Gator Gun

B

Bella

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No, I don't plan on hunting alligators anytime soon. Besides, they are pretty scarce in the high desert around here.

I do enjoy watching Swamp People. That show about gator hunters in Louisiana. I am fascinated by how they kill those reptiles. Most of the hunters use 22 rimfire rifles. Even though its a close up, head shot, they do dispatch the alligators quickly.

Do any of you know exactly how they do that?

Do they use some sort of special ammo? Is there a "sweet" spot on the gators head that is aimed at?

Has anyone here tried alligator hunting?
 
Yeah I saw that on TV last night too. Did you also notice that the gator they were trying to shoot was on a line they were trying to pull in, and that they were unable to hit the tiny soft spot behind the gator's head that was the only place a .22 could penetrate before it broke the line and got away? Of course we have no way of knowing if it escaped with a headache or died later. A perfect example of what happens to a lot of game because people use what "could" kill a game animal as opposed to what works best to kill a game animal.

I'll bet the 180gr from an .06 had a lot more areas it could penetrate for a quick kill.
 
yeah but a 3006 probably ruins the hide more, and from what I cna tell from those shows it is the hide that makes them money

they have shown instances where the bullets bounce of and shrapnel hits the shooter or a bystander

I have seen them take shots at swimming gators that aren't hooked on the lines to and it worked
 
:D You guys would not be watching the show if there was no action..
22 works fine. (CCI stingers) I wont say most but, a lot of the time the animal can be finessed to the top slowly without
much trouble and the shot can be made. Other times the animal is agitated from the Get-Go.:eek:
 
Some hunters use the equivalent of a "bang stick" on a pole to dispatch an alligator, but, because they're single-shots, I think I'd prefer something with at least a couple of back-up shots just in case the first one doesn't work.
 
I would put my money on just about anything putting a gator down. Watching the show i'm sure the furthest shot is 50 yards so a 300 win mag isn't needed. 223 might actually be perfect. That and maybe a downward angling shot.

But if it was me I wouldn't be risking my life with a 22lr or 22 mag. I'd probably set up some sort of high seat if I was only going to hunt one. And have a boat ready to hook it after it's shot. For what those people do the 22lr probably works just fine.
 
Well, I'm on the wrong end of the Mississippi to hunt gators, but I will venture a few guesses.

1. I have seen 150lb. pigs killed instantly with a .22 caliber revolver placed to the back of the head. Should be fine for most of the gators they see

2. a 22 rifle is easy to handle in a small boat, recoil is non-existent, and even with one hand it can be bought to action easily.

3. Ammo is cheap, as are the rifles. If you tip your boat over, your out less money if you lose the gun.

4. Little chance of overpenetration. I would think that something like a heavier, higher velocity round would be more problematic when shooting something at point blank range.

5. as already mentioned, lorger calibers do more damage to the hide, and nobody wants holes in their luggage.

6. it works, and if it ain't broke.....
 
A 22lr works fine. Shoot him just behind the eyes in the middle of the head (he is dead immediately). The law previously required that the gator be hooked before being shot. However, I have noticed some being shot while swimming. This used to be against the law (maybe changed).
My problem is "why not use a pistol", it would certainly seem simpler.
They have gotten so bad that bass fishing has become a real problem. Every fisherman I knows carries a 22lr because of the gators and nutria in South Louisiana.
 
Guy I worked with butchered his own beef. He would halter them, tie them to a post, and shoot them right between the eyes with a 22 long rifle. DRT. His brother was going to shoot one with a 45 colt. Two shots, two ricochets and the steer was really P.O.ed. 45 was too big and too slow to penetrate. 22 long rifle is deadly. Still comes down to bullet placement.
 
45 was too big and too slow to penetrate
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If he bounced them off the skull, he just didn't know how it's done, because a 45 will certainly penetrate IF it hit's at the correct angle.

Don't blame the cartridge for the shooter's error
 
The kill shot is not an easy one. Not only do you have to hit a quarter size target, but hit it at an angle which is from behind the head going forward. This is using a .22.

The guy on Swamp People is a very good shot.
 
They had an episode of Swamp People on recently where Troy and his boys where talking. They were showing old footage from the first season and discussing it.

They use 22 Magnums. Troy also said...while they only show a short fight on the show sometimes it takes a half hour to wrestle one to the boat for the shot. They also usually only show 1 shot and many times it takes multiple shots. He said with the gator rolling and flopping around it is real hard to get that kill shot which is about the size of a quarter at the back of the head. The editing for the show does wonders. Ever notice that when they shoot the "kill" shot most of the time water is spraying up? They just edit that stuff in after they edit out all the extra stuff they don't need to make it an hour show.
 
45 was too big and too slow to penetrate.
Click to expand...


I raise and butcher my own beef too. I have killed more than a few steers with a .45 colt revolver. Even used "cowboy" loads on a two occasions with no ricochets and only one shot required. Even used a .45 auto once with the same result.
 
I have only done limited farmwork at relatives but we used 22lr for calfs and pigs, if bulls or cows was on the menu a trusted old single shot revolver in 38 was used

but it didn't count as killing the animal, only stunned it and it was bleed out by cutting the artieris

we had one huge mean bull and nobody wanted to bring it in from pasture, smart to because he refused to go into the barn when we had fenced of a "path" for him

so an oldtimer brought out the mauser in 8x57 and tossed some tasty grain for him, he lowered his head and ate and oldtimer shot him square in the head and the bull just shock it of and took of, three shots to the heart/lungs brought him down, had to hoist him up with the tractor
 
For you folks that are calling BS I am only telling ya what happened. May have been poor angle. Whatever. :)

Point is, 22 LR is a deadly round used correctly.
 
If I had the opportunity to hunt gators, I'd like to have the cheapest stainless .38 or .357 revolver I could buy so if it ended up in the bottom of the river, I wouldn't cry over it. I'd also consider having a lanyard ring installed with a retracting cord to the holster...

I can't imagine a .357 not doing the job. I would think cast bullet loads would be enough. No need for hot jacketed loads...

There's lot of BS or maybe all BS on the Swamp People show. I admit to watching all of them but I was really bored at the time... For example they referred to a .444M Handi Rifle as a .444 Magnum.

Tony
 
guns

Yeah, I've drug this thread back up after several months, but bare with me.

Bamaboy (honest) has been fascinated with the show, and we've watched about every episode that is on Netflix in the past week or so. Here are the long guns I've either recognized or heard mentioned....

-.444 magnum....(oops) Handi Rifle
-.22'lr in a Browning, a Ruger 10/22, possibly a Ruger 96, North American Mini revolver, maybe some Savage and Marlin bolts, maybe a Henry Golden Boy, a
Rem pump, Mossberg 60 SA, unknown .22 revolvers, single action
-.22mag, again, maybe a Ruger 96 (broken rear sight leaf), Savage and Marlin
bolts
-Marlin 336 in what appeard to be 30-30, I guess it could have been a .35
-heavy bolt rifle, a Rem 700, likey .308
-.17 HMR in a Savage bolt maybe, big scope
-unknown cal. (likely pistol cal) Win 92 or clone
-.223/Mini14

Pretty clear that many of these guns are used just like a hammer, and get about as much care. I suspect the loss and cost issue as mentioned is a real factor. The show is really heavily edited as I suppose everybody notices. What is truth and what is not interms of footage, is anybody's guess.
I'd want more gun myself, if I have to shoot the thing, then drag it in the boat with me and have to walk over and around it for the rest of the day. But they seem to do just fine with a .22.
 
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