NATCHEZ — No matter how many times his daddy tried to convince him, Scott Stanley, 9, just didn’t want to pull the trigger.

Stanley could only cover his ears and watch as his father Jason Stanley and the others with him pointed their guns at the squirrels perched high in the trees and fired away.

The father and son were part of a group that attended the ninth annual Redneck Adventures Squirrel Hunt on private lands in Anna’s Bottom. Each February, Redneck Adventures takes handicapped and special needs children hunting for squirrels for two days and feeds them and their families dinner after the first night.

Scott Stanley, who has Down syndrome, was enthusiastic about his group taking plenty of squirrels and raccoons during the hunt, but wasn’t too keen on taking a shot at one himself.

“This is his first year doing (the squirrel hunt), and I don’t understand why he doesn’t want to, because I have him on video shooting a deer,” Jason Stanley said.

Jimmy Allgood, one of the main faces on the Redneck Adventures television show, joked that Scott Stanley was more interested in other game.

“Young Scottie has been on deer hunts with us and been successful several times,” Allgood said.

“At our last Redneck Adventures hunt, his sister Brittney got to take an alligator, and he didn’t. I think he’s been watching other Redneck Adventures videos, and I think he wanted to be alligator or deer hunting.”

But Scott Stanley said there were more things he’d like to hunt.

“Bears!” Stanley said. “I want to hunt gators. I took two deer (already).”

His father corrected him on that number.

“Three deer,” Jason Stanley said. “A 3-point, a doe and a 7-point.”

Scott Stanley wasn’t the only rookie squirrel hunter on hand. Adams County Christian student Lester Wells accompanied the group and got to take his first squirrel.

“I’ve never shot squirrels before,” Wells said. “It’s fun. I’ve been hunting for four years, and this is harder than taking a deer, because it’s smaller (game). But I’d do it again.”

Wells was with Allgood’s son, Justin Allgood, who has been coming on the squirrel hunts with his dad since the first one.

“If you’ve hunted a long time, this should be easy,” Justin Allgood said. “If you’re a beginner though, it’s hard.

“It depends on how good a shooter you are.”

The hunt saw 227 participants and 15 handicapped hunters, along with 16 total teams, Jimmy Allgood said.

A total of 190 squirrels, 14 raccoons and one rabbit were taken. Team Virgil Sturdivant got first place in the hunting competition with 17 squirrels, and Dilou “Dually” Smith got individual accolades by taking a gray squirrel, a fox squirrel and a black squirrel.

“It’s grown every year and gotten better,” Jimmy Allgood said. “We have more and more folks running to the table, in terms of landowners, volunteers and dog men to make this probably the largest squirrel hunt in this part of the country.”