nab a beast of an animal on an East Texas hunt — while still in the first grade. The 5-year-old boy from Goodrich was part of a hunting crew that recently killed an 800-pound, 12-foot-6-inch alligator that has wildlife experts shaking their heads.
The reptile, whose size is at a state record level, is now at the taxidermist waiting to be mounted. Simon's family, meanwhile, is fielding calls from CNN and Good Morning America to feature his exploits.
Simon learned to drive all-terrain vehicles and shoot firearms when he was only 4. So he was primed and ready to go on an alligator hunt this past weekend with his father, Scott Hughes, a sixth-generation rancher, and hunting guide Chuck Cotton.
Simon had a new junior-sized .410-gauge shotgun. His first gun had been too big, having a recoil that opened a small cut below one eye after he fired it.
Neither his father nor mother worry about Simon using firearms, because...
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
“God made alligators and little boys. Colt made them equal.”
My Daddy used to refer to firearms as equalizers for that very reason. One of the highlights of growing up with Dad would be a few days fishing in the high mountains where he grew up. He always carried a 9mm semi-auotmatic pistol and about every other year, we had an encounter with rattlesnakes where it came in mighty handy.
Mine too.
A regular Davy Crocodile. ;)
That’ll make a nice pair of boots. Or 10...
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