just curious if anyone has ever taken a gator with a recurve or long bow? gator hunting is getting more legal n popping up more around the south here n people got many ways of taking them.. mostly treble hooks n snares but i wanna get one like a deer/elk/bear ect...

I've shot one with my bowfishing equipment and my compound. The recurve or longbow will work no problem if that's what you choose. Just pick your shots carefully. I could have used my recurve, but I wanted all the 'ummmph' I could into my arrow and my 'ole compound does it very well.

My son and both shot one last year at the same time.... he was using a Bear Kodiak magnum 50# and I was shooting my Onieda Eagle. Our arrows hit within 3" of each other... His arrow ended up pulling out while mine had more penetration to let the Muzzy tip dig in. He would have gotten away except for my arrow.

CD

Pappy from Twin Oakes just got 2 with a couple of selfbow he makes. Maybe he will see this an fill in the details or go to Primitive Archer site an read about his hunt. Bob

would love to see the pictures... i said the only compound i would ever own would be an onieda... thx for responses more welcome!

I have shot gators-mixed emotions here.Early after getting bitten by the "trad bug" I did alot of hunts sort of based on TBM articles and getting trad animals checked off my list-there is nothing wrong with that.I shot a mountain lion-glad I did it-do not want to do it again.I shot this gator-glad I did it-see no need to do it again-like snappers or alligator gars-the creature is probably 50 years old-think about that-I have no desire for that anymore.If you want to do it go for it-I shot mine with an all phenolic recurve I made and MUZZY has everything you need for gator gear.

BTW-its all the same 1)shoot with gun,harpoon,drag in boat,bangstick or 2) harpoon drag to boat,bangstick 3) shoot with arrow,harpoon,drag to boat,bangstick.Monty Browning told his gator story to us one night at dinner and he is the only person I know that did it arrow only but the story has substories too.:) Have fun.

Here's my gator from last week... Snagged with treble hooks then shot with bow.

The real excitement is catch and release!!! Getting them in the boat, measuring, then releasing! Gotta live ir!

CD

Gotta love it!!! ... is what I meant to type! haha

Here's a pic of an 8'2" catch and release. We had one break off last night as I was trying to get a noose on it. Worked on that gator for 2 hours last night and the gator finally won! :)

CD

Gotta love it!!! ... is what I meant to type! haha

Here's a pic of an 8'2" catch and release. We had one break off last night as I was trying to get a noose on it. Worked on that gator for 2 hours last night and the gator finally won! :)

CD

Try the pic again... Don't understand the double post...

You may find this interesting--or not:

http://piratesofarchery.net/bb/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2212&p

thats a great read Jim I had forgot about it-plus you did it 100% arrow-no bangstick or harpoon-good job!

thats awesome thanks a lot guys. now to the bow only guys.. what was the poundage bow and what kinda broadhead? 2 blade single bevel? arrows al, carbon, wood wood?

Snagging and then shooting it ? Does that bother anyone else? Does that fit under the thread authors "Taken with a recurve or longbow" question?

You would use a big game fish arrow then followup to your desire hopefully with a broad head kill shot.

what area of the states is everyone from..im in miss boarding la. midway down. in ms also u have to put in for a random drawing for a tag by june, and a few other little things to gator hunt..idk if yall know but a few friends n locals just got a gator over 710 pounds. state record just got broke 2x in a couple days of opening.

We don't get gators here only Australian salt water crocodiles.Whilst these are protected There is talk of a limited season being brought in to cull them to get the numbers down.Not trying to be a smart ass but our salt water crocodiles are a lot bigger than your biggest gator Your talking up to 22 foot long.Some that were shot in the 1890 s were up to 26 feet.It could be handy to see how you guys are hunting gators.If we do have a season I want to be in.It would be a chance of a lifetime. OSR

You can keep your crocodiles!!! lol Those are the REAL deal! They eat folks... yikes!!! You are right, gators here don't quite compare, but it is still an exciting hunt none the less. I'd go croc hunting with you if I had the chance though!!!

One of the bigger gators I found while scouting (small in comparison to a big croc... he was only 11-12ft) was in a public swimming area after dark! I don't think that would have been a good combination with one of your crocs!

I would assume the legal hunting techniques for hunting crocs would be very different from hunting alligators. We are very limited on our manner of take due to strict regulations in how we can actually capture and subdue an alligator. It is by NO MEANS a just 'go-out-and-shoot-a-gator-any-which-away' affair. It is highly regulated and closely monitored. I was checked by game wardens 3 times while out hunting.

To go back to the original post... Shooting a gator with a recurve or longbow is possible in MS, and like Mike mentioned, the first arrow has to be a fish arrow that is attached to the bow or either to a float. You cannot shoot a gator with a regular hunting arrow first. That would be illegal and unethical. In addition, any alligator that has been shot with a bow cannot be released, they have to be killed and tagged. Based on my experience, I shoot the strongest fishing bow I have for the best possible penetration. I have used 2 types of fish arrows; a solid fiberglass arrow and a yellowjacket fiberglass arrow (with carbon strips for stiffness). My points of choice are Muzzy.

CD

From what I gather, no one has killed a gator with a recurve; it was the arrows that did the killing! Ha.

The bang stick killed the gators!

20ga Turkey load!!! ;)

@ skookum - lol

It would still be lots of exciting fun shooting a gator.If Australian authorities ever bring back a limited season on crocodiles the overseas hunters would get first chance to hunt because the government would be chasing the tourist dollar.I would not have that sort of money.Papua New Guniea to the north of us have the biggest salt water crocodiles.I think its possible to hunt them there.I can't see me getting to the US to hunt gators though.You guys enjoy your gator hunting but it still makes me envious.Yeah don't go saying wish you were here. (NOT FUNNY)Enjoy your gator hunting anyway .OSR

"Snagging and then shooting it ? Does that bother anyone else?"

Doesn't bother me any. We're talking gator's here--not deer or elk.

I was with a guy that shot two from the bank. You get a broadhead in their lungs, their just like any other critter-- dead, but it takes a little longer. They seem to like to come up and go back to to the bank, so you have to back off and wait.

If you want to spot and stalk them, my little bit of experience says to make sure you're in small water or canals. I don't think you can pull it off in big water. Too easy to loose them.

My folks live in FL and have property with gators and the surrounding swamps have many.

I was able to stalk one and shoot it with a recurve and muzzy fish arrow.No boat was used.They are very wary so you have to treat them as you would any big game animal when stalking them.

It was a unique experience and I got a nice hide and made a nice quiver from the tail and also some armguards.

I probably would not do it again.But for a once in a lifetime thing it was pretty cool and exciting.It was an 8 ft Gator.I have seen a few monsters around thier that went 12 ft or more with tremendous girth and they are pretty scary to come up upon when still hunting for hogs or jumping shooting ducks.

The hides are very usable and handsome and the meat is good!The skull makes for a nice mount as well.

I used a home made cain arrow with a for shaft and home made broad head,it had a line attached to it with a booie attached to the line,where you could follow the gator if the first shot wasn't a killing shot,The first one was the 2nd wasn't so I had to follow and finish him off with cain arrows and 160 ace heads,a 6 foot and 7 foot with 53 lb and 50 lb osage self bow. Exciting hunt and lots of good meat.As long as you hit them in the lower part of the body and not up in the back the penatration should be fine with that kind of weight. Pappy

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/03/record-alligators-killed-in-mississippi/#comment-286838

this is a page to a thread i think on national geographic!, there are people who are hating so bad on us \USA n others really, hunters of all around. the page is about our 2 record breaking gators but the comments from some are terrible. any assistance on helping people understand on there, or just to see the information on the gators, go check out the site.. they acting like we dont care, want to waste, all we care about is killing..plz check it out. i was kinda appalled...

been trying every year for a tag in AL with no luck. very P.O.'ed at Fish and Game over the lack of preference points. have written them and no response. not wasting another dollar on it until they institute some kind of preference points. without them, it's just pure greed on their part.

i worry about getting drawn for the tag here, if i gotta b a richer wealthier person or friend of someone, or if it really a fair random drawing....feel me?

Doesn't bother me either Jimmy. They eat pets and people. LOL. Nice gator. I need to do that. I bet that is fun.

This was my biggest I shot back in '07 he went 12'6" but have taken a bunch more as well in all sizes and all shot with the same 54# recurve bow, works just fine. Some have been finished off with a broadhead but typically we just tape them up and hog tie them and kill them with a knife when we get done hunting so we don't have to worry about getting them on ice quickly and can stay out and fill more tags.

Is penetration a problem? I guess the minimum bow weight would go way up with these thick armoured reptiles? Sorry but I wouldn't want to stick an arrow in by 2" only to irritate an extremely dangerous predator that can outrun a human anytime.

Mark that is a HUGE gator! Congrats! Those big ones are hard to find!

Would be an andrenaline hunt for sure.

I would get a lot of use out of the whole animal. And I just had an EXCELLENT meal with Fried Gator Tail last week! Would love some of that in my Freezer.

me too lol

Wanna have some real fun try catching those 2-4 footers on a fly rod. They will attack deer hair poppers readily.

;)

Shot a 7 footer last year my homemade recurve and homemade arrow with mono and Asby head modified with jug. Worked flawessly.

I barbed the Alaska Bowhunting Ashby single bevel head with a dremel tool. locktited two inserts together and tied off with 100 mono.

Mark....!!!!!!! Woah, that is a T-Rex!!!! Nice!

Here is an old school gator hunter, Mr. Bob Lee in the late 50's with a 55# Red Wing Hunter.

thats what im talking about!! and also i love that mount and the homemade setup further above

So if you shoot em with an arrow only how do you get em to the bank?

I have taken two with a longbow. The shots are real close typically...My friend (3rd generation licensed gator trapper)told me "As my Daddy used to say, if they aint sinking, you aint close enough!" He mostly likes to have customers use crossbow cause they miss a lot and it makes his job tough. The owner of the compound shop here missed 8 times in a row with compound.

I talked him in to letting me use my longbow. His advice was to just get an arrow in it and we'd do the rest.

The first gator I took was an 8' er and I shot him in a farm pond that connected to a lake. There were domestic pigs standing in the water when we got there and unloaded the jon boat. Sure looked like a good place for gators to me.

We didn't hunt until dark, but immediately got on my gator. Shot him with the bow, carefully real him in and put a noose around his head and hold on tight as he rolls up in the cable/rope. Now drag to shore...we were in a little bitty jon boat with the shooting chair elevated. All I could think was "hey Big Jimmy, don't turn this dang thing over cause you'll smell like pig shat all night".

Once ashore, tie straps and tape and then in a specially made trailer...then back for another.

They like to keep the gators alive so they can keep hunting late. They then take the trailer to the butcher and he takes care of the rest and pays them for the bounty.

Second gator was a different trip. Wind was slight, but the thumping the ripples made on the hull of the boat (now a bigger boat) would make the gators sink before we could get in to range. Out of frustration, we went down a sheltered boat ramp inlet and got close to another 8' er and I drilled him. We drug him in to the boat and taped and tied him...then on to the next, but he was the one and only for the night.

It is fun, but like mountain lion hunting, the shoot/kill is the least of it.

Come to think of it, I should call my gator friend. I'm all out of gator meat :) BigJim

nice trophies! Congrats

It's more like fishing for gators, really. You're generally not killing them with archery tackle.

Not with a recurve but I did with a 1959 Alaskan. Will post a picture later

Nope we don't have any in Iowa. Who's gonna hold on to the line if we did, not me. Jeff F

there are several people around here with 500$ for a tag who have shot them with stick, I see them but never got the want to feeling for it. But there no reason not to use your recurve.

Pappy has killed a couple with a self bow.

It is unlike any other bow hunting I have done. It is correct you're not finishing them off with your bow, but it's very challenging. Lots of planning and prep

Buddy of mine killed one a few years ago in S.C. with a recurve and I made him a back quiver out of it,there is a picture of it on here if you type in gator quiver under the keyword at the top of the page

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