Ever hunted alligator?

[Greatoutdoors]

Have you ever hunted for alligator? I have not, but I might give it a try this year. I have a buddy with some swamp land on the Georgia/Florida line so we will see what happens.

 

[tentrus]

I just started watching Swamp something or other.... It is pretty cool but nothing that I would do. I wish you luck hunting gators. Heck I just realized that people do hunt gators.

 

[KatieMarie]

Just make sure you have a permit to do so. My hubby used to hunt them when he was growing up as a kid. You could do it then without the permits, etc. Still not quite sure to this day how he didn't end up getting seriously hurt.

 

[jason]

I would love to go. But I need to go through the whole permit process and taking the classes. Neither of which I have the time for right now.

 

[Greatoutdoors]

I knew I would have to get special tags and a permit, but he didn't say anything about classes. I imagine that probably varies from state to state? The show you are thinking of is Swamp People.

 

[jason]

Well to get any hunting license you need to take a hunters class here.

 

[hummingbird]

I don't think I want to try it. When they said on "Swamp People" that you only had a place the size of a quarter that you could shoot and kill them in, I determined right then I didn't want to hunt gators.

 

[Greatoutdoors]

That just makes it more challenging! I wouldn't go out without someone experienced though. In our state, if you are over 16 you don't have to take the hunter safety course to get a hunting license.

 

[Hazel]

I've never hunted them in the wild but I've been unsuccessfully trying at the supermarket. I think that they are YUMMMMMY, and am still inventing recipes for them.

 

[Newanderthal]

You have to take classes because there is a specific method to hunting that is legal. you can't just cruise by and shoot one. You can get serious fines for that. You have to net, rope, or hook the gator and haul it to your boat before shooting it.

This is because back in the 60's-70's people were just shooting them. Then, if they decided the animal wasn't big enough, they would just leave it floating. Or, they'd fatally wound one but it would get away. Then they'd go after another and another and another, killing a dozen before they actually hauled one in. Thus they almost went extinct.

 

[FreeWilly]

Hey if you don't happen to get one while out hunting, you can always drive that strip of road called "Alligator Alley" that goes from the east coast to the west coast of Florida through the Everglades. You can stop by a roadkilled alligator and take a picture holding it to show off. Make sure it's dead though.

 

[Gwen]

Just watching a gator or a crocodile hunt on screen frightens me, so I can't think of myself joining such a hunt or even watching it live. They look so strong and vicious...