NATCHEZ — Eleven-year-old Scott Stanley spent his Friday morning exploring the woods on private lands in Anna’s Bottom.

Scott was rummaging the woods for sticks to break, logs to step over, swamps to walk through and even found a deer skull that he proudly displayed to the other members of his hunting group.

But when Scott heard the dogs start barking and saw the members of his hunting party speed up from a stroll to a brisk walk toward the tree the dogs were standing beneath he knew the excitement was beginning.

“Scottie, are you going to shoot this one?” his father Jason Stanley would call.

“Yes daddy,” Scott would respond.

But when Jason had the squirrel that the dogs had treed in his sights and positioned Scott in the right position to pull the trigger, Scott became gun-shy.

“It’s too loud,” Scott said as he covered his ears and kneeled down.

After Scott refused to shoot, the other members of the hunting group that were participating in the 11th annual Redneck Adventures Squirrel hunt took their shots and brought down the squirrel that Scott passed up.

Scottie never got around to pulling the trigger, but he had plenty of fun exploring the woods, searching for bears and alligators and helping the dogs tree squirrels, he said. He even got the thrill of trying to run down a big buck that went flashing through the woods after the party had passed.

“He went gator hunting and deer hunting last year,” Jason said. “He’s killed two or three deer.”

One of the members of Scott’s hunting group that benefitted from his timidity was his sister, Brittany Stanley.

Brittany, who has been hunting for four years, killed a couple of squirrels and assisted on at least a couple more. But Brittany said she enjoyed experiencing the hunt with Scott more than killing the squirrels.

“(I like this hunt) because my brother is in it,” she said.

Brittany, 13, said she would be thrilled to see her brother kill a squirrel, but she understands why he is hesitant.

“He doesn’t like loud noises,” she said.

The Stanleys’ hunting group was one of a handful of groups that featured young hunters, wounded veterans and special needs hunters hunting with some of the top hunting-dog trainers in the region, said Redneck Adventures’ host Jim Allgood.

All the groups combined to bring home approximately 20 squirrels and a couple of raccoons Friday morning.

“It was a great hunt,” Allgood said. “Everybody had a blast. The sun didn’t pop out good until probably about 10 a.m., so the last hour was probably when the squirrels started becoming more friendly.”

Natchez’s Lance Beesley and Fayette’s Mike “Bullet” Cangemi provided the dogs for the hunting group that featured the Stanleys, Allgood, and a handful of Adams County Christian School students that came along on the trip.

Beesley said he has been participating in the Redneck Adventures Squirrel hunt since 2008.

“I came as a participant (the first year) and just the looks on the kids’ faces makes it hard to turn down,” Beesley said. “It’s a chance to see their excitement.”

ACCS senior Kevin Campbell joined the group of Rebels that walked the woods with the hunting group. Campbell said he has been hunting all his life, but Friday he was providing a support role — taking photos and helping out the other hunters.

“(Allgood) asked me to come out and see if I would like to use my photography skills, and I said, ‘I would be glad to,’” Campbell said.

Campbell said it was the first time he had joined Allgood and Redneck Adventures on their squirrel hunt, and he was having a good time.

“It’s a blast,” he said. “It’s always fun to find a way to help. I like to help somebody, anybody really, have a good time.”

ACCS’ Lester Wells and his brother Jordan Wells were also on the hunt, and they said they both participated last year.

“I like shooting squirrels,” Lester said. “It’s a smaller target (than deer), and it’s just fun.”

Jordan, 14, was able to kill a couple of squirrels himself and also brought down a raccoon, which he plans to have made into a trophy.

“I like shooting the raccoon, because it’s bigger and you can see them better,” Jordan said.

Vidalia-native Chris Strong said he enjoyed the communal aspect of squirrel hunting.

“Deer hunting you are by yourself,” he said. “(Squirrel hunting) is especially nice when you have dogs, because you can just wait for the dogs to tree them and walk around and talk and watch the dogs work.”

After a morning of hunting, the hunters took the afternoon off to recuperate before heading to the Vidalia RV Park for the Redneck Adventures’ banquet.