Proper arms for clearing the pythons from the “glades”?

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oldRoger

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Florida's Senior Senator; William "Bill" Nelson (who is about as worthless as one man can be) is now agitating to have South Florida cleared of Pythons.
Somehow his dim mind connects the recent loss of the two year old Florida girl to an idiots pet Python, with the breeding population in the Everglades. He is proposing a stimulus project to clear the Pythons from the glades.
Its a perfect government make work project, no one has the foggiest how many there are or where.

So how do you propose we arm ourselves as we set about wading through the Saw Grass (perfect Python cover) on our fool's errand?
I thought perhaps an 870 with #4 buck, but am open to ideas.
Senator Bill won't let us drill for oil so I think he is going to object to tactical nukes.
 
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an 870 with any bird load would work and carry a good sidearm for them grass hiders, and if you get a chance to catch a couple let me know and I will give you my address
 
It's actually not a bad idea, since they are a foreign and invasive species, and one that will eventually cause human deaths. However, pythons get rather large, and there are documented accounts of them eating full grown alligators. I wouldn't pursue one with birdshot. Traditionally, large and troublesome pythons were disposed of with Maxim guns (and later more man portable things like Thompsons). I would think that an AR with a good red dot for firing at a fast moving target might give better service.
 
Well there was another thread where someone claimed cats could be used for snake problems....

....maybe if you brought a truckload of feral cats to the glades you won't have a python problem.
 
The invasive species threat in FL is all too real. I say, sounds like good eating to me!
 
I'd feel pretty well armed with a .357, but would try for head or neck shots. I want to be able to break the spine if I have to take a body shot, too. A sharp machete might also be good idea, in case a snake grabs a friend, and you can't shoot.

One gun writer tried his M-66 snub .357 and Hornady's 125 grain ammo out on alligators. It worked well. A python of average size probably isn't any tougher. I hope...

Considering that the Everglades is so much water, are there also anacondas there? Looks as if it'd be made to order for released pet anacondas.

The late Jim Corbett, who so often risked his life hunting man-eating tigers and leopards, hated snakes, and was very concerned about an Indian python getting him if he waded where one was.

T-Star
 
Here's a python and gator going at it in the 'glades. Not sure which one is winning though.

gator_python.jpg


Since the python ruptured during digestion, it looks like neither won this one...
GvsP.jpg
 
Second the vote for a shotgun.

Make mine a 12 gauge with Remington 4x6 high brass in it.

And a machete on my belt.

Bounty?
 
The main species involved is the Burmese python, which is either the 3rd or 4th largest snake in the world (I forget which). They can grow to lengths of 24 feet give or take. I used to be involved in a reptile society/rescue organization and we had an 16 foot female, a snake that took at least 2 of us to handle. Luckily she was calm and used to people, but a wild, hungry, 24 foot python is trouble by any definition. (Now if you want to discuss real trouble, what happens when the Reticulated python establishes a wild, breeding population in the Everglades? Why are Retic's even legal to own as a "pet"? They are the longest snake in the world, have extremely unpleasant dispositions, and are 1 of the 2 documented man eaters.)
I don't think hunting them is a very smart idea. Frankly if there is an established breeding population of them already there, I think it would be impossible to kill them all. I doubt they'd manage to kill more than a few.
 
Shotgun with #4 buck will do it. If it'll bring down a deer it'll kill a snake with a headshot. Where else would one shoot a snake but the head?
 
7.62foryou said:
Shotgun with #4 buck will do it. If it'll bring down a deer it'll kill a snake with a headshot. Where else would one shoot a snake but the head?
Click to expand...

Deer aren't 20 plus feet long (there are actually some reports of 30 plus footers and rumors of 100 foot snakes existing) with a very primitive nervous system either. Reptile brains are somewhat different than those of mammals.

The big snakes can also blend in better than a deer and some aren't adverse to attacking humans, since humans are just tasty hairless monkeys to them.
I've seen footage of them on various animal programs attacking. They're fast.
Explorers of years past really did used to deal with big snakes with either automatic weapons or dynamite.

While their likely is a breeding population already established in Florida, hunting would at least thin the numbers.
 
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