Swamp People - Alligator Hunting

[TripleR]

We either have to hunt or bring back the predators otherwise there will be over population, massive die offs and destruction of habitat. A town near me is in the middle of a heated debate on how to control the deer population within the city limits due to collisions with cars, jumping through the windows of a business and destroying shrubbery and flowers in yards.

Farmers in my area can get crop depredation permits when the level of crop loss to deer reaches a certain point.

I go "hunting" every year, but haven't killed an animal in years, we had five deer in our back yard yesterday afternoon. Due to the high population, we have decided to take a few deer next fall.

While I am not an enthusiastic hunter, I have no problem with those who are and it's a good thing because my wife is one.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Dear Confused,

My comment leans more to self-introspection then table fare. The best example I can think of is hunting partners. Most of us have had the displeasure of taking to the field with someone who shoots everything that moves. The fact we can kill other living creatures doesn't mean we should.

This post, and the previous post, are drawing on some basic, but not necessarily conflicting, truths about the human animal that deserve a bit of elaboration. Anthropologically speaking, and looking at the evolution of the human animal, there are some aspects that we need to recognize.

It seems that Man evolved as a hunter/gatherer/scavenger over several million years. Our hands and arms are magnificently adapted for swinging a club and for throwing objects like rocks. Our semi hairless bodies are adapted for endurance running...a characteristic that allowed us to doggedly chase down a game animal, exhaust it and then kill it. Our brains, being of a large size and big energy consumers, developed in part because we learned to cook and eat meat...our hands are marvelously adapted to perform intricate tasks required to fashion weapons and other tools. Bottom line...Mankind owes it's physical and physiological characteristics in large part to it's history of hunting, killing and eating game.

Having said that, we have elevated our basic abilities and instincts far above our basic design...and as creatures of great intellect, culture and ingenuity, we need to somehow harness our basic instincts for our betterment. While I used to hunt a lot and enjoy it immensely, it's not the thrill it used to be. In fact, I find it difficult to kill an animal any more; maybe a fish or a quail, but that's about it. I also admit that I used to hate cats, and have dispatched many a feral cat because I thought they were a pest.

Ever see the movie "Bambi"? It was definitely anti-hunting; hunters shooting everything that moved. Most hunters I know don't do this, but some do, and it smacks of killing for killing's sake. I for one don't think this is appropriate from a moral point of view, even though it may be legal. I don't advocate making it illegal or even legislation to stop it, but as the man said, "the fact that we can kill other living creatures doesn't mean we should".

FWIW, while I may find killing alligators a bit distasteful, I would never presume to try to stop a legal and useful endeavor. It's a way of life, and provides meat and hides...a legitimate purpose...and besides. I would really like a nice pair of alligator boots.

 

[Egon]

Wondering how that small hammburger made it onto my plate?:thumbsup:

Or them Haddock Fillets on my plate?:thumbsup:

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Wondering how that small hammburger made it onto my plate?:thumbsup:

Or them Haddock Fillets on my plate?:thumbsup:

Oh, crap. Now do I have to do a dissertation on animal husbandry? :laughing:

 

[BroBro]

A line slips through your hand pretty easily when wearing gloves and the majority of gators don't put up such a fight that they hurt your hands.

If you tie the line to a fixed object the gator will either pop the line or capsize your boat. You have to play the line, its like using the drag on your fishing reel.

Everyone has a 22, what's a bang-stick?



I think you have Louisiana mixed up with West Virginia. :laughing:

Well I am from WV and for all you people that set and watch this program and beleive 2 Louisiana Red neck's can load a 800 lb Gator by hand when the gator is only 10 ft long no dought has some BROTHER AND SISTER wedding's in your family tree !!!!:laughing:

 

[clemsonfor]

Sounds like there is just a small spot on the gators head in which a shot will kill it.

I would assume a bang stick would need the head to be visible and still for a few seconds in order to place the bang stick on that spot and have it work, where as the 22 eliminates he need for anything to be placed on the spot and it could / should save time.

Its small if you use a .22, but if you use a 30/06 or .308 or something like you see them shoot them with a long way away as long as you hit them in the head behind the eye your gonna kill them.

 

[clemsonfor]

yea i have wondered how those 2 women can load an "800 or 1000lb" gator by them selves. I can barely put a 200lb deer up in my truck, and im 6'2" and 220lbs. I cant see how 2 guys can drag these "800" pound gators across land. My diskharrow weights around 400lbs and i can barly move it up and down and i sure as **** am not dragging it around !!

 

[Taylortractornut]

THe first season the man that hunts alone with the dog had a small pipe boom for lifting them up and it looked too easy lol. I have a friend that buys tags and hunts them. He has a small pipe boom to It has a winch and a small capstan to reel them up enough to pop them. He also uses a 22 bang stick after he had shot one and some how poked a hole in his boat.


THeres also others that have the same set up and say that its all about the TV.

 

[RobertBrown]

Where's PETA when you need them? There's something very disturbing about this show. The gators are just minding their own business hunting in the swamp as they have been doing for millions of years. Why is it morally OK for humans to catch them on swallowed hooks (which must be horribly painful), shoot them in the head and then skin them. Who is more savage, the gators or the neanderthals who slaughter them?

You need to back on out of this thread and start another.....on another website. No disrespect, your just in the wrong place for that sort of attitude.

 

[tallyho8]

Its actually pretty easy to pull a large gator through the swamp. Their belly is fairly slick and its like pulling a sled.

When the gator is in water it is almost floating so it isn't as hard to pull into the boat as you might think. If it weighs 75 pounds per foot you are only pulling in a foot at a time and the rest is floating in water. When half the gator is in the boat you can roll it and its own weight will pull in the other half.

I've never pulled in one over 8 feet but I can do that by myself if the boat is big enough not to tip.

Why waste a $1 30/06 shell when a 5 cent 22 will do? Besides you don't want to damage the skull too much because there is a market for these also. Nothing on the gator goes to waste.