I’ve only been in the handgun hunting world for a couple years now but it has been incredibly addicting. With my engineering background and curiosity of all things mechanical and firearms related, it is a perfect fit for a nerd like myself. One thing we all have in common is the knowledge, understanding and obsession of finding that perfect load with the perfect bullet and the perfect velocity to get the job done. In general, we are all just gun guys at heart. With that comes the occasional sentiment.
This year, my wife and I got the opportunity to hunt alligators near our home in South Louisiana. The initial thought when it comes to hunting alligators in Louisiana, is the ever-popular show “Swamp People”. Like most reality TV shows, there are some truths, and some “not so thruths”. Being in the middle of numerous reality TV shows in south LA, it’s fun to get the inside word on some stretches that occur for TV. For now, I’ll just cover the truths about gator hunting for us normal folks
In Louisiana, alligators nearly became extinct after drastic overharvesting for their hides starting in the 1800’s. By the early 1960’s, alligator hunting was put to a stop. Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries teamed up with landowners to build up the populations. In 1972, they began the first season in Cameron Parish (as my dad likes to mention to brag about his home area of the state) on a trial basis with great success. Populations haveincreased from 100k then to over 2 million in the wild today and another 1 million on farms (those farms are thanks to the show, but I digress).
To hunt in Louisiana is a fairly simple tag system. A resident may apply to a single Wildlife Management Area, and if selected, is allotted 3 tags. No size limits, but they are very closely monitored and each gator must be reported and tracked if taken to a taxidermist for any reason. You are allowed to have 2 lines out for every unused tag you have in your possession. We decided on a higher odds location last year with some friends and all 4 of us somehow drew tags. I’ll admit, we had our work cut out for us cleaning a dozen gators but we all ate well.
This year was also special because it was the first hunt after I married my wife (who else) and she enjoys the hunt too. I’ll admit, she’s the luckiest girl in the world, not only because she got to marry me (excuse me while my head shrinks back to normal size) but she’s 2 for 2 drawing tags! For reference, I am 1 for 5. Not only did she draw again, this year was in the hardest locations to draw for, just 7 miles down the river from my parents’ house. So while I was in the middle of my P.E. exam I spent all summer studying for, she got to head to the local office to pick up her prize.
We baited her hooks with chicken 2 days early and let themsit outside in a bucket to let them….season naturally, so to speak. On Friday afternoon after a bad rain storm that we hadn’t seen in months, we took our niece and nephew out to the management area. We scoped around the area I was somewhat familiar with, set our 6 lines and took the 25-minute boat ride back. We spotted plenty of gators, had some good branches hanging and I was feeling good. After an incredibly stressful summer of studying, working my normal job and other side work, it was a welcome feeling especially after just finding out I had passed my test.
As I mentioned, we as gun enthusiast, nerds, etc. tend to overthink our loads, guns, equipment and function, but we all know the important part is to just get outside and enjoy the hunt. Gators are a very different thought when it comes to this topic. I debated using my 300 whisper contender since it has a suppressor. I also debated finding a .22 barrel for it since probably 99% of gators are taken with a .22 magnum/LR. Giving a hand gunner options is a terrible thing to do to our OCD! Heck, I’ve been in debate for over a year what 2 handguns to bring to South Africa, and I hope I can decide before next year!
The other part I mentioned is we can get sentimental about our firearms. I had a thought that threw out the common thought process for a handgun hunter, I looked over at a Glock 17 I had been working on. I put a red dot on it, threaded barrel for a suppressor, nothing exciting for us. It only takes a very accurate shot to take down a gator. However, this particular handgun was special to me. Just a couple years prior, I inherited it from a great friend of mine after he passed. He was a local DJ that invited me into a backstage view of the country music industry,numerous concerts and often took me back to meet some amazing artist and behind the scenes folks. One thing that supported my lifelong appreciation of country music is the artist are typically some of the friendliest and most humble people you’ll ever meet, and even met a few solid hunters. I appreciated every show and event we enjoyed together. While he was in the hospital, he asked me to store the gun at my house for safe keeping. I told his daughter, who I consider my little sister, that I had it, and after his passing, she told me to hang on to it. I’ll say that I love every shot that I take with that handgun.
Hunting with suppressors is a fantastic thing and I may discuss that in the future, but the challenge with some handguns is the forward weight and finding a holster. There are some holsters that can handle suppressors, but unless it’s one you hunt with often, it may not be worth the cost. I did something to get by. I took an old Serpa holster (judgments aside) and cut off the front and torqued the tension screw all the way down. Surprisingly, it was very secure. I left a little bit of taper to help hold the gun in and after a few jumps, sits, yanks and twist, the gun was secure. All I need to do is push the button, lift a half inch and push forward.
We head out early the next morning with 2 of our nephews after partying all night at a Kendall Shaffer concert (of course), and given the location of our lines, my dad took out his pontoon boat with other family members to get a live showing of Swamp People and to make it a family affair. Not a normal hunt, but heck, nothing has been normal about this so why not. We approach our first line and as the licensee, my wife got first dibs on shooting so I grab the line (I am her licensed helper) and she makes a perfectly smooth shot on the moving 7’ 6” 160# gator as it surfaces and sweeps along the boat. The kids are jumping with excitement and we couldn’t be happier.
We head across the main canal and check 2 lines I tucked back into bayou many don’t know is part of the management area. As we approach, I look at my Glock 17 on my side and ask if I can fight the gator alone as a personal quest. As I hook the line, I see it’s running in the direction of the motor so I ask her to pick it up. When it stops, I pull the gator up slowly and I see a massive swirl. I had a GoPro mounted by the steering wheel and when that happened, you can hear a holler and a squeal on the video. I’m hoping the squeal was my nephew…. I got a little more than I bargained for.
I look up at the others for just a second and the gator takes off. I have a death grip on the line and he nearly pulls me in and I immediately squat down to keep my feet in front of me. We took off so hard, my wife had to take a hard stutter step to keep her balance. After being pulled 20 feet, we balance out and I draw my pistol. As I do, he rolls twice and the line is twisted around down from his mouth to his back legs. I can’t pull his head up and he’s starting to wear me out. I then pull a stunt no mom wants to see her son do. I re-holster and carefully reach down and grab the gators back leg to try to make him rotate back. As I do, he lifts his head and in about a second, I draw, aim and shoot, and it’s all over.
Well, almost. Picking up a near 300# (800# if on TV), 9.5’ gator took a good bit of teamwork with my wife and a little physics know how helps, so I can’t take all the credit. We appropriately named him “‘Ol Tugboat”.
I take a big breath and look up. The kids, were ecstatic,some cheering from my parents and brother, and after I looked down at that special Glock 17, I couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off my face for quite a while. Memories started coming back. That was the cherry on top. We go get our 3rd gator and head back to the camp.
While gator hunting is not the usual handgun hunt, I think it still capitalizes on some of the keys we all consider when doing so. Getting outside, teaching the kids about hunting,conservation, the outdoors and of course, only using a handgun.Keep in mind, while the gator is on a line, hitting a quarter sized spot on a PO’d dinosaur does create a challenge with a handgun. You can’t reach with the muzzle and put it right where you want to hit like on a rifle. There is no blood tracking, no gut shots, and a second shot will just wear you out faster, assuming you don’t make him madder and he snaps the line.
If your OCD gives you trouble deciding between 2 calibers or guns for a hunt, consider if one of them is special to you. Ifit’s enough gun, I promise you will enjoy the hunt that much more.
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