gator huntin'....
 

I'm planning on trying to get a gator hunt this year and was just wonderin' if any of y'all have ever taken a gator with a bow (crossbow)? I'd be able to use a bang stick but my nephew reaaaaaaaally wants to make it a bow only kill.
Is there any advice that y'all can give to make it more successful?

actually any gator huntin' advice would be greatly appreciated...i've caught lil ones with my hands but i've never gone after a big ol boy like we're plannin' on...i'm kinda really nervous about it.

thanks in advance.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

i've never been personally but i know a couple of people who have. be sure to use a powerful bow with quality broadheads that will definately penetrate and not break. be sure it's dead before you bring it into the boat. are ya'll going guided? but anyhow enjoy yourself and be safe.

p.s. where are ya'll going?

RE: gator huntin'....
 

we'll be huntin' somewhere on the st.johns...probably south of Brevard County....i'll be going with my nephew who is the state trapper for Brevard....one of them.
he knows what he's doing and where to go but i'm just a lil nervous that his wild and reckless redneck side will come out and he'll expect me to do something that most others wouldn't....i know i'm probably being paranoid but that's just me.:D
he's come home with stories of bringing "almost dead" gators in the boat....one reason i'm kinda scared.

what type of broadheads should i use...with deer and turkey i use muzzys.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

i don't really know about that. i think muzzy or some company actually makes a gator gettor head. i'm not sure but i'm pretty sure. it just all depends. if all else fails the muzzys should work. as long as you're shooting where you're supposed to you should be fine.

i've heard some interesting stories about not quite dead gators also. be ready for a second or third shot. makes sure you have plenty of good quality arrows.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

OK, I've never been but have read about it. Apparently, you have to shoot them at the base of the skull to kill them. They need to be baited and hooked to bring them up to the boat to accomplish this. You can then dispatch them with whatever weapon is legal. Shooting gators that aren't tethered to some type of retreval line would result in many lost or wounded gators. Here is a summary from another site on their hunting trip.

"Second Night/Morning hunt: On this hunt we had my friend, Dennis, who had just flown in from Texas, exclusively for this hunt. Since we couldn’t get close to the gators the night before we switched tactics and started baiting selected gators using rancid meat affixed to a 7/8’s inch wooden dowel (by regulation it must be just short of two inches) tied to 40 feet of braided twine to which is further tied into 60 lb monofilament spooled on a Penn Senator 4/0 reel (and rod). The idea is that the gator swallows the bait and the dowel gets “caught” in the stomach and you pull the gator up to the boat while a partner is standing by ready with a harpoon. For this year, the bait of choice was rancid chicken and we found it to work just as well as the rancid hog lungs we normally use. The first couple of gators that took the bait headed for the thick aquatic vegetation. After clearing a hole in the vegetation we would gently pull the gators up to the boat, but invariably they would hit the bottom of the boat and then take off pulling the boat around a bit. One gator was small and the other was around 8 foot, but after a bit of tug-of-war it came up head first, opened its mouth and we watched the bait pull out. 0 for 2.

The next gator was a nice one and it headed into the thick vegetation so we again had to scoop the vegetation away to make a clearing in order to see it’s size. It eventually headed to deeper water (tactic of larger gators), which made it easier to control and handle. Seeing it was at least an 8 footer Dennis made a nice harpoon shoot in the neck and it started taking line. We then lightly pulled it back toward the boat and Dennis secured a second harpoon in the neck area. Bringing it up to the boat again we maneuvered and submerged the head with a paddle and Dennis made a good shot with the 44 magnum bang stick to the back of the head. About this time an FWC airboat with two FWC officers came up to our boat (must have been watching us with night vision gear?) and waited for us to bring the gator into our boat and affix the gator tag. In response to the officers statement that the gator needed to be dead before it was brought aboard our boat, Dennis did a corneal reaction test (he’s a VET), which indicated it was dead. With the gator on board the officers then asked to see our permits and IDs. They were both polite and professional and after they checked us over we talked a bit about gators and the lake. At one point I checked to see what the sex was of the gator and found it to be a male. The two officers got a good laugh from that as I apparently aroused the deceased gator and they got to see what a male gator sports when it’s time to make little gators. I then got a bit of friendly hammering in the middle of Orange Lake from the two officers on account of my prowess at gator sex determination. I suppose it was kinda funny. After a couple of pictures they left and we went back to hunting.

Our next attempt resulted in a small 5 footer taking the bait and eventually releasing the bait. The next gator appeared to be a good gator, but skittish. We placed the bait and backed away leaving line out as we backed up. An hour later he picked up the bait and swam across the lake (at this point ~ 200 yards wide). We then started pulling in line and he became quite active and did quite a lot of pulling the boat and trying to swim off. He finally settled down and hung on the bottom and we gently lifted him up. Knowing this was a large gator, Eric jammed the harpoon behind the neck at the first chance and all hell broke loose [we later noted that the three inch harpoon shaft (5/16” diameter) had a serious bend to it as it had penetrated through of one of the very hard raised scales found all over their backs]. After pulling the boat around and rolling a few times we pulled him closer again and Eric secured a second harpoon in the neck. Pulling him back to the boat and submerging his head the 44 mag bang stick did its job again and we had our second gator (2 a.m.). We then took some pictures, drove to the gator processor and dropped off the gators in their cooler, and ended up home by 5:30 a.m. "

RE: gator huntin'....
 

enjoyed the copy and paste...thanks for sharing.
i'll keep eveyone updated.
i first have to get picked so it may not even happen.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

Pardon my ignorance, having never left the cozy sanctuary of my northwoods hunting (MN) :)

Do people eat alligators? I actually wasnt even aware that you could hunt them - is this a new thing?

If you dont eat them, what is the purpose of hunting them? Please enlighten me!

RE: gator huntin'....
 

Gator is actually very tasty! And no it does not taste like chicken:D I have eaten it all of my life. Most people only eat the tail, however I have found almost the entire gator to be good with the exception of the ribs. The jaw meat is actually about the best meat on the gator. If you ever get an opportunity you should try it! Gator hunting is legal and has been in FL. but it is a draw system to get tags!

RE: gator huntin'....
 

Gator meat is good. I have only eaten the tails though.

Tom

RE: gator huntin'....
 

I never tried it myself but its on my to do list. Have fun and stay safe is all i can say :)

RE: gator huntin'....
 

yeah same here. it is very good though. really tastey.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

gator meat is awesome....especially if it's cooked right...add some cole slaw, hushpuppies, and fries and you'd stuff yourself until you were about to puke...trust me.:D
besides the meat they are also hunted for their hides...i'm not sure what the going rate is now and to me it really doesn't matter because he's going on my wall but it's a great way to make some extra cash if needed.

they are also becoming a nuissance (sp?)...the population has exploded in the last 10yrs alone...to the point where they wander the streets, climb fences to get in pools,etc....especially bad during mating season.

i've always been fascinated with them....when i went thru my wild stage we'd catch them with our hands...there were times when we'd have one in each hand, be sittin' on the bigger ones and still out tryin' to catch more....we'd never hurt them though...usually a lil boat ride, a picture or two,some belly rubs and kisses and then they'd be released back into the water....but it's been years since i caught one with my hands and that's what has me a lil chicken....plus the biggest i ever caught was around 5ft and now we'll be going after MONSTERS....my nephew says nothing less than 10.5ft but i'd be happy with an 8.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

The state needs to open up season on them. I agree they are way over populated right now. FL could issue alot more tags and require check in at a real check in station instead of honor system like they do all other species. Just give us a season and we (hunters) could help keep the population in check.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

i would definatly second that. there are a ton around my area and it's getting to the point where i see alot more BBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGG ones that small ones.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

i strongly agree with you guys as well....when they start showin' up in garages, school grounds, etc. it's time to do something.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

Hey girl , how are ya?

There are some pretty good gator hunting videos out there. I've seen one that was strictly bowfishing for gators. You dont hook them with anything except your arrow , and they use float jugs to mark them for a second (or 3rd) shot. Do a search and you should be able to come up with a decent video.

Gator jambalaya is awesome!

Good Luck!

RE: gator huntin'....
 

I did it last year for the first time and learned a lot. #1 Thing...If you're gonna do it with a bow have that AMS reel. Those old fashion bowfishing reels make things difficult. You need to be able to shoot and retrieve fast if you miss. They offer more opportunities at times and you have to be ready.#2 HAVE A TROLLING MOTOR.... trust me a paddle doesn't work. You need to shut down the outboard and sneek into position with the troller.#3 Don't shine the headlamp directly at them till you're ready to shoot or they'll go down before you're in bowrange. If you're in a small boat like I am, have the float system attached to the line. He can then run around all he wants and you just have to keep finding the float and working him. These are the main things that screwed us up last year.Good luck and Muzzy has all the gear you need. Get the 600# line too.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

I would love to have a chance to hunt gators, plus it would be neat to have you very own boots made out of you own gator skin.

RE: gator huntin'....
 

hey back bowfanatic...long time no see.:D
things are going good...off season withdrawls are startin' to kick in.[:@][&:]:(
hope everything is going well with you...hopefully i'll be around here more often.....just seems like i never have any time.


thanks for all the advice y'all.:D