Panhandler80
WKR
Good afternoon, folks. I was just wondering if any of you would be interested in exchanging a NW Florida alligator hunt for helping put me on an elk (or perhaps some other western big game hunt). Please feel free to shoot me a message if this might interest you and I'll fill you in on the details of the hunt, but here are the basics... I have a house on a river system that offers hundreds of miles of great territory, and if the weather cooperates, I can pretty much guarantee 1-2 alligators up to about 8 feet. 9-10 footers are most definitely possible on any hunt. I've never killed one over 11 (they are pretty smart by that size), but they're out there and I've certainly put many a stalk on them only to prove unsuccessful. Anyway, I've got the perfect boat for it, and all of the necessary gear and most years I have plenty of tags. I also have a cooler for immediate storage, and would be happy to drop off at processor at the end of a hunt. Once processed I'd also be happy to handle the brining and eventual salting and shipment of hides to a tannery of your choice. There is also a local taxidermy guy who does great euro mounts of the skulls. No alligator is the same in terms of how to best harvest. As such, on board will be all of the gear necessary to implement a combination of crossbow, harpoon, bait and snatch rods. Hunts begin at last light and I typically hunt all night and into the morning (one of the best times) prior to going back to the house for some sleep. I typically hunt two nights in a row, and expect to harvest 1-2 alligators per night. It's really a neat and different experience, but believe me when I say that is a HUNT. Nothing is guaranteed and it's a lot of work. Sometimes the cooperate, but it's not uncommon to spend 1-2 hours on a particular alligator trying to get a line on him... if it's a big one and a trophy is the goal, I may spend 2-3 hours trying different things. There are some private land hunts where they can be shot with a rifle, and/or hunts conducted on foot... this is not one of those hunts. Way more work than that. I'm on a 16' aluminum boat with a 40hp tiller steer, and we're hunting a combination of lake, swift open river, brackish open water, and still sloughs and swamps.
I'm an experienced hunter with a clean record. Each year I probably spend 20 days or so in the field... the bulk of which is private and public land in NW Florida, but I've also hunted western KS, TX, IL, KY, AL, GA but that has been just for whitetail, of which I've harvested 81. I am proficient with my old Matthews bow, an Excalibur crossbow, a Traditions .50 ML, an A-bolt in 270WSM and a Bergara in 300WM.
In terms of boating, well... I owned a boat before I had a bicycle as a kid. I'm 39 years old, and I'm going to guess that I have close to 7,000 hours of experience operating a boat with probably another 1,500 as a passenger. I maintain my own stuff and on only one occasion did I not make it home under my own power.
Anyway, it was just a thought I had earlier today. I absolutely love it, and it's also fun to share the experience with folks who have never done it.
I'm an experienced hunter with a clean record. Each year I probably spend 20 days or so in the field... the bulk of which is private and public land in NW Florida, but I've also hunted western KS, TX, IL, KY, AL, GA but that has been just for whitetail, of which I've harvested 81. I am proficient with my old Matthews bow, an Excalibur crossbow, a Traditions .50 ML, an A-bolt in 270WSM and a Bergara in 300WM.
In terms of boating, well... I owned a boat before I had a bicycle as a kid. I'm 39 years old, and I'm going to guess that I have close to 7,000 hours of experience operating a boat with probably another 1,500 as a passenger. I maintain my own stuff and on only one occasion did I not make it home under my own power.
Anyway, it was just a thought I had earlier today. I absolutely love it, and it's also fun to share the experience with folks who have never done it.
