On Friday, buddies Jimmy Appleton and Blake Daugherty were scouting just before the season opened at noon. ⁠ ⁠ The two men, both of whom live in Pope, Mississippi, were cruising in Appleton’s 17-foot aluminum boat, along with Blake’s two sons, 11-year-old Cruz and 9-year-old Cash. They were checking out an oxbow lake off the Mississippi River near Natchez. The hunters were after a 12-foot gator they knew was in the area, but as they watched and waited, another alligator let out a hair-raising roar — loud and deep, and one that Appleton says he’ll never forget. The growl came a dozen times, and the men concluded it must belong to a giant alligator. After locating, hooking, and dispatching the gator, they muscled it into their 17-foot boat, that barely was big enough to contain it. At the processor they learned how huge it really was. Appleton’s massive gator is the third largest in the state. The state record for public-access alligators is 14 feet 3 inches. Appleton’s taped out at 14 f...