how about a 'gator gun thread?

geoff40

geoff40

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They are common here, but I rarely see one. Sometimes they eat pets or turn up in yard. As Swamp People shows a 22 works fine if you are a steady hand and know where to aim. Since that would be a rare thing in a chance encounter... 9 mm and larger or. 223 and larger.
 
Sorry to be mundane, but .22's are all you really need.
If you don't hit that little kill spot in the head with anything, all you're gonna do is make him mad.
 
I'm surprised they don't use .22 pistols at that range. Way faster to get on target...
There must be a reason they use rifles though.
 
I agree the .22 LR is all you need,, with the right shot placement, BUT

I like a hole that is a little bigger..

This is an old diving bang stick I have had forever.. It's .44 Mag and mounts to a 6ft 3/4inch solid aluminum 3-pc shaft.

I keep it in the boat for offshore critters like tuna and AJ's. Tames the wildest ones, muy pronto.

Came close to using it one time when two saltwater crocs invaded our canal. Fish-n-game took care of them..
 

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How about a gator gun thread?

Florida licensed gator hunts are awarded by lottery every year.
You can take a gator by hook & line, harpoon or bow & can kill them
with a bang stick once you have them secured on a line. You
can't shoot them. Nuisance gators are trapped & removed by a licensed
trapper.
Hypothetically, if I had ever been around when a gator was shot I would
imagine that everything from a .22 Magnum through .30-06 &
.45-70 had been used. As Gator Farmer said, shot placement is key-
multiple shots in the wrong place result in a hurt alligator
hiding on the bottom. I've been fooling around in the Everglades
& the Big Cypress swamp all my life & I've never been without a
handgun & never had occasion to use one on an alligator.Those
hypothetical situations all would have involved rifles.
The annual state
lottery license costs over $250 for residents & over $1000 for out of state hunters.
The largest alligator taken so far was 14 feet & change & weighed
654 pounds.
Regards,
turnerriver
 
DeadAye said:
I'm surprised they don't use .22 pistols at that range. Way faster to get on target...
There must be a reason they use rifles though.
Click to expand...

Since the gator (and the boat) are thrashing around they want the muzzle close to the "kill Spot" would you want your hand down there, remember what happened to Capt. Hook.

They use a .22 because, "dem .45 an .357 shells costes too much"
Steve W
 
Use your 22, I'll go with a 300 WBY and a little longer range then point blank
 
You wouldn't necessarily have to get the pistol down to his head, just shoot him in the spot. They know what they're doing, I sure don't, but I see the point of asking b/c holding that rifle one handed and awkward versus a 22 pistol held correctly seems an interesting choice to me.

They sold a guy one on American Guns didn't they? I think it was regularly $600,000 but they bargained down to an even half a mil. Costs a lot to swap furniture and engrave something. ;)
 
In the 70's I used to go run gator lines with a friend of mine that had the tags. We were not in a boat as the lines were put out along canals that had a oilfield road next to them. We had a gator that was around 10 ft on the line and he shot it in the head with a .243. As we pulled it up on the bank, it raised its head and we beat a hasty retreat. My buddy shot it again with the .243. This time it seamed to be dead. It took 4 of us to get the gator in the back of his pickup. We took it to his fathers house and as he looked at it, it raised its head again. He took a hatchet to it and finally finished it off.

Shot placement is everything.

Here is a link showing how small the kill spot is and pictures of exact shot placement. PHOTOS How do you kill an alligator? Where is the quarter-sized kill spot on an alligator?
 
A guy who edited one of the DBI gun annuals had pretty good luck with a S&W M-66 with 2.5-inch bbl. and 125 grain .357 JHP Hornady ammo.

But I don't know where he hit it.

I've read that the best place to shoot a Nile Croc is at the end of the smile, if you can get one on the bank in your sights that way.
This came from professional hide hunters. One used a service .303; the other a Winchester M-70 in .375 H&H.
 
870 Marine

Howdy,
It has been five or more years ago now that I gave a buddy in the back of my boat the poor advice "Hit him in the head with the paddle, he'll go away"
A good five foot of him (about half) came up in the Tracker and thrashed about with his mouth open on the rear casting deck. He was hissing and shaking his head side to side like some monster in a Japanese horror movie.
Billy kept wailing away and three of us Billy, Jerry and myself were dumbstruck.
I had a Beretta 21 in long rifle and so much caos in the boat I would have felt better with a Louisville slugger.
I could have shot him (Somewhere)but didn't. I never had a clear shot and had two folks running laps in the boat between me and the gator.
I did shoot twice to the water hoping the noise would deter the reptile .
Now, I know one incident does not make me an athourity, but it is one encounter more than a lot of you have. I'm here to tell you. I want a 12 gauge 870, 1100 or something along those lines where I can flush it from the deck like leaves with a garden hose.
Hunting one is a different matter than uninvited in a crowded boat.
I never carried the Beretta again after that.
The story did have a happy ending . No gator shot and no one hurt. It slid back off the boat, followed us to the point where I looped a cast over a low flying Blue Heron by accident fowling his wings. Gator took the now swimming bird and left.
We take garden sprayers when we fish that spot filled with amonia. It works fair but I wonder if we are not messing with fire so to speak. At times one can still get closer than I like.
This place is a place where we seldom see anyone. We never feed the gators and I think they come to the flutter of a kept fish in the cooler.
I'd say take all the gun you can to ward off an attack and what ever pleases you to hunt one.
Thanks
Mike
 
Local news story recently had a fellow killing a large gator and being brought up on felony charges. I believe the gator was killed with a shotgun. The shooter claimed self defense, but the State is prosecuting.

Given that the species isn't really native to this area, I was kinda surprised that they went after the guy with so much gusto. Are gators a protected species?


Out
West
 
Cajunlawyer nailed it.

No kill spot means no kill. Any caliber will do as long as you can hit a quarter with it. I do know you can't crack it's skull with a .270 at point blank.
 
Out West said:
Local news story recently had a fellow killing a large gator and being brought up on felony charges. I believe the gator was killed with a shotgun. The shooter claimed self defense, but the State is prosecuting.

Given that the species isn't really native to this area, I was kinda surprised that they went after the guy with so much gusto. Are gators a protected species?


Out
West
Click to expand...


Saw that on Channel 5. The two black guys in the unlicensed boat, for which the owner was also cited... The news anchor said the fine may exceed $5,000! :eek:

This gator was about 11 feet and the boat was 10 feet. I tend to believe the guy who shot it that he was afraid!

I think this was in the Trinity River, which definitly has gators, as does much of east Texas.

The news here periodically has wildlife stories, and they include gators where they pose a threat.
 
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