python hunting in florida? - Page 2

Steel Talon · June 20, 2012, 01:06 PM

Never hunted pythons before,but Ive killed a ton of rattlers over the year usually with 38spl snake lolads. I think that I would carry a 410 shotgun

Doyle · June 20, 2012, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Never hunted pythons before,but Ive killed a ton of rattlers over the year usually with 38spl snake lolads. I think that I would carry a 410 shotgun

You kind of missed the whole point of the thread - on one of those special hunts you wouldn't be carrying any firearm. Those special hunts are live-catch only.

Steel Talon · June 20, 2012, 08:41 PM

Thanks Doyle.... When it comes to snakes I'm hard-wired to go to guns lol

No way no how would I ever go on a live snake catch hunt

BigMikey76 · June 21, 2012, 03:15 PM

Quote:

With the size that these snakes can grow to be I'm not sure I'd want to grab a live snake, stuff it into a bag and haul it back to the ranger station for disposal.

I'm right there with you. A buddy of mine had an 11 foot long pet Burmese years ago, and it took four grown men to pull it off of his 120 lb rottweiler when it got out of its terrarium (one of those men was me, and, as some of you may know, I am a pretty big guy). The dog had some broken ribs, but he made it, and it took everything we had to get that snake put back away. I would not want to tackle one of those bad boys alone.

He got rid of the snake the next day.

Panfisher · June 21, 2012, 04:01 PM

The special "no gun" season may be only a month long, but other areas sounds like year round and guns are fine. I wouldn't hesitate to use a "pellet gun", of course mine would be lauching a whole bunch of pellets at once!!

Doyle · June 21, 2012, 06:13 PM

Panfisher, even though the pythons are making appearances in other areas of S. Fl the bulk of the population is still in the 'glades. Since most of that is either National Park land or state-owned preserves there isn't a whole lot of opportunity for shooting one.

I predict that that will change as the population begins to migrate northward. Most of the snake problem started when Hurricane Andrew blew through back in '91. There were a few reptile distributors that abandoned their property during the hurricane and the storm opened up a bunch of cages releasing a whole bunch of invasive species. Couple that with the deliberate releasings of individuals whos snakes had grown too big to handle and we had a breeding population. In 20 years, they have bred enough to become a real problem. 20 years from now, I'm sure they will have begun to spread out.

swopjan · June 22, 2012, 05:12 AM

why can't you dispatch them with machetes or clubs? I can see how yahoos and firearms are a no-go around tourist areas, but that shouldn't mean said yahoos should be forced to live-catch. seems like it would be more effective to kill them in the field than back at a station.

Doyle · June 22, 2012, 07:19 AM

Swopjan, good question. I don't know why they don't allow killing in the field with non-firearms. Seems like a bow (set up like for bow fishing) would be another good choice.

Beagle333 · June 22, 2012, 09:37 AM

Quote:

While there is no hard and fast rule, the rule-of-thumb is, never attempt to tackle a constrictor 9 feet long or over by yourself. They are far stronger than you might think.

I once grabbed an 8' redtail boa. My friend jumped on me (and it) to help. Best description looked like something out of the movie "Men In Black"

or something similar, with two grown people being whipped around and beat on the ground by a large, long muscle as thick as a man's thigh. We got it in the bag..... but it beat the hell out of us.

('Wouldn't do it again.)

Art Eatman · June 22, 2012, 09:47 AM

Actual tourism in the Everglades is limited by Mama Nature to a few areas, of the gazillion acres there. It's a swampy/jungly equivalent to the BLM or USFS lands in the western states. Beaucoup acres, few people wandering around. Snake hunters using shotguns would be no danger to tourists.

June 20, 2012, 01:06 PM	#26
Steel Talon Senior Member Join Date: May 30, 2007 Posts: 138	Never hunted pythons before,but Ive killed a ton of rattlers over the year usually with 38spl snake lolads. I think that I would carry a 410 shotgun

June 20, 2012, 08:41 PM	#28
Steel Talon Senior Member Join Date: May 30, 2007 Posts: 138	Thanks Doyle.... When it comes to snakes I'm hard-wired to go to guns lol No way no how would I ever go on a live snake catch hunt

June 21, 2012, 04:01 PM	#30
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	The special "no gun" season may be only a month long, but other areas sounds like year round and guns are fine. I wouldn't hesitate to use a "pellet gun", of course mine would be lauching a whole bunch of pellets at once!!

June 21, 2012, 06:13 PM	#31
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	Panfisher, even though the pythons are making appearances in other areas of S. Fl the bulk of the population is still in the 'glades. Since most of that is either National Park land or state-owned preserves there isn't a whole lot of opportunity for shooting one. I predict that that will change as the population begins to migrate northward. Most of the snake problem started when Hurricane Andrew blew through back in '91. There were a few reptile distributors that abandoned their property during the hurricane and the storm opened up a bunch of cages releasing a whole bunch of invasive species. Couple that with the deliberate releasings of individuals whos snakes had grown too big to handle and we had a breeding population. In 20 years, they have bred enough to become a real problem. 20 years from now, I'm sure they will have begun to spread out.

June 22, 2012, 05:12 AM	#32
swopjan Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2011 Posts: 156	why can't you dispatch them with machetes or clubs? I can see how yahoos and firearms are a no-go around tourist areas, but that shouldn't mean said yahoos should be forced to live-catch. seems like it would be more effective to kill them in the field than back at a station.

June 22, 2012, 07:19 AM	#33
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	Swopjan, good question. I don't know why they don't allow killing in the field with non-firearms. Seems like a bow (set up like for bow fishing) would be another good choice.

June 22, 2012, 09:47 AM	#35
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Actual tourism in the Everglades is limited by Mama Nature to a few areas, of the gazillion acres there. It's a swampy/jungly equivalent to the BLM or USFS lands in the western states. Beaucoup acres, few people wandering around. Snake hunters using shotguns would be no danger to tourists.