Whats the easiest way to kill a gator in deep water and not lose him?

[terrance]

Whats the easiest way to kill a gator in deep water and not lose him?

[pineywoods]

From my scant experience with gators, I'd say the only way to do that would be to use a harpoon. You have to use something with a line on it because the gator is going to sink when he dies and unless you are a die-hard scuba enthusiast or are willing to wait for him to bloat and float, you are going to lose him. I once watched a man shoot a gator (illegally) and try to retrieve it with a big snatch hook. All he did was hook logs and straighten out his hook---never got the gator.

[seadog]

pinywoods has the right idea. I now use a crossbow--mounted with a 4x32 scope, a tactical flashlight, muzzy fish arrows, and 600 lb. test line connected to a float. The bowfishing reel is the kind made for a float so the line breaks away from the crossbow. I still bring a harpoon so we can put an extra dart in him to make sure we don't lose him. In Florida public hunts, firearms are not permitted, so we finish him off with a .44 mag bang stick. For safety, tape his mouth with electrical tape BEFORE bringing him in the boat and cut the spinal chord behind the head--kill him again just in case--you don't want a live gator in the boat even with his mouth taped. On private land, the shoot em & drag em out technique that piny described is sometimes legal, but I wouldn't advise it unless the gator is in a fairly small body of water so you can recover him.

[GERG]

The gator must be secured some how other than just shooting it. Get it aside the boat and let him have it. I even think it is illegal to dispatch a gator unless it is beside the boat.