Posted on 12/11/2007 2:29:24 PM PST by thefactor
A 5-year-old Arkansas County boy killed a black bear Sunday weighing more than 400 pounds.
Tre Merritt, a descendant of Davy Crockett, was hunting with his grandfather Mike Merritt when a black bear happened upon their stand.
"His 10th great-grandfather was Davy Crockett," Mike Merritt said. "And Davy supposedly killed him a bear when he was three. And Tre is five and really killed a bear. I really doubt if Davy killed one when he was three."
Mike Merritt was in the stand at the time but said Tre did it all by himself.
"He came in about 40 to 50 yards," Mike Merritt said of the black bear, "and when he got in the open, I whistled at him and he stopped and I said, 'Shoot Tre.'"
Tre confirmed his grandfather's account.
"I was up in the stand and I seen the bear," Tre Merritt said. "It came from the thicket and it was beside the road and I shot it."
At first, Mike Merritt didn't think Tre had hit the bear with his youth rifle.
"I said, 'Tre, you missed the bear,' " Mike Merritt said. "He said, 'Paw-paw I squeezed the trigger and I didn't close my eyes. I killed him."'
The bear turned out to be 445 pounds — 12 times the weight of Tre. Mike Merritt said tears rolled down his cheeks when he found out his grandson killed the enormous bear.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
But Davy did it at the age of three.
Dang! Good for him. (But if his name is really “Tre,” I hope the ghost of Davy Crockett shows up and slaps his parents around.)
oops. VIDEO at site.
they address that. the grandfather is skeptical of that story. but he knows he saw this 5-yo do it. the legend grows...
And I was wondering if I should teach my 8 yr old to shoot the .22 this Christmas Vacation.
I see now that they do. I should have read more closely. As soon as I saw the title of the thread, I just started singin...Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild.....etc.etc.
You should! My sons started bb shooting when they were younger than 8. An average sized 8-year-old can handle a small-caliber rifle or pistol, with help.
a good gun story...
And he killed him a Bar, not a bear.
Not to be a party pooper, but is it legal for a 5 year old to hunt?
i was about 4 when my dad took me behind my aunt’s farm and taught me to shoot his .380 pistol. remember it like it was yesterday. growing up i shot mostly .22’s. cheap, user-friendly, easy to learn on. good luck to your son.
10 generations already
They don't make em like they used to. When I was your age...
They don't make em like they used to. When I was your age...
great story.
That’s nothin’. When I was four I ran around with a handful of copperheads in my pockets. They all were escaping when my Mom opened up the washer and there were about a dozen of them swimmin’ on top of the wash water. Boy, did I get a whippin’...My tenth Great Grandfather wrote that all men are free with certain rights...(John Locke)
depends on the state hunting law. it’s arkansas. i would assume they give you a hunting rifle as soon as you pop out of the womb. but i’m a yankee so i have no idea. any razorbacks around here?
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