For 9-year-old Remington Lasater of Boone County, Arkansas, the third week of September will be hard to top.
Remington and his family have hunted the same remote spot in Boone County for several years. The area has long been a reliable place for bear activity, especially when baiting is allowed.
Though there’s no cell service in the hollow, the torn-up ground around the bait pile told them everything they needed to know: bears were hitting it hard. With so much activity, Remington and his dad, Kyle, knew how easy it would be to bump them if they weren’t careful.
On the afternoon of Sept. 17, Remington and his dad set out with a carefully thought out plan.
“We skipped the morning hunt because we think it’s better to not take a chance of spooking them out,” says Remington’s father. “So we went in early in the evening and got set up about 3:30.”
Most hunters would expect to sit for hours before a bear steps out in daylight, but that wasn’t the case for Remington.
“At 4:15 we heard something coming over the hill, and it was this huge black bear,” his dad recalls. They had anticipated the bear would use the same hard-packed trail leading to the bait, and that’s exactly what it did.
Remington, as any normal person would, felt his nerves spike—a totally understandable reaction when face-to-face with a 400+ pound animal at close range. But he kept his cool, stood up slowly, and waited for a shot.
As the massive bear approached and stood broadside at just 15 yards, Remington steadied his crossbow. His dad ran the camera, and Remington took the shot solo.
“He smoked it,” says his dad. “The bear went over the hill, then walked about 20 more yards and laid down. We didn’t see it move for 30 minutes.”
After reviewing the footage and ensuring the bear was down for good, they finally climbed down and walked towards it.
There wasn’t much of a tracking job needed. Although they followed the blood trail just to confirm the path, they had already seen the bear go down. Upon first sight of the bear, they were in absolute disbelief.
The bear was massive. Maybe even more impressive was Remington made a perfect shot with the crossbow.
“We couldn’t believe how big it actually was,” says Remington’s dad. “We were amazed. We couldn’t even roll it over for a picture.”
The bear weighed in at 434-pounds, an absolute stud for the area, better yet, the whole state of Arkansas.
The bear is already at the taxidermist, and it’s likely headed for the Arkansas record books. Based on preliminary research, the heaviest black bear ever recorded in Arkansas weighed 508 pounds. Only about 35 Arkansas bears have made the Boone and Crockett record book, and Remington’s bear is expected to join that elite group.
With one well-placed bolt and a calm demeanor, 9-year-old Remington Lasater pulled off a hunt that most grown hunters only dream about. His bear is one of the heaviest in Arkansas history, and one of the biggest taken in recent memory—and by one of the youngest hunters in the field.
Remington’s setup included a crossbow and plenty of sweets on the bait pile—a proven tactic when legal. His dad also mentioned how helpful cell cameras have been in the past, though their location didn’t have enough signal for one this time.
This Boone County giant will be hard to top. But with patience, preparation, and a little early-season luck, Remington proved that even at 9 years old, he’s already writing his own hunting legacy.
