What gun for a gator?

[Mannlicher]

When I was a lad, we would take swimming gators from a canoe, with a single barrel Stevens 20 GA, and slugs.
I have not shot a gator in many years, but I have taken them fairly recently by using a stick I built, with a wire noose, and a t shaped pull handle. Slip the noose over the head, lean hard on the stick (a stainless steel spike in the tip, that spears into the gator's neck), pull hard on the handle, and choke the gator to death. Works well, but you have to practice a bit with it.
oh, it helps to pick on smaller gators too.

 

[Bernie B]

Gators

Gators are not as dangerous as you seem to think. They are hard to kill, but that is because the brain is so small, and not exactly where you might think it is (reference a good encyclopedia). A .22mag will do the trick just fine as long as it is a brain or spine shot. Many liscenced hunters here (Florida) use a 12 gauge bang stick to dispatch them.

Almost all attacks on people have been upon a child, or the elderly as they played in shallow water, or worked at the edge of the water. Almost all attacks have been by 10' or larger gators. This is because, gators are ambush predators that attack from the cover of water. Most adult humans are too big for them to consider as prey. I do not know of a single case where one ran down a person walking more than 3' from the waters edge.
They are only fast for a short distance on land, and they have very poor lateral movement when sprinting. A 10' gator is darn easy to spot out of the water, and even easier to avoid getting right on top of.

There have been a few attacks that have occured on adults that were swimming, they have been typically at night, and during the mating season when gators are more agressive and territorial.

In summary they are much easier to avoid than a bear. They are still illegal to hunt without a special quota hunt permit in Florida. If you shoot one in self defense, you better have an airtight story and one or two witness' when the wildlife officer shows up, or your butt goes to jail in most instances.

 

[JShirley]

Welcome to THR, bernie.

Please don't tell the members they need less than a .458, at minimum. Everyone needs a true, controlled-round feed, "gator stopper", if they have not the means to go the distance and get a big double.



John

 

[Kurt S.]

Never seen a gator do it, but I've seen video of an Australian 'freshie' (and I assume the mechanics are the same) pick up and gallup over land. A totally different gait between that and their normal crawl speed. They can move fast - nearly as fast as a dog running.

Back in the '70s when I was living in S. Florida I saw a gator overtake and munch on a doberman, right at the edge of the Cooper City golf course. The dobie was barking furiously at something in the water. At first I thought the gator was a log or something dead floating around, but it swam to the bank of the small canal, crawled on land, kind of raised up on all fours and proceeded to take after the dog. The dog had at first just started to kind of back up as the gator was swimming towards him but then I guess just decided "Uh-oh, big mistake, I'm out of here". Although the dobie had a head start and some good speed up up, the gator was on him like a fat kid on a donut. He bit (actually crushed with his jaws) the dog in 2, took the pieces into the water and was gone.

When I was a lad, we would take swimming gators from a canoe, with a single barrel Stevens 20 GA, and slugs.

I am told that with a similar weapon, full choked, a load of #7-1/2 bird shot can you take one at a distance of 3 or 4 yards, but of course I would not have any personal knowledge of such a thing.

For my own part, I think I a semiauto pistol-caliber carbine with a rust-resistant finish would be dandy. A handgun-caliber lever action would likely do just as well. Unless all you've got is a controlled-round-feed .460 Lott.

 

[Vick]

" I said it's great to be a gator hater, I said it's great to be a gator hater!!"

" Go Dawgs, Sic'em, Woof, Woof, Woof!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sorry, couldn't resist. Former UGA alcoholic, I mean student.

 

[Art Eatman]

Hey! Them Jawgia Bulldogs! Do anything with a football except autograph it!



Art

 

[H&Hhunter]

well guys I think that a swimin lizzard deserves a bit more respect than we've given it on this thread.

Shoot a gator with nothing less than a .640Lott double CRF rifle or suffer the consequences...

 

[Vick]

"Do anything with a football except autograph it!"

Now Sir, I take exception to that. When I was in school, one of the better players in the area went by the name "Odell".

He, sir did know how to spell his name.

When asked " hey Odell, how do spell your name?", he would happily reply "O....DALE". We never asked his last name.

 

[Art Eatman]

A new fella showed up in Terlingua; when asked his name he responded, "Uh, Clem." And so, dear friends, ever since then...

He later ran for Justice of the Peace as an independent write-in, under the pseudonym of Mo Shade. He did get some votes, as what's most needed in a desert is mo' shade...

Art

 

[Moon]

Gators are not very dangerous. Those that have bad gator encounters down here (Louisiana) get into trouble by stepping on them in shallow water, or end up in a tangle with them trying to save a dog. Gators love dogs, and I know several people that have had the heart wrenching experience of watching one eat their dogs while duck hunting.

I do not gator hunt, but I've been around it. The guys that do it are usually out when we are brushing up our duck blinds before the season starts. As to how to kill them, just go for the head -- specifically around the eyes. Any gun will do, and the gator hunters around here (actually, it is closer to a form of trapping than it is to hunting) use .22s, centerfire pistols, or whatever else might be available, but usually do not use shotguns. I've never personally seen anyone use large rifles. This is not to say that gators are easy to kill; in fact, quite the opposite is true. As reptiles, their nervous systems don't work the same as a mammal, and I can tell you firsthand that the end result is that body shots on a gator just aren't as effective as you would expect. This is why everyone shoots them in the head and does not worry about caliber -- if you've missed the brain, you've simply screwed up and no amount ballistic performance is going to make up for that.

When brushing blinds in gator territory, my friends and I always carry pistols, and they are often drawn. We have not had any bad experiences, but it is inevitable that one day we will have to shoot one. What most people from other places don't realize is how many gators we have down here. I've been in areas where there literally is one every fifty feet in any direction. It is a good thing for us that they are not more aggressive!

 

[Gunpacker]

Not very dangerous???

I don't know what qualifies as dangerous, but there have been several kids killed, and many attacked by gators in Florida. I saw on tv just a couple of nights ago where one attacked a full grown man. Tthe gators are growing bigger and bigger. Just a matter of time.
The difference is probably just a size thing, because the "freshies" in Australia are huge and a full grown man is not able to fight off one. I suppose a freshie is not a big threat till it reaches a large size. The gators and crocodiles tend to attack things that are judged to not be a threat.
I say kill them if they are in an area where people live or swim. Let the ones in the glades do the breeding.

 

[Spinner]

I'm not Australian, nor do I play one on TV, but I do know that the "freshies" in Australia aren't the problem. They have two species of crocs in Australia, the freshwater crocodile and the saltwater crocodile.

As you'd expect the freshwater croc is only found in freshwater and they don't get very big, aren't particularly aggressive and are probably more interested in eating fish than people or dogs or wallabies and such.

Now the saltwater croc can be found in freshwater, estuarine water and saltwater ..... they swim out to sea on occasion. They are big, mean, nasty SOBs and they just love to drift quietly up close to unsuspecting animals and ambush them from murky water. This is the same beast that you see in films from Africa .... they take whole Wildebeest as they cross rivers on their annual migrations. They run on land, they can leap high out of the water, they can sneak up in shallow water with barely a ripple. They are fast, calculating and much more aggressive than the alligator ...... think about what a 'gator would be like on meth ...... now you're getting close to how nasty a salty can be.

Personally, I think you can have 'em all ..... oh, and while you're at it, you're welcome to all the snakes you want as well. I'll just stay here in little old safe NZ with one or two species of poisonous spider and a couple of sharks to look out for.

Spinner

 

[JShirley]

Well, I don't reckon a liking for dog makes an animal "dangerous". If they were so "dangerous", the news would be one unending stream of alligator attacks- for 'bout a week, until we knocked the population down.

As far as attacking grown men- I've seen chihuahas do that, at least to the best of their ability, bless their hyperactive active little hearts.

John

 

[45crittergitter]

Who needs a gun?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=8&u=/ap/20040520/ap_on_re_us/alligator_attack

 

[Art Eatman]

Looking at the last two posts: Remember, a mountain lion is more likely to attack a child than an adult human. The child is more the right size, closer to waht the lion is used to considering as supper. Same thing for gators and dogs. As far as a six-foot gator going after a small person, that's a bunch of overly-optimistic ambition on the gator's part. Mostly, gators go after animals they can readily drag underwater to drown, and I think "readily" is the key word.

If you're swimming past a hungry gator, that's a whole 'nother story. I imagine that from the gator's viewpoint, regardless of his size or your size, "grabbing is free".

Art

 

[Evil_Ed]

From the article:

The best thing to do during an alligator attack is struggle, make noise and create confusion, said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Malcolm did the right thing," Hill said. "He fought the alligator and it let him go."

In the eyes of law enforcement why is it ok to resist an attack from an animal on 4 legs but not an animal of the 2 legged kind?

 

[JShirley]

Yeah- that thought crossed my mind on reading that, as well...

John

 

[rexelbion]

Just a little info on Fla. Gator Hunting.

Permits used to be issued by the lottery system although this year because of the great increase in the gator population, they will be issued on a first come first serve basis. The season is only two months long and you are only allowed to take two animals. Guns are forbidden and hunters must use either a harpoon, bow, crossbow, or snare. Also, all hunting must be done at night. Most people here in Florida use airboats with spot lights. The size of the gator at night is determined by the space between their eyes which glow an ominous red at night when hit with the light. As Bernie B stated earlier, you are allowed to use a bang stick for the kill shot.

Most bang sticks are either in .44 mag or 12 gauge and either will do the trick.

Therefore, I would not go shooting any gators unless it was a life & death situation.

Can't wait to get my quota this September ! ! !

BTW: Most gators are only aggressive during mating season.