For my dad’s first heavenly birthday, I finally did something we had always talked about: going on a hunt for something a bit higher up the food chain than our usual whitetail deer.
We always aimed for hunts that would provide something tangible, such as meat for the freezer, a warm blanket or material for clothing.
After he passed away in February, I thought long and hard about how to honor him: an alligator hunt was the perfect way. The alligator would provide meat for the freezer. Its hide would provide clothing and a trophy.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
My family, a bunch of Yankees from Ohio, packed bags and made the long, arduous journey to Louisiana.
Okay, we drove to the airport and flew there in a few hours, but we did have a lengthy layover–a real test of endurance.
Alligator Arsenal: It’s Not Just About the Hunter
I know what you’re thinking: “Cool, you got a gator, but what did you use?” So, let’s talk about gear. We all know the saying, “It’s the Indian, not the arrow” but a great hunter with a crooked arrow and a poorly strung bow isn’t going to be very successful.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
When hunting gators in open water, the only visible target for a clean kill shot is the eye—a target about the size of a quarter. This means your rifle setup and ammunition need to be pushing sub-MOA precision, and you’ll need a healthy dose of luck.
For our primary setup, we had what I’d call the “best gear known to man.” We brought a Faxon Firearms Sentry Ultralight 16″ Modern Sporting Rifle in 22ARC with a skeletonized magazine well, a Vortex Viper PST II 5-25x FFP scope, an IWI 6mm suppressor, and a Timney Triggers flat trigger. I spent many sleepless nights custom-loading rounds to get the best ballistics and accuracy out of the rifle using the highest quality components. Those components consisted of Hornady 80-grain ELD Match bullets, Hodgdon CFE223 powder, Hornady brass, and CCI primers loaded on the legendary RCBS Summit Single Stage press.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
You’ll also need a .22LR pistol. I went with a Taurus TX22 T.O.R.O. with a Holosun SCS Carry and the IWI 22LR suppressor. This sidekick is for finishing off the gator once you get it to the boat.
The ammunition we used for the Taurus TX22 was a box of 22LR that belonged to my father. Ammunition that he had purchased but never had a chance to use. It was a slight nod to the man who raised me and would have given anything to be on the hunt with us.
Gator Hunting 101
Coming from a place where the biggest thing that swims in the water is largemouth bass, I learned there are a few ways to hunt alligators:
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
- The Bait Method: Use gutted fish, chicken, or other gator favorites to lure them to a specific spot.
- The Bait and Hook Method: Bait is attached to a hook that sticks in the gator’s mouth, keeping it in place so you can dispatch it.
- The Sunning Method: Roll up on a gator chilling on land and take a shot at a fully visible target.
- The Free-Swimming Method: The riskiest, but also the coolest, method. You shoot a gator that’s swimming in open water, where only its eyes and nostrils are visible. If you take a shot and the gator swims off, that’s your gator, and you might go home empty-handed. They can also sink and be carried away by the current, making them incredibly difficult to find.
My family opted for the free-swimming method. When you travel all the way from Ohio, you want the full experience!
Wrasslin Gators
What happens after you shoot a gator is one of the craziest things you’ll ever see. Our guide, Walter Heathcock of Fin Twisters Fishing Guide Services, sped over to where my gator was. He grabbed a fishing pole with a treble hook and started casting until he snagged the gator, then he reeled it in. He also had a treble hook on a rope for extra security. Coming from Ohio, I never imagined you’d pull a gator out of the water with a fishing pole.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
It is unbelievably exhilarating. Once you get the gator to the top of the water, it starts thrashing and death-rolling. It’s a literal fight to the death. Once you have it secured, you use the .22LR pistol to put a round through the top of its head, right between the eyes to dispatch it.
The bigger ones don’t always go down with a single shot. My wife’s gator, for example, required nine shots to finally go down. A literal hole the size of a quarter in the skull was needed to put it down for good.
Gator Hunting Is A Test of Patience & Gear
Hunting from a boat presents some unique challenges. Wakes and waves are always swaying the boat–sometimes harshly. The target on the gator is tiny. Keep in mind that the gator is constantly moving. It’s not like it will stand still just for you.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
When I took my shot, I had to account for both the gator’s movement and the boat’s motion. As Walter explained, you’re supposed to time the movements and take your shot when your reticle lines up perfectly.
It sounded a lot easier when he explained it than when I put it to practice.
This is partially why the quality of your gear truly makes or breaks the hunt. The Timney Trigger we used had an incredibly light 1.5-pound break. It was truly crucial for making precise shots.
An accurate rifle and precisely-loaded cartridges matter too.
My youngest son and wife both smoked gators at 40-50 yards. I credit their patience and solid fundamentals for their success. She took almost eight minutes to take her shot, waiting for just the right moment. My son waited for six minutes. At the time, I was thinking, “What are you waiting for?!” but then I realized it took me just as long to line up my own shot and finally pull the trigger.
The Bull & The Gator
My oldest son, who was a little seasick, relied on the Taurus TX22 to harvest a gator that had bitten a baited hook. He waited for the perfect moment and placed a single, perfect shot that harvested his gator quickly. My sister did the same on a different hooked gator.
Even though these shots were taken up close, don’t forget we’re talking about a rimfire handgun on an ornery gator. It could easily jump in the boat (that is swaying side to side and has people in it). Those people are also moving around helping you wrestle with the gator. Therefore, your firearms handling and safety must be flawless.
A Hunt to Remember
Watching my family, who had only ever hunted in deer country, come out to hunt these swampland dinosaurs with pinpoint accuracy was amazing.
Seeing my 11-year-old son shoot a 10-foot, 4-inch gator, or my wife shooting a 9-foot, 9-inch gator, both from a moving boat at 50 yards, is a memory I will cherish forever.
And watching my 14-year-old son and sister use a handgun to dispatch gators that were over nine feet long and could have easily made lunch of either of them was also something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
This hunt was deeply personal.
It was the first time any of us had been out hunting since my father’s passing. My father instilled the love of hunting in my sister and me, and now I’m passing that love on to my children.
If you are looking to hunt something a little different, want to get a bunch of meat, and make some amazing memories, give Walter a call and get down to Louisiana to hunt some gators.
You won’t regret it, and it’s something you and your family will talk about for years. In my case, it’s something I hope my kids will tell their kids about long after I am gone.
WHY OUR ARTICLES/REVIEWS DO NOT HAVE AFFILIATE LINKS
Affiliate links create a financial incentive for writers to promote certain products, which can lead to biased recommendations. This blurs the line between genuine advice and marketing, reducing trust in the content.