Alligator Hunt

[mrostov]

I'm amazed they can kill something so big iwith such a titchy round.

One of the guys on Swamp People took a gator with a NAA derringer. These are tiny guns. Go to this link to see how small they are: http://northamericanarms.com/

The .22LR has got a lot more penetration and killing power than many give it credit for.

A .22LR fired out of a short to medium barreled handgun will penetrate, on average, 11" to 13" of ballistic gel, depending upon load and barrel length. The better hollowpoints, like a CCI Stinger or Velocitor will expand to .30 caliber or better, even at the lower velocities of a short barrel.

A .22LR rifle, depending upon the load, will penetrate between 16" and 24" of ballistic gel.

At 300 yards, a .22LR 40gr CCI Velocitor hollowpoint fired out of a rifle will completely penetrate 5" of solid, raw meat (beef) with two layers of denim on each side, leaving a wound channel big enough to stick a man's finger in. A hollowpoint bullet recovered after the test had expanded to about .30 caliber.

At 300 yards, a regular .22LR 40gr high velocity solid round nose fired out of a rifle will completely penetrate a semi-frozen turkey wrapped in several layers of denim and flannel.

At 440 yards, a regular .22LR 40gr high velocity solid round nose fired out of a rifle will penetrate 1/2" of pine board. It takes about 59 ft/lbs to penetrate a 1/2" pine board and that is the threshold established many decades ago by the US Army for when a projectile starts becoming potentially lethal.

It's been estimated that more deer have been harvested in North America with the .22LR than all other calibers combined. Natives in Central America have been known to use it for hunting jaguar. Many moose and the occasional bear have also been killed with the .22LR.

 

[santaman2000]

Yes but his point wasn't just about the gator's size. They're scaly, armored reptiles. NOT ballistic gel or wooden boards.

All that said, 22LRs do work well on them.

 

[mrostov]

That tough hide does have an effect, especially when the shot is taken very close. Some of those gator hunters in Swamp People had to have lead bullet fragments picked out of their face with tweezers. Even on shots that killed the gator, there have sometimes been bullet fragments flying back at the shooter.

 

[santaman2000]

That tough hide does have an effect, especially when the shot is taken very close. Some of those gator hunters in Swamp People had to have lead bullet fragments picked out of their face with tweezers. Even on shots that killed the gator, there have sometimes been bullet fragments flying back at the shooter.

I usually take Swamp People with a heavy dose of salt. But that's certainly believable.

 

[mrcharly]

One of the guys on Swamp People took a gator with a NAA derringer. These are tiny guns. Go to this link to see how small they are: http://northamericanarms.com/

The .22LR has got a lot more penetration and killing power than many give it credit for.

A .22LR fired out of a short to medium barreled handgun will penetrate, on average, 11" to 13" of ballistic gel, depending upon load and barrel length. The better hollowpoints, like a CCI Stinger or Velocitor will expand to .30 caliber or better, even at the lower velocities of a short barrel.

A .22LR rifle, depending upon the load, will penetrate between 16" and 24" of ballistic gel.

At 300 yards, a .22LR 40gr CCI Velocitor hollowpoint fired out of a rifle will completely penetrate 5" of solid, raw meat (beef) with two layers of denim on each side, leaving a wound channel big enough to stick a man's finger in. A hollowpoint bullet recovered after the test had expanded to about .30 caliber.

At 300 yards, a regular .22LR 40gr high velocity solid round nose fired out of a rifle will completely penetrate a semi-frozen turkey wrapped in several layers of denim and flannel.

At 440 yards, a regular .22LR 40gr high velocity solid round nose fired out of a rifle will penetrate 1/2" of pine board. It takes about 59 ft/lbs to penetrate a 1/2" pine board and that is the threshold established many decades ago by the US Army for when a projectile starts becoming potentially lethal.

It's been estimated that more deer have been harvested in North America with the .22LR than all other calibers combined. Natives in Central America have been known to use it for hunting jaguar. Many moose and the occasional bear have also been killed with the .22LR.

Please excuse me if I seem sceptical, but I've seen 40gr solids fail to penetrate a 2-litre milk carton full of water - at close range.

They may penetrate frozen meat or wood, but that doesn't behave in the same way as thawed meat (which is very similar to water).

I had assumed that Alligator hide is thick and tough - if people are harvesting using 22lr, then that obviously isn't the case.

 

[santaman2000]

Please excuse me if I seem sceptical, but I've seen 40gr solids fail to penetrate a 2-litre milk carton full of water - at close range.

They may penetrate frozen meat or wood, but that doesn't behave in the same way as thawed meat (which is very similar to water).

I had assumed that Alligator hide is thick and tough - if people are harvesting using 22lr, then that obviously isn't the case.

Those were my first thoughts as well. The hide is thicker and tougher on the body but the hunters are using head shots where the hide's the thinnest; although one would think the skull might well be another matter.

 

[santaman2000]

Two bigger ones were caught in Mississippi Saturday, both State records. First a 723.5 pounder breaking the previous State record, then a few hours later an even bigger 727 pounder was caught:


[h=1]727-Pound Alligator Smashes State Records[/h]By ABC News

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By ABC News | ABC News Blogs – 13 hours ago

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  727-Pound Alligator Smashes State Records (ABC News)

ABC News’ Samantha Riley reports:
Alligators heavier than 700 pounds sound straight out of a nightmare for most, but they became record-breaking reality for hunters in Mississippi over the weekend. Two groups of hunters smashed the record for largest gator in the state, not once but twice during opening weekend of alligator season.Beth Trammell of Madison, and her team of five broke the previous record of 697.5 pounds early Saturday morning by reeling in a 723.5 pound mammoth. "When we first saw him," she recalls, "I yelled 'oh my gosh we caught the Loch Ness Monster!'" It took five hours and the help of two additional hunters, but eventually they hoisted the animal into their boat. "It was totally unbelievable," Trammell remembers.
Her record, however, was defeated two hours later by Dustin Bockman, another amateur who managed to wrangle in a 727-pound male, his very first catch. He and two partners struggled with the record-breaker for over four hours in the early morning before pulling him to a sandbar to wait for help. "My goal was to get a 10-footer," he explained. "I couldn't believe it when it was that big."
These massive creatures come as no surprise to Ricky Flint, Mississippi Alligator Program coordinator. This is the first year there has been a state-wide alligator season, opening up massive new hunting territory to those picked via lottery. "We expect the records to get broken and these will be broken, as well. Maybe before the end of this season," he said.
For this challenge, Bockman is ready. "If someone beats my record, I'll go out and try to top it." While regulations will force him to wait until next season to reel in anything that large, he remains optimistic. "There's always a bigger one out there." Until then, both Trammell and Bockman will mount their harvests to remember their struggles. Trammell is planning a party next weekend to enjoy the meat with friends.

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And another photo from a second source
https://sphotos-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1231233_10151811881359347_516951900_n.png

 

[mrostov]

One of the reasons they are using head shots into the skull with a .22LR is to minimize damage to the valuable hides.

 

[santaman2000]

Well they just beat them by another 27 pounds in Louisiana: http://bit.ly/17JFcAg

 

[santaman2000]

And now an 1100 pounder has been taken in Arkansas:


WEAR ABC 3 News, Pensacola
Like This PageLiked · 3 hours ago




It's the catch of the week. An Arkansas alligator hunter nabs a massive gator. It's nearly 14 feet long -- and weighs around 1,100 pounds!

Read the story here: http://www.weartv.com//news/feature...ator-hunter-catches-massive-gator-36565.shtml

That's 4 records in 3 states so far this season!

 

[mrostov]

One thing I can tell you about alligators is this: When it's the crack of dawn, the sun is rising, you are half asleep with your first cup of coffee of the day in your hand and you step outside to catch the morning and one is staring right at you, it doesn't need to be of record book size to impart the instantaneous impression that you just stumbled into Jurassic Park.

 

[Ecoman]

that made me chuckle.

Reminds me of when my mate Andy went to Nairobi to build Tomcat off road racers. They were coming home from a restaurant called 'Outside In' when Andy needed to stop for a pee. It only took him about 30 seconds and he was back in the truck. His mate asked him if everything was OK and Andy's reply was its amazing how fast you can evacuate your bladder when you suddenly notice your urinating on a six foot Alligator!!

 

[santaman2000]

LOL. I'm stealing those for FB.