Every summer since 1988, the state of Florida has opened many of its lakes, rivers and swamps to a limited-time public alligator hunt. This year’s hunt began Aug. 15 and continues through Sept. 12.
Once listed as an endangered species and protected from harvest, the American alligator has bounced back to sustainable levels that can withstand hunting, according to Steve Stiegler, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s alligator management program.
Though gators as small as 18 inches can be legally bagged, few hunters would consider it worth the effort. Most aim for something closer to the Florida record of 14 feet, 5/8 inches, taken in 1997 at Lake Monroe in Seminole County.
Bagging a gator isn’t as easy as it might seem. Hunters are not allowed to use guns to kill gators. Instead, they may use pole spears, bow-and-arrow, or rod-and-reel to catch the animal, then use a bang-stick — a pole with an explosive charge on the end — to dispatch it at point-blank range before bringing it into a boat.
Lets Go!! Rocks work good also….
Part of the prohibition against guns is that it's actually harder to kill them that way. They have few vulnerable spots, and you'll just wind up wounding it and pissing it off. Also, shooting it means that it's dead in the water, and you have to get into the water (with other alligators) to retrieve it. Trying to haul 600 pounds of dead alligator out of the water is difficult. Hence the harpoons and such.
Personally, I don't think gators are worth the trouble. And we need them to keep the pythons in check.
A bang-stick is a firearm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerhead