Vidalia — The 14th annual Redneck Adventures Outdoors Extravaganza kicked off last week, and event coordinator Jimmy Allgood said it was a success.

The nine-day hunting fiesta started with an opening banquet Feb. 14, and moved into a squirrel, rabbit and raccoon hunt the next day and a hog hunt later that night.

Allgood, Redneck Adventures director, teamed up with Homes for Heroes and had what he believes was the biggest turnout so far.

“The success was mindboggling because we had special-need soldiers and veterans and special needs children and adults that came from many miles away, as well as the Miss-Lou,” Allgood said.

Though it wasn’t Donna Wallace’s first time squirrel hunting, she said she wasn’t prepared for what Feb. 15 would bring.

“I didn’t expect to get up at 6 a.m., but we had a lot of excitement,” she said. “We went up and down some inclines and we went through some briars. I had rips in my jeans from all the climbing, but it was fun.”

Wallace said she shot two squirrels, but she admits she made it harder on herself.

“Most people had shotguns, but I used a .22 rifle,” Wallace said. “It’s harder because you have to be square on the target with a smaller bullet.”

But Wallace said the camaraderie at the hunt was amazing, and everyone helped each other.

“We were all lined up looking up at the tree; we looked like we were a firing squad,” Wallace said. “We had our guns up ready to shoot.

“Someone would yell ‘squirrel,’ and everyone would start firing. Once it hit the ground, we would yell ‘dead’ and the (squirrel hunting) dogs would go pick the squirrels up.”

It mas a memorable event for many people, as 7-year-old Grace Lancaster shot her first squirrel and 16-year-old Carlos Woods shot five, the most of anyone in the hunt.

The group killed 20 squirrels and nine rabbits the first weekend.

Woods said he wasn’t expecting to kill so many.

“I was just going out to have fun and five just lucked up,” he said. “I had six, but one had got stuck in the tree.”

Saturday, the final day of the event, ended with a quail hunt and a friendly competitive squirrel hunt featuring two special-needs girls against two special-needs men.

“The ladies won nine squirrels to seven squirrels,” Allgood said.

Robb Vanhorn was one of many hunters who joined the hunt for the final day.

Vanhorn came down from Janesville, Wis., to enjoy the quail hunt.

“Me and my wife were traveling with our RV and we heard (Allgood) was having a hunt and he asked me to come along,” Vanhorn said. “It was a lot of fun and everyone got to shoot a quail.”

Vanhorn said he especially enjoyed fellowshipping with other veterans.

“That part was great,” Vanhorn said. “We all shared the same experiences and we talked about those things. It was also fun to watch the (special needs kids) get out and have fun.”

With another outdoors extravaganza in the books, Allgood said he has a lofty goal in mind for the event in the near future.

“This event is turning into something that when we get to Natchez turning 300 years old, we want to maybe break a record for the biggest hunting event,” Allgood said. “We are touching peoples lives not just in the Miss-Lou, but around the U.S., and in the future, we would like to bring in people from other countries and show them what we have to offer here.”

The Outdoors Extravaganza ended Saturday, and Allgood said he looks forward to many more.