Return of the Booth Babes: The 2007 SHOT Show
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Bringing Home The Bacon
Hit me with a hammer
Wham bam bam
What good am I
Without my ham?—Roy Blount
One of the more interesting cultural phenomena in recent weeks is the uproar over the 1,051-pound feral hog shot on May 3 by an 11-year-old named Jamison Stone. To make things more interesting, this Paleolithic porker was taken with a customized Smith & Wesson .500 revolver, a firearm at least as huge and fearsome at the swine itself.
Like most of what goes on today, this is all very baffling to me. Young Jamison finds himself a celebrity even outside of hunting circles—why? The pig is the least glamorous of our game animals (and no, it is not the new whitetail, at least until one grows antlers). Does this mean we’re finally tiring of Rosie O’Donnell and looking for a replacement? Is it the size of the swine? The age of the hunter?
About the .500 S&W. I can distinctly remember when the .45 ACP was thought of as a veritable cannon, and the .357 magnum was considered so terrifying that only FBI agents were manly enough to shoot it. Yet here is an 11-year-old shooting something with one hand that kicks as hard as a .338. I shot a .500 S&W when it first came out in 2003, and it reminded me of the time when, as a kid, I tried to catch a 12-pound shot put.
Does this mean we can look forward to 9-year-olds taking Cape buffalo with .577 Nitro Expresses? Seven-year-olds dropping elephant with .700 Holland & Hollands? Where does it all end?
My four thoughts when I watched this on Good Morning America this morning:
- Fishermen aren't the only ones who stretch the truth.
- What kind of father would; 1) let his kid shoot a .50 handgun and 2) get this close to a 1000lbs hog to hit it
- I wonder what photo editing software they used.
- Who cares?
Posted by: Steve C | May 29, 2007 at 11:47 AM
Let's say that an adult hunter said: "I fired 16 times and hit that pig nine times before it went down."
We all might reply: "Jeez, buddy -- learn to shoot or use a better load."
So what kind of parents let their 11-year-old son run around the woods trying to shoot a really big, rather dangerous hog with a handgun and/or skills that clearly aren't up to the job?
Maybe ask for a .30/06 for Christmas, kid, and some Winchester Supreme loads.
Posted by: Scott | May 29, 2007 at 12:54 PM
Generally speaking, I'm not real impressed by extremely youthful hunters bagging some large animal with a gun...especially when marginal marksmanship and woods skills were involved. You know, if junior had killed that hog with a spear, I'd be impressed. I'd be impressed if he'd scouted it and learned its habits before bagging it after being out hunting specifically for it. I have a trophy whitetail rack that I take no particular pride in owning. I wandered randomly out into the woods, picked a comfy spot and sat down. The buck in questin came moseying down the trail in broad daylight, like the world was a friendly place, and I shot him where he stood. Big as he was, I had no idea he existed til the moment I shot him. Pure luck of the draw. Same with this kid and the giant pig.
Posted by: JA Demko | May 29, 2007 at 01:43 PM
I agree with Steve C. If you look at the photo, and compare the size of the boy and revolver to the hog, it's obvious that the photo has been edited. The hog in that photo would weigh a heck of a lot more than 1051 lbs. It's twice the size of brahma bull and they way 1500+ pounds. I think the story is bogus too. According to the report I read, the boy shot it eight times. How many of you, who have shot the .500 S&W, believe that an 11 year old could shoot that gun eight times in a row? And hit anything with it?
Posted by: Jason B | May 29, 2007 at 02:09 PM
Yeah, like my fellow bloggers I don’t think the parents loved this kid. The SnW .500 may not be cheaper, but it’s less obvious than lawn darts.
That pig was the size of small horse!!!!!! Pigs get that big in the wild?
Where was this pig so I can avoid the neighborhood
Posted by: Mark | May 29, 2007 at 02:21 PM
Yeah, like my fellow bloggers I don’t think the parents loved this kid. The SnW .500 may not be cheaper, but it’s less obvious than lawn darts.
That pig was the size of small horse!!!!!! Pigs get that big in the wild?
Where was this pig so I can avoid the neighborhood
Posted by: Mark | May 29, 2007 at 02:25 PM
My first reaction wasn't look at the size of the hog, it was look at the size of the 11 year old! I believe he could handle that .500 Smith by himself. All I really want to know is what the heck are they eating out there?
Posted by: Dr. Ralph | May 29, 2007 at 07:14 PM
I remember when the Smith .500 came out there was a story in Guns & Ammo or maybe American Handgunner which showed the gun being used to kill a cape buffalo (with one shot). They get up to 1500 pounds so I don't doubt the gun was capable of taking this pig in less than eight or nine shots. They definitely shouldn't be proud of the deal.
Posted by: jones | May 29, 2007 at 07:15 PM
I know what you mean Demko. My most prized rack isn't the biggest, it's the one I earned. I knew this buck and had seen this buck but it took mock scrapes, Tink's 69 and sitting on stand until 4:30 when legal hunting ended at 4:32 to outsmart him...
Posted by: Dr. Ralph | May 29, 2007 at 07:19 PM
I have trouble believing an 11 year old could handle the .50 caliber hand gun much less controlling his bodily functions trying to make the shot. The older I get the less I believe.
Posted by: MColeman | May 29, 2007 at 08:50 PM
If you look closely at the photos you'll see that young Stone is really the old family stoned as well.
Posted by: Quahog | May 29, 2007 at 09:33 PM
I'm thinking;Serious pig roast!
Posted by: Ralph the Rifleman | May 29, 2007 at 11:05 PM
While I would like to give this young man the benefit of the doubt, I do not find it very credible that he discharged the powerful .500 S&W cartridge that many times. I am 6'1" tall and 250 pounds, been shooting for 25 years and do not wish to fire that gun more than once or twice. It seems that we are in a competition for the biggest, most powerful, loudest, whatever,(name the superlative) and many are willing to use any method available to adjust the truth or distort the facts. Can we not be happy to just spend some time in the woods with nature and not worry about a trophy? I also agree that the number of shots that it took to bring that hog down was excessive and in my opinion, cruel. Maybe the lad should spend some more time at the range and practice his breathing and respiratory pauses before the next poor animal crosses paths with his hand howitzer.
Posted by: michael w | May 30, 2007 at 08:04 AM
Maybe it is a fake picture maybe the boy did not shoot the hog but if it is true i think it is pretty cool... When i was eleven I wish I had the chance this kid had to go hunting for a hog. I am 30 years old this year and am jealous
Posted by: casey | May 30, 2007 at 08:17 AM
Why are you all so negitive? Maybe because that kid got a bigger animal than you ever did. I think many of you need to grow up.
I was shooting 30-06 and 45-70 and many other large calibers when i was his age. My first real pistol was a Smith 357mag.
Since when is sitting on your butt in a tree stand working to take an animal? If you are working for an animal you are tracking it ON FOOT for miles learning as you go. Your trying to work around in front and get where he is going before he does. Spraying down the forest with doe urin and scratching a tree then sitting around waiting for him to come and see what its all about is not working. Sorry please get over yourself.
Posted by: Brett | May 30, 2007 at 08:23 AM
Getting that animal to come to you is work. Wandering through the woods is labor.
Posted by: Dr. Ralph | May 30, 2007 at 08:27 AM
The kid obviously was not up to the skill that any hunted animal deserves. Tell me at least 85% of his shots hit vitals, and then I'd say all good for him. Since he missed so may times, and obviously did not hit vitals with most of the 9 shots that did connect, I'd have to say this piggy was, in effect, mob lynched. Not the kid's fault - the adults are the ones who should have known better.
Posted by: John | May 30, 2007 at 09:17 AM
This was taken from the "Game reserve" website where the hog was killed...note the two miles of "low fence"...that hog had been fed and fed and fed until the highest bidder came along...and yes it was stupid to let a kid shoot a 500 S&W, and yes it was awful shooting...what's even worse is that the folks involved are touting this as a trophy or a record when this is just another farm raised hog killed on some poor saps need to feel like a bigger man...it's a joke really...
"Preserve Hog Hunts
Our European Boar and Feral Hog Hunts take place behind two miles of low fence. The terrain has everything that Lost Creek Plantation has to offer: From steep pine hillsides to hardwood creek bottoms, hogs have plenty of places to hide in the diverse cover.
Tree stands and shooting houses are provided for our hunters to use.
For the hunter seeking an exciting challenge, we offer the opportunity to spot and stalk trophy hogs. "
Posted by: Franklin | May 30, 2007 at 10:25 AM
I read in an article about the pig that he shot a deer when he was 5. Since when are kindergarteners allowed to kill an animal of any size? Maybe things are that backwards down South...
Besides, I was talking to a guy the other day who has been around domestic swine for years and said that the ears of the pig were that of a certain domestic breed, not upright like that on a wild boar. Anyway...
Posted by: ford | May 30, 2007 at 10:25 AM
I have shot the .500 S&W with a variety of loads, is it possible for a kid to shoot it? Yes, with the proper technique and the smallest grain of bullet. Plus on his website www.monsterpig.com he has a link that shows all of the customization features that the gun has had to reduce recoil. As for the kid's marksmanship, well even the smallest bullet from the S&W has taken a grizzly with one shot, Scott was right he needs to visit the range a bit more often. As far as hunting a preserve, well I wouldn't. The thing is, with hunting and fishing and introducing a young sportsman to our great sports, you have to take them to the most game rich environment possible where you will absolutely find game or fish, or else in the video game rich environment that has been built by the modern era you will lose them to the couch. Besides, it is a wild or semi-wild pig; no true records are kept as far as world records, so in the grand scheme of things this amounts to killing a 12 pound Warf rat. Wild pigs are a nuisance in the south, ask anyone from Texas. Let the kid have his time in the spotlight, it will do him good, and the deal will be forgotten by the mainstream soon enough. Be happy that the mainstream media is glorifying our sport, or at least not portraying it as an evil. And on a closing note, how many times have the sportsmen on TV held a fish too close to the camera? Hell, I saw one hunting show that showed people how to hold their "trophy", and place the camera where it would make the animal they shot look bigger than it actually was.
Posted by: HGHunter | May 30, 2007 at 11:18 AM
look if you saw a hog that big in the woods you wouldnt shoot it more than 2 times because it hurts that is dumb
Posted by: some1 | May 30, 2007 at 11:30 AM
Yup. Lots of things only legal in Texas. :-)
Posted by: Mark | May 30, 2007 at 12:11 PM
I did not say that I would not shoot an animal more than two times, I said that I have shot that caliber before and do not wish to shoot it more than two times. I find it dispicable that a person needs to hit an animal so many times to kill it. If anybody else had done that to some other kind of animal everybody would be in an uproar. The boar deserves the same amount of humanity and compassion as any other hunted animal. My point was that one should shoot with a caliber that they are comfortable and efficient with. And you are correct, I would have shot that animal in the woods if I saw it but it would have been with the caliber that I have been using to hunt since I have been hunting.
Posted by: michael w | May 30, 2007 at 12:16 PM
WRT junior killing a deer when he was 5, if the hunt took place on a game farm, like this pig hunt, then game laws don't apply. Typically, game farms are canned hunts for stocked animals and aren't subject to state game regulations.
I've been reading up on this at other sites, and the more I read, the less impressed with it all I become. The photos aren't photoshopped, they use basic photographer's tricks like forced perspective. These hoopies are trying to get junior his 15 minutes of fame and drum up some publicity for the game farm. They can call it hunting, if they want, but pig shooting is a more accurate term.
Posted by: JA Demko | May 30, 2007 at 12:53 PM
Forgot to add, in my opinion all the woodcraft they needed to get within handgun range of that hog was to bang on the side of a slop bucket and holler "Pigpigpig! Sooooeeeee!"
Posted by: JA Demko | May 30, 2007 at 01:03 PM