742 lb. Gator killed in Alabama

Definately not a Darwain Canidate;
"Horton said Fulton shot the gator with a shotgun when it was 5 feet from the boat. Asked why they shot it at that point, Horton said, "I didn't want it any closer."
742pounds and 13' is a baby by Florida standards. I can't find it but on one of the other boards a fishmonger killed one in season in Florida at or beyond 20':eek:
 
According to the Everglades National Park website, the largest alligator ever recorded in Florida was 17 feet 5 inches (5.31 m), although according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission web site the Florida state record for length is a 14 feet 5/8 inches (4.28 m) male from Lake Monroe in Seminole County. The largest Alligator recorded was taken on Marsh Island, in my home state of Louisiana...19ft, 2 inches.

We used to harvest gators when I was a kid...largest one we ever grabbed was 11ft and change. I dont blame this guy for not wanting a 13+ near his boat. That is alot of reptile.
 
The new History Channel show Swamp People was about catching gators and they got one 12' 11" and it took 3 hours to get it to the boat. Good show.
 
Wow. It took six shots from a shotgun at close range to kill that monster. Man, those things are TOUGH. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near one of those.
 
What load did they use? Tough or not, I think a well placed shot with slugs should do the job.
 
I've never killed a gator, but I do know that a big gator's brain is about the size of a walnut, and it is encased in a very thick, heavy skull. Guys kill gators with shotguns all the time, but it's not an easy trick, apparently. I guess you immobilize them with rope, shoot 'em, and let them bleed out.

I've killed big snapping turtles, and those things are so mean even chopping off their head doesn't kill them right away. They'll thrash around for a good while, and the head will continue to bite even after you cut it off. Cut them open and remove the heart, and it will continue to beat for several minutes. Big reptiles die hard- they've been around since the time of the dinosaurs and their design is so good that it has remained unchanged since then.
 
They are very tough. We can't use shotguns or rifles to kill them here. Lots of guys use a bang stick, some don't. I've helped guys that do, I don't myself. I've personally seen what would appear to be a lethal pop from one, and what looks like a dead gator, only to have the gator come back once in the boat. Sucks. For me, once you have a line in them, a hatchet to the skull, then sever the spine at the base of the head. Short of nuking them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure. The WFC has the heaviest record hunted Florida gator weighing in at over a thousand pounds. He wasn't the longest on record, actually not much longer than this gator.
 
I've killed a gator before. It's not that hard with a .22, but you do have to be right on top of it so you can hit the top of the skull and take out the brain.

BTW, I *think* the statute of limitations has run out.... This was in the mid-70's in Central Fl.

At that time, the biggest gator in FL was at the Gatorland Zoo off of 17-92/441 in Kissimmee, FL, just south of the Tupperware headquarters. Now, it's just a suburb of Orlando. At that time, the biggest gator was about 13' and some change.
 
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How long you think that thing lived before a bunch of rednecks had to do their "duty" and kill it in such an unskilled backwoods manner?
 
Probably a couple of hours. Not as long as some deer that get stuck by a bad shot from an archery hunter doing his "duty." :jerkit:
It's easy to second guess somebody, I guess, but it's different in the dark, in the middle of a swamp, in a fourteen foot boat, with a 700 pound alligator thrashing about a few feet from you.
 
when i 1st took my son hunting i told him if he did'nt want to kill that was his business. it's a personal choice but if you do'nt want to kill no one will look down on you. i said you ca'nt justify killing but you do'nt have to justify killing. that's the way i introduced my boy to hunting. really theres no debate about this activity, lets not fight it really is a personal choice.
dennis
 
I saw the show on the swamp people yesterday. Looked to me like they were popping gators in the head with a 22. Maybe it was a 22 mag< I don't know. If I had the time, I would like to spend some time with those people. What a rush. A lot ot live off wildlife in the swamp. It will eat you. A hardy people to be sure. Nice show. Different eco system. Respect to them all.
 
I used to work with a nuisance gator trapper in Fl. and we took some heavier than that. That is actually pretty light for a gator that long. People have no idea how incredibly tough these animals are. I have seen multiple bang stick rounds (12ga) not even crack the skull on a large one. I saw one that got hit by a pontiac grand prix, it ripped the front axle off the car and it walked away.

The only real way to assuredly kill a gator is to separate it's spine from it's skull. I haven't seen the swamp people episode yet but if they were using a .22 or the like they were probably just using it to stun a smaller gator (9ft or less) so that they could then kill it. We would generally do that at the processing facility so it was easier to cut at the base of the skull and pop the spinal cord.

Gator trapping was the one thing that almost made me change careers. It is the most fun I have ever had and ruined deer hunting for me forever ;)
 
We used .45LC/.44Mag revolvers and a friend of my fathers used and old .45 Goverment...followed by a trusty old Hatchet/Machete to the neck when close enough.
 
Done some allligator hunting we used a 45 cal pistol to shoot em in the head, worst thing is if the line breaks in the mayhem and the gator sinks someone has to get in and get em. Because after they die they sink, like a rock. I've done it twice in a mud boat ditch down below Pecan Island while in a 12 foot pirogue, NOT FUN.
 
MikeC said:
Done some allligator hunting we used a 45 cal pistol to shoot em in the head, worst thing is if the line breaks in the mayhem and the gator sinks someone has to get in and get em. Because after they die they sink, like a rock. I've done it twice in a mud boat ditch down below Pecan Island while in a 12 foot pirogue, NOT FUN.
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I hate when that happens...though Ive seen some crazy coonasses, who loved that stuff. Just something about jumping into brown, muddy water without knowing for sure is there waiting on you.
 
Yeah, we kinda thought it was cool at first, then the miller lights wore off once we were back to work on Monday and got to thinking about it and realized probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. But, hey you do what you gotta do when the good ole white meat as at the bottom.
 
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