Which Caliber for Gator?

Disclaimer - I've never hunted (or even seen) a gator... But if I were going gator huntin' and didn't have an experienced lizard hunter to go with I'd take the same thing I like for Halibut... bangstick - only a bigger one ;).
 
you really want a challenge, jump in the water with a knife. fair fight that way.
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Have. Bailed out of the boat onto a 7 footer. we were in about 2-3 feet of water so I had my footing. Didn't kill it though. Had my buddy jerk me back up in the boat just as I let go. Don't know why, just wanted to feel the power. Dangerous...very, but had been planning it for some time. It swam off in a hurry.
 
Back before it was legal, I have it on good authority that the .22 lr was commonly used to dispatch an alligator on a bush hook. The .22 was less likely to attract the law and plenty at close range to the brain. Or so I hear...
 
I have friends here in SC that have killed them with a variety of pistol cartridges including 40S&W, 45ACP, 357 and 44 mag. Everyone here uses pistols during the season just for ease of use and space. I've been on a couple hunts where gators were dispatched and the caliber doesn't seem to be as important as shot placement! Also, a sharpened bush axe is the great equalizer...always always always sever the spinal cord. I've seen numerous videos and heard a number of stories about "dead" gators coming back to life!!
Not something you want in the boat with you!!!
 
Disclaimer - I've never hunted (or even seen) a gator... But if I were going gator huntin' and didn't have an experienced lizard hunter to go with I'd take the same thing I like for Halibut... bangstick - only a bigger one .
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You must go for those big halibuts. I've heard more than one story about a boat being wreaked by a 400+ pound halibut.
The 40 pound ones we pull out of Puget Sound are big enough for me.
 
For halibut I use my 10mm... 155gr LRN over 9.3gr of Power Pistol does the job well enough on the "little" 150 pounders up here...
 
I never did like the idea of wrestling a big fish (or gator... to stay on topic;)) into the boat with a semi-auto pistol in my or my friends hand. I feel that the bang stick or single shot rifle/shotgun is the safest. To each his own though.
 
The gators are restrained next to the boat via tail and head ropes and typical using a choke rod similar to what animal control uses. At no point in time is an unrestrained gator "wrestled" into the boat. Regulations state that the gator must be subdued before being dispatched.
 
Big Butts are usually shot before hauling them in too. But it's still a wrestling match to get them in and they can "come back to life" if the brain was missed. I was just sayin' I don't like the idea of a semi auto gun for this type of thing. Too much going on, a short muzzle that is harder to keep pointed away from others (or the boat) and a loaded chamber all during the excitement of taking a large animal than can seriously injure you.

The guy I've been going with uses a 38 special bangstick. When I get my own Butt boat I'll prolly get one of these http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/default.aspx?item=sb1%2D41n

It can dispatch big fish and be a stuck on some remote beach survival tool.
 
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As stated in my previous post the great equalizer is the old sharpened bush axe. We've never brought one into the boat that didnt have his spine severed...those WON'T come back to life ever!
 
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