Gator Draws

[avery123]

just kidding guys, i didn't get drawn. was trying to see how many new friends i could make had i realy gotten drawn.

sorry bout gettin' y'alls hopes up

Man if you would have said southwest or west central, we would have been best friends. ha ha.

[msbigdawg1234]

hunting Gators aint rocket science but its not just one of them things ya just go do if ya doin it they way they have it set up...long as ya got all ya paper ,license boat stuff etc in order and catch ya gator with way they have set it up and no booze you should be fine in the eyes of the law

[Wingman]

Well, I am the ultimate conservationalist. You will never hear or see of me getting involved in that mess yall call a gator season.

Aw shucks.

[LODI QUACKER]

Ha. I know you are terribly disappointed.

Good luck to all y'all hunters. Be safe and meticulous on the rules.

[southernfire97]

I got drawn last year for down here in the southeast zone. A good friend got it this year. Guess I will be his wingman...

[craziehunter18]

I passed over a 4 footer last night in highway 43. If my truck axles were lower he would have gotten hit by the chunk. He lived to see another day.

[jtdumallard]

Rob how many applications were sent in for this years Gator draws?

Just curious

[dukhntn]

7,410 applicants with 30,122 zone applications per Ricky Flynt.

[Blake Williamson]

Crazy .......

I wish they would go back to the $10 per zone application fee......That will take all the yahoo's out the running.....

[dukhntn]

Or do like out west. Pay for full costs up front and be reimbursed if you don't draw.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

I went on my first gator hunt last year with some fun guys, including one I had not seen since high school. While we did not land a gator that night, we had several hook ups and exciting battles. It was a lot of fun.

From what I recall about the rules, they were pretty strict and numerous. At a minimum, each person in the boat had to have a gator license. Additionally, someone needed to have a tag(s), and at least one person had to have some type of certification and/or advanced license after having attended a course on the proper techniques, etc re gator hunting --- I think it was referred to as a possession license???. The kill stick had to have a certain caliber bullet. I was told that the fines for violating any of these rules/laws were very severe.

It was far removed from a swamp people episode.

My question is simply why is all of that necessary to have a gator season?

There seems to me to be plenty of gators in MS. And with man pretty much being their only predator, the gator population seems to be growing along with the size of these beasts being caught. I saw some pics of recent MS gators caught that set new state records. Each of those gators looked big enough to eat me, Don Miller, and Bigwater whole, at the same time, without slowing down to chew or digest.

So, why is the state making gator hunting so difficult, limited, and exclusive? What is the goal in this regard ?---- a more numerous population of gators? Bigger gators? To what end? Are we going to start having gator hunting clubs on gator management programs? One would think that, beyond some simple basic safety rules, that we would want every person who desired to hunt gators to do so and kill as many as they wanted to or as needed to keep the population in check, and to make sure that the gators don't get to be 15 plus feet long. Is there any real danger of extinction at this point? Yet, folks in this thread have apparently applied for tags in a draw system and did not get drawn. Why not give everyone who applies a tag or two or three, etc.? Why can't we shoot them with our weapon of choice once they are hooked and get near enough to the boat? Why all the stiff fines and penalties?

Hopefully Rob or some other knowledgeable person can answer these questions and set me straight. I am a "Rebel" in every sense, and as many already know, I don't like a bunch of unnecessary rules imposed by government, clubs, etc. But, when I understand the need for such rules, it makes them a bit easier to stomach. So now, I'm gonna sit back and wait for the experts to fill me in.

(BTW, I've had similar questions re dove hunting, snow goose hunting, etc over the years).

[JaMak84]

I went on my first gator hunt last year with some fun guys, including one I had not seen since high school. While we did not land a gator that night, we had several hook ups and exciting battles. It was a lot of fun.

From what I recall about the rules, they were pretty strict and numerous. At a minimum, each person in the boat had to have a gator license. Additionally, someone needed to have a tag(s), and at least one person had to have some type of certification and/or advanced license after having attended a course on the proper techniques, etc re gator hunting --- I think it was referred to as a possession license???. The kill stick had to have a certain caliber bullet. I was told that the fines for violating any of these rules/laws were very severe.

It was far removed from a swamp people episode.

My question is simply why is all of that necessary to have a gator season?

There seems to me to be plenty of gators in MS. And with man pretty much being their only predator, the gator population seems to be growing along with the size of these beasts being caught. I saw some pics of recent MS gators caught that set new state records. Each of those gators looked big enough to eat me, Don Miller, and Bigwater whole, at the same time, without slowing down to chew or digest.

So, why is the state making gator hunting so difficult, limited, and exclusive? What is the goal in this regard ?---- a more numerous population of gators? Bigger gators? To what end? Are we going to start having gator hunting clubs on gator management programs? One would think that, beyond some simple basic safety rules, that we would want every person who desired to hunt gators to do so and kill as many as they wanted to or as needed to keep the population in check, and to make sure that the gators don't get to be 15 plus feet long. Is there any real danger of extinction at this point? Yet, folks in this thread have apparently applied for tags in a draw system and did not get drawn. Why not give everyone who applies a tag or two or three, etc.? Why can't we shoot them with our weapon of choice once they are hooked and get near enough to the boat? Why all the stiff fines and penalties?

Hopefully Rob or some other knowledgeable person can answer these questions and set me straight. I am a "Rebel" in every sense, and as many already know, I don't like a bunch of unnecessary rules imposed by government, clubs, etc. But, when I understand the need for such rules, it makes them a bit easier to stomach. So now, I'm gonna sit back and wait for the experts to fill me in.

(BTW, I've had similar questions re dove hunting, snow goose hunting, etc over the years).

C'mon Po Monk don't play coy. It doesn't take a PhD in nuclear physics to figure out the motivation here. I'm sure you can get plenty of answers to you're question, but you'll never get THE answer. Puff Daddy and The Notorious B.I.G. would be so proud of what modern day wildlife conservation has become.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

Wow. I figured that someone involved in the thinking and mindset behind the gator hunting rules and regs would have set my ignorant self straight by now.

I suppose when dogs and children start being eaten by 15 foot plus gators, and they are as numerous as hogs, then we'll loosen up the hunting rules. Until then, I 'll be ready for an invite from a lucky chosen one, armed with my gator license, a surf rod and heavy reel with a large treble hook, and a thunderstick with the exact required caliber ammo.

[420 racin]

A little update.

Earlier in this thread I wrote where I didn't get drawn. Well the toher day I get an email from Ricky Flint as a reminder to all drawn hunters about the classes. This email implied that I was drawn...so I go and check the website again, and low and behold it showed that I had been drawn. No I know before I posted up here that I wasn't drawn I checked and it said for the 2014 alligator season I was not a winner. I never got any other emails other than that one from Ricky. I called him to see what I needed to do and as it turns out, since I hadn't already registered for the class and the registration period had closed, i would be ineligible to hunt this year. WTF... It clearly said I was not a winner, then no emails or anything, and thenall the sudden I have been drawn but it is too late to register for the class, thanks for participating.

I got drawn for the NE zone he said, which would have done me no good anyway, and the damn $$, it was going to cost, just to kill an alligator..My name will nto be in the hat anymore. you guys have fun!

When does this "season" get kicked off anyway?

[deltadukman]

Dont question that complicated system they have....
Also, Dont forget the $25 permits for everyone..including someone who is taking pictures(was actually told that at one point)...not about the money at all.