Five-year-old boy bags 12 1/2-foot, 800-pound alligator

Five-year-old Simon Hughes has quite a show-and-tell for his schoolmates after bagging a 12 1/2-foot, 800-pound alligator.

The Goodrich, Texas, first-grader was out hunting Sunday with his father, Scott, and family friend Chuck Cotton on the Hughes' 5,000-acre property near Lake Livingston, reports the Houston Chronicle.

They had set a baited hook the evening before, and when they went to check it Sunday morning the line was in the water, taut.

When the reptile surfaced, Simon shot it from about 5 feet away with his junior-sized shotgun, killing it. Just to be certain, Cotton fired another shot with his pistol to make sure it was dead.

The youngster showed no fear. "I wasn't even afraid," Simon told a KTRE-TV reporter. "It's pretty much simple. I  got my gun out and shot him."

Simon's mother, however, wasn't so nonchalant. "As a mom it sort of scares you to death, because there's alligators, there's snakes, there's all of that sort of thing out there," said Toni Hughes. "What we thought was huge was a 10-foot and this one just dwarfs the 10-foot. I mean its just so massive and prehistoric looking."

Here's a link to the KTRE segment of Simon talking about the one that didn't get away.

The gator, estimated to be 35 to 40 years old, is currently at the taxidermist, where the Hugheses are having the head -- which alone weighs 104 pounds -- mounted. They plan to make boots out of the hide and eat the meat.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: Five-year-old Simon Hughes examines the alligator he shot on his family's ranch. Credit: Associated Press; Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle

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Comments

[Melissa]

Way to go!! My kids think it's great. I just can't believe that a 5 year old was not afraid of a gator that big, and being that close.

[nanibold]

Ok first off, I have to say that I am *so* pleased with your logic, honesty and patience, your response was excellent and made me happy, for real. My apparent irritation is I think largely a reaction to hearing a lack of rational thought on the pro-gun side of the argument... you know, the guys bringing AK-47s to protests, people ranting about their cold, dead hands, etc. It was starting to look like none of them had a thoughtful, human take on the debate - but obviously you do. My regards.

>This is a typical response mechanism for
>those brainwashed by the gun control crowd.

I think it's important to recognize that this 'response mechanism' is not at all a cause of brainwashing... most gun-control advocates (myself included) do not pick up a distaste for firearms merely because other people say bad things about them. It's an honest, genuine position to take, based on experience and personal values. Many guns are built to do only one thing: kill people. One does not need to be brainwashed to disapprove of a device like that.

>I have two nieces, one 10 years old and
>another 8, with martial arts training and
>proper safe gun control/training.

I too have had martial training since a young age, and I totally see the wisdom in getting kids into that kind of thing, it's really good for people. I concede that it can be used to hurt others, but there is a crucial difference: by the time you get good enough to actually be dangerous, you've already been properly trained. I can't kill someone in my first kung fu class nearly as easily as I can kill someone the first time I pick up a gun. A 5-year old can't kill anybody with an accidental kick, but with a shotgun he can take on a gator.

>The older got her first deer last season...

Hunting and defense are the only two ethically sound uses for guns. As long as you're not just slaughtering beasts for fun, and you're not wasting the body, then I certainly won't complain. Long guns really aren't all that offensive, especially in a rural context, where they're essential equipment, like you said.

But this kind of reasoning cannot be extended to, say, concealed handguns in cities. I mean, in one case, people were legally fighting for the right to bring concealed handguns into *bars*, even over the objections of bar owners. At that point it's clearly getting ridiculous. And assault rifles? What possible legitimate use can someone have for that? All it is is a murder weapon - and a damn fine one too.

>Like their father, uncles, and grandparents,
>early firearms training dispels the "gun
>mystique" and prevents accidents.

Dispelling the gun mystique I can appreciate. No doubt, early and responsible training does help prevent accidents. A couple questions remain though: 1) if everybody gets early training, then it means there are many of the weapons around in the country, and it is bound to increase the likelihood of serious accidents and/or abuse. Then I guess we'd have to ask how many such incidents happen, I'm not sure myself. 2) firearms training does not necessarily do all that much to protect the public against intentional abuses, like where a properly-trained kid breaks into his uncle's gun rack and goes on a rampage because he got mad, or whatever. Strict gun control offers some help in that area.

>Before you harp about children and gun
>safety, consider that proper training
>with anyone provides a wonderful learning
>experience for family members, and
>broadening understanding of the
>life cycle.

I can appreciate what you're getting at, but I don't think that can really be used to argue against gun control. You can get the same bonding/learning experience with sports, martial arts, music, etc...

>The gator story included an addendum...
>the leather for boots and the meat for the
>table, stop-loss of cows and calves taken
>when coming down to drink, etc....not
>exactly killing for waste/sociopathic
>training.

Agreed, I was glad to see the killing wasn't just for the hell of it.

>Psychologists theorize that sociopathic
>behavior is fostered by lack of
>affection in infancy, not by giving
>the child training on how to utilize tools.

Sure, I think we can agree that knowing how to use a gun in no way makes people crazy or sociopathic. But I hope we can also agree that having guns does very much make crazy/sociopathic people *way* more dangerous.

On a mostly unrelated note, though: learning how to kill indiscriminately or how to butcher a screaming animal with your hands I am sure doesn't help. Killing may be a fact of life, but anybody who can torture an animal without some kind of guilt is totally capable of torturing a person, I guarantee it. This is largely unrelated to our gun debate though.

As for the morality of killing gators, I don't have much of an opinion on that. People kill animals when the animals become inconvenient for them, that's just a fact of life. Especially dangerous ones like massive killer lizards... we eat him or he eats us, whatever...

[Joe & Kristy Koesler]

This is a typical response mechanism for those brainwashed by the gun control crowd. I have two nieces, one 10 years old and another 8, with martial arts training and proper safe gun control/training. The older got her first deer last season (yes, she had her own tags...), and the younger got her first turkey (tags as well)...beard saved, as well as the antlers, meat consumed by the family.
Like their father, uncles, and grandparents, early firearms training dispels the "gun mystique" and prevents accidents. Making guns mysterious and forbidden is what puts young people in danger. Guns are tools on the farm and ranch, no different than a shovel or tractor - all common tools that can be deadly in the wrong circumstances.
Before you harp about children and gun safety, consider that proper training with anyone provides a wonderful learning experience for family members, and broadening understanding of the life cycle. The gator story included an addendum...the leather for boots and the meat for the table, stop-loss of cows and calves taken when coming down to drink, etc....not exactly killing for waste/sociopathic training. Psychologists theorize that sociopathic behavior is fostered by lack of affection in infancy, not by giving the child training on how to utilize tools.
Also, alligator numbers have risen to such levels in Texas that hunting has become necessary to keep their numbers in check. Texas has a strongly controlled and monitored 'gator season. No one wants their numbers to increase to the point where they become a widespread danger to pets and children in suburban areas. If the folks who don't have to deal with huge carnivorous reptiles in large numbers have better options to hunt them other than baited hooks and a bullet to the head, I'm listening. Unless you want to play Steve Irwin, this method is tried and true.
The old Indian saying still holds...Don't criticize another until you have walked a mile in his moccasins, stepping over the rattlesnakes along the path.

[nanibold]

Right, well I think we can all agree that important things like gun safety should be taught from a relatively young age. But, um, we're talking about a five-year old. Kids aren't all that experienced, aren't all that coordinated, and aren't known for things like wisdom and self-control. That's why it's generally not a good idea for a kid to have something like a *shotgun*.

If you really must pass your firearms obsession on to your children, I'd suggest starting with something like a BB gun and allowing the kids to grow up a bit before giving them something that could kill someone so easily. I mean, come on guys, all it takes is a single fumble in a 5-year-old hand, or a single lost temper in an under-developed 5-year-old brain, and somebody dies.

Hell, if we're going to give shotguns to kids, then we should also probably look at letting them drink alcohol and drive cars too. Why not? Good parenting is the key! As long as everybody is "raised right" then there's no reason why toddlers shouldn't be allowed to drive the car with an open whisky flask and a loaded gun in their lap, right?

Hmph. I'm all for removing stupid regulations and letting people take responsibility for their own actions... but when someone gives a shotgun to a 5-year-old, then we have to start asking questions about whether people really are responsible enough to be trusted. It may be my legal right to balance a jar of liquid nitrogen on my toddler's head too, but that would not make it a good idea...

[CO Native in OC]

I have no issue with the five-year old learning gun safety or even hunting under the right circumstances, but this story turned my stomach. According to the interview on NBC, the alligator was trapped when he/she was shot. There was not a fear for the five-year old's safety, because the alligator could not get to him, since he/she was stuck in a wench. I think I read on another post that this was equivalent to shooting fish in barrel and that seems to fit. I don't see a reason to celebrate this event, instead it is more of a sad story.

[Road Runner]

Let's see was shooting a gun after recess or before lunch, oh yeah it was in the Dick and Jane Books, see Dick shoot, shoot shoot shoot, See Jane's admiration of her 5 year old killer boyfriend, kill, kill, kill...what in hades is that bonehead teaching his kid..

[Nanc]

I love to shoot, always have. What does that have to do with killing wildlife particularly teaching young children that they do not even need to respect wildlife? You can't respect a living creature baiting it, allowing it to suffer, then shooting it at point blank range. It may be what goes on down it Texas, but it's not the American way.

[Smythe]

SRM-LRM: South Florida has hundreds, if not thousands, of salt water crocodiles. In fact, Florida is the only place in the world where the two species share territory.

[Bill]

What hunters often obscure with their "you dumb liberals trying to take mah guns" bellowing is that "hunting" like this is incredibly cruel. You hook an animal in the mouth and let it struggle in pain for hours before shooting it in the head at point blank range. To call that "hunting" is a disservice to hunters everywhere.

And if you think it isn't, replace the night with broad daylight, the swamp with a town square and the alligator with a dog. Hell, keep the alligator. Just do what's described in the article with the suffering in plain sight and see how many people can actually stomach it.

As for the hunting at a young age, the worst part of it is teaching your kids that animals have no feelings and it's okay to kill (and in this case, torture) them for your own amusement.

[SRM-LRM]

Bill in Spring: You should be pretty safe from alligators or crocodiles in most oceans (like, say, all the oceans off the US). Salt water crocodiles don't exist outside of captivity in the US. Might be sharks though. :)

[david]

uuuuh,if i remember right,in the state of texas,its illegal to kill a gator...
I had a friend that took home a roadkilled alligator (18 wheeler got him) the game warden caught wind of it and confiscated it. guess these people are related to the Bush family and can shoot people in the face.. so why not a gator.

[J.]

As a Dallas resident, I applaud this kid and his parents.

My eight-year-old daughter has been shooting for three years. She is a crack shot and, much more importantly, follows the rules of gun safety religiously. Teaching a child how to use a firearm, and when, is one of the most important things a parent can do in America. In our family, it's a tradition dating back at least four generations - on your fifth birthday, you're taught how to fire a rifle. You do not get toy guns or BB guns. You are DRILLED in the rules of gun safety until they're second nature.

4 generations of this family policy, taught to AT LEAST 30 kids of different generations, 0 gun accidents. None. But every one of us has a tale of times we've spent in the wilderness, and having a gun was a damned handy thing. If my daughter were in the same situation as Simon, I have utmost faith that she would have responded in the same way.

For the record, I am also a liberal who voted for Obama. I support freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and healthcare reform. Being a Democrat in Texas just means I sometimes buy guns that are below .45 in caliber. Too many see gun control as a marker of whether someone is Republican or Democrat. It is nothing of the sort. It's quite possible to reconcile a Liberal standpoint with the idea that the 2nd Amendment was created for a very, very good reason.

Bravo to Simon and his parents! Heck of a great kill, and it's also good to see that they're eating and using the rest of the beast. The only downside I see is that this kid is going to grow up with no way to really outdo his first gator shot.

[canadian guy]

Maybe it is because I am not american but all I could think after reading this article was that this little kid sounded like a sociopath and that the parents should have their child taken into child protective services while they mental status is determined. I'n not sure what I found more offensive, trapping and shooting a 40 year old gator or parents that allow a 5 year old to have and use a rifle.

This is one of those stories that makes me dislike american culture.

[NotBubba]

mike, it might surprise or even disturb you to find the world is not the simplistic place you imagine with evil liberals on a sinister quest to take from you everything but your ignorance. i consider myself rather liberal in today's puritanical political schisms and i strongly support individual rights of gun ownership.

i have begun a quest of my own: to find one internet forum where someone does not find an excuse to rail against the evil liberals. i love a challenge.

[Hunter]

Steve, Jen, Bob...

The only time I'd be afraid of a 5 year old with a shotgun is if he wasn't educated on firearm safety. I've been shooting since I was 5 and have never had an issue because I was taught how to be safe. My father and his father both started shooting in their early years - as well as many of my uncles, cousins, etc... We were all educated and have never had any issues.

Guns aren't dangerous - people are.

[RegW]

Sorry, but setting baited hooks is NOT hunting, anymore than putting out grain and sitting up in a tree is deer hunting. There is no "sport" involved in this kind of "hunting". You might as well be shooting fish in a barrel.

[Mike]

You guys are forgetting this is Texas, anyone can hunt at any age, actually most states don't even HAVE an age limit as long as they are supervised. Hunting is taught at a very early age, just like tying your shoes and learning to dress yourself or going to kindergarten. Sounds like some of you have the sheets pulled over your eyes by the liberal media or liberal state that you live in. There's nothing wrong with hunting that young, it's actually BETTER to teach kids about firearm safety/ hunting while they are extremely young, that way they don't grow up with misconceptions concerning firearms and common sense. Any idiot knows, if you teach your child something properly at a young age, it will stick with them as they mature and grow up.

[Bob Dog]

I really wonder which is more dangerous,a five year old who has been taught to use a shotgun,or a 35 year old gator way out in the swamp...

[Bob]

Why is a 5 year old toting a firearm?

[Jen]

Yikes! I sure am glad we don't have alligators in B.C. (that's in Canada).

b

[Texas expat]

After two and a half years, my heart yearns for the sweltering, humid climes of my home near the Texas gulf coast. Living in Ohio, where the most dangerous animal is a bumblebee, I hearken back to the days of my youth. Whether we were running from a Cottonmouth near McQueeney, rattlesnake hunts outside of Sweetwater, tempting alligators under the docks at Brazos Bend or just watching the tarantulas stampede across 36 in Brenham it was somehow satisfying to know that I lived amongst the wild and deadly creatures and survived.
Here, life is somewhat... Domesticated.

[Steevie]

Am I the only one slightly afraid by the thought of a 5 year old with a junior shotgun?

[Bill in Spring]

Just confirms what a game warden told my wife many years ago: when nuisance gators show up in golf course ponds, they are captured and dumped... out there near Lake Livingston.

I am no longer interested in swimming in the ocean or lakes or rivers. If it ain't an actual swimming pool with lots of chlorine, I'm staying dry.

That's a BIG gator.

Bill in Spring