The 2020 Louisiana alligator hunting season is here! We hit the swamp in Houma early this morning and I tagged my first gator!
In 2019 I participated in my first alligator hunt in Louisiana and I’ve been looking forward to the 2020 season every since.
We hit the swamp early in search of my first gator to tag and I was hoping that it would be a big bull gator! Hunting runs in my family and it is such a thrill to be hunting a beast that can hunt you back. We checked a few lines that had previously been set to see if there were any gators on. The bait (leg quarters) is placed on a hook which is attached to a string that has been tested to hold a certain amount of weight and then you secure the line to a tree.
We finally came across a downed line and it was time to see what we had. We pulled the line towards the boat and the gators head popped up. My adrenaline instantly jumped up a few notches! I grabbed the rifle and steadied myself to prepare for the kill shot. There’s a soft u-shaped spot on the back of their skull where their medulla oblongata is located. After a clear shot there, the gator will die instantly well hopefully. I pointed the rifle over the boat at the gators kill spot, pulled the trigger and the smell of sulphur filled the swampy air. You have to wait a minute to make sure that the gator is dead before you try to pull him onto the boat. If his eyes are open that sucker is not dead. Shoot him again or you could get a knife and jab the u-shaped soft spot for the coup de grâce! Once the gator is dead he is pulled on the boat and his tail is tagged!
I’m so thankful to have had this opportunity to go out this year and catch me a big boy and now I have 2021 in my sights!
Update May 2021~ My alligator head finally came in from the taxidermist! Let’s see what I can get mounted this year.
Bucket List Brandy 