Im going on a guided alligator hunt this summer and will be taking a 243win and a 45-70 because thats what has been recommended by members of another forum
Just curious, how many of those people who recommended those calibers have actually shot a gator before?
As it has been stated, killing a reptile like that has more to do with shot placement than caliber. They aren't wired like mammals, if you don't kill them with the first shot, you make them angry, or scared, or both. If you scare them they go deep and you won't see them again for hours or days. A full grown gator can stay submerged for a several hours if need be, and an angry gator can do a lot of damage real quick.
I've seen gators in the wild that were missing two limbs (most likely from scraps with larger gators) that had no problem getting around quickly both in the water and on land. You want to kill a gator I suggest that you actually do an internet search and learn a bit about the animal's anatomy so you know how to aim for what little brain they have.
If you plan on visiting or moving to Florida you have to understand that any body of water larger than a mud puddle is apt to have a gator in residence. Between the comeback since they were almost hunted to extinction, and encroachment of human habitations, the smaller guys (four to seven feet) are being forced out of the rural areas by the big bulls, and are setting up territories in more urban settings.
As for the snakes mentioned, I haven't had any problem with them. They'll leave you alone if you leave them alone. I've been catching and relocating rattlers and coral snakes for years. I've never been bitten.
Also, most rattle snake bites that are not a result of some damn fool thinking he can handle them because he has watched Jeff Corwin do it on TV occur without the characteristic warning rattle.
I remember swimming at a private spring outside High Springs, Florida. I was listening to two tourists talking about how they would never swim in water where they knew there might be snakes. I got a good laugh pointing out the six+ foot moccasin that had been sunning itself on a log not twenty five feet away for the previous two hours that we had all been diving and splashing in the area. They got out of the water and wouldn't get back in.
Florida is a great place to live, and our natural waterways are wonderful places to play and observe our wildlife. Just remember, like any natural setting, the animals that live there are part of the eco-system and have right to live unmolested. They are no threat unless they get into our living areas, and even then they can be safely moved in most cases.
That being said, if I found a gator in my kitchen I'd grab the .22 and the bar-b-que sauce.
