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Post by Purebred Redneck on Dec 12, 2007 11:46:19 GMT -5
Five Year Old Boy Kills Bear Monday December 10, 2007 4:14pm Reporter: Heather Crawford Posted By: Katrina Dupins Dewitt - An Arkansas County boy killed a black bear Sunday weighing more than 400 pounds.
(Tre Merritt, Five-year-old Hunter) "I was up in the stand and I seen the bear. It came from the thicket and it was beside the road and I shot it."
Tre Merritt's grandfather was in the stand with him at the time. He says Tre did it all by himself.
(Mike Merritt, Tre’s Grandfather) "He came in about 40 to 50 yards, and when he got in the open. I whistled at him and he stopped and I said, ‘Shoot Tre.’"
And that’s just what Tre did--he fired his youth rifle.
(Mike Merritt) "I said, ‘Tre, you missed the bear.’ 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--twelve-times the size of Tre. Mike Merritt said tears rolled down his cheeks when he found out his grandson killed the enormous bear.
(Mike Merritt) "His 10th great-grandfather was Davy Crockett. 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."
Tre’s dad says he started teaching his son to shoot when he was just 2 ½ years old. Last year, Tre killed three deer.
The family plans to get a life-sized mount of the bear, but they’re not sure right now where they’ll put it.
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Post by klsm54 on Dec 12, 2007 13:30:28 GMT -5
I sure wish they told us the caliber. It was probably a 243... They are a killin' machine.... ;D ;D
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Dec 12, 2007 14:04:39 GMT -5
I sure wish they told us who shot the bear
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Post by klsm54 on Dec 12, 2007 14:25:59 GMT -5
There you go again. Always assuming the worst from people. Not everyone, even in this world today, is a liar. Innocent until proven guilty... ;D ;D
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Dec 12, 2007 14:46:57 GMT -5
Yeah and the kid was 4 last year and killed 3 deer. I'll believe that when my **** turns purple and smells like rainbow sherbert. 2 1/2 years old and the kid is shooting guns. Can't even control his bowels and is still in a diaper, but by god can that kid shoot. geez
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Post by klsm54 on Dec 12, 2007 15:20:07 GMT -5
If there are child prodigies that can play the musical instruments, play golf, or leapfrog ahead of others in their school, why can't a kid learn to shoot at a young age? I don't remember when I was 2-1/2, but if if hunting were legal when I was 5, I would sure have wanted to go.
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Dec 12, 2007 15:56:11 GMT -5
You know the words "safe" and "fire" that's stamped on the safety --- the kid can't read it !!! I don't think it's a wise idea to subject yourself, your kid, and every other person in the woods or ranges to the danger associated with extremely young shooters when most adults do the same thing.
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Post by klsm54 on Dec 12, 2007 16:13:20 GMT -5
No argument here on the "wisdom" of letting 5 year olds hunt. I think that it is way too young for the majority of children that age. The legal hunting age in PA is 12 and I see no reason to lower it, although there has been pressure to do so.
But where it is legal, I'm sure there are exceptions to the norm. And my guns don't say "safe" and "fire". When I was 3 or 4 I certainly knew how to cock the hammer on my cap pistol... ;D ;D
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Post by Jack on Dec 12, 2007 16:32:24 GMT -5
Red, I killed my first woodchuck with a 22 when I was 5, so I don't doubt it's possible for this kid to have shot a bear. In my case, my father rested the rifle over his knees. I was nowhere near big enough to hold the rifle steady. That may well have happened here, too. Red, I dunno when you learned to read in your neck of the woods, but around here a 5 year old can do some reading, and assuming the family gave him instruction on how to use the rifle, I'm sure he can tell 'safe' from 'fire'.
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Post by Jack on Dec 12, 2007 16:35:52 GMT -5
" It was probably a 243... They are a killin' machine.... ;D ;D" I'm betting 30-30, Klsm. The ammo's cheaper. That highfalutin 243 ammo is expensive!
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Dec 12, 2007 16:59:38 GMT -5
It was in Arkansas so it's likely a 22mag and a spotlight I think I was 11 when I shot a squirrel
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Post by jimiowa on Dec 12, 2007 17:48:39 GMT -5
No argument here on the "wisdom" of letting 5 year olds hunt. I think that it is way too young for the majority of children that age. The legal hunting age in PA is 12 and I see no reason to lower it, although there has been pressure to do so. But where it is legal, I'm sure there are exceptions to the norm. And my guns don't say "safe" and "fire". When I was 3 or 4 I certainly knew how to cock the hammer on my cap pistol... ;D ;D You want to hear about a huge loophole in the law? Iowa has no min age(just must be accompanied by a licensed adult) but must be 12 yrs old and have taken a hunter safety course to aquire a youth permit.
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bounce
Royal Member
Posts: 5,727
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Post by bounce on Dec 12, 2007 20:55:13 GMT -5
Youth gun? let's see now .17, 22 or .223 ? Sounded like they had to wait a while for it to drop. My bet is a .17HMR. LOL. As the .223 would have ben over kill.
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Post by jimiowa on Dec 12, 2007 23:38:42 GMT -5
Youth gun? let's see now .17, 22 or .223 ? Sounded like they had to wait a while for it to drop. My bet is a .17HMR. LOL. As the .223 would have ben over kill. Well I'm thinking A .223 with 75 grn bullet would be the perfect combination if one was pelt hunting for a fine bearskin rug. Little hole to sew up.
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Gila
Grand Member
and a Vernier sight. It's marked up to twelve-hundred yards. This one shoots a mite further.
Posts: 622
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Post by Gila on Dec 13, 2007 16:10:05 GMT -5
Well, my kids were really young when they started hunting... 8 years old, not 5 but they did great and we had no problems. Both had to pass the Hunters Safety Class and test. To pass it under 8 would have been tough as far as reading and understanding the questions in the test.. Oh well, the kid could have done it I think.. Here's ome shots of my boys. Both at 8 (not 5) These were taken the first year each boy hunted.. The first 4 pictures, the boys were using a 30-30 AI with 135g Sierra SSP bullets.
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