What kind of bullet for gators?

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  • What kind of bullet for gators?

    I have a friend who is a Fla land (and swamp) owner. He needs to get rid of a few dozen gators and has the permits to do so. hem He has asked me to help him (we olan to eat not just kill the gaters) and I think I will give the Grendel a try. I kinda know the .22 mag is inadaquate and the 30 06 works, and have been told by Fla Crackers that the .223 fmj /243 is inadaquate and the hunting bullets can bunce back at you. I wll be using a 18"barrel and am leaning tword a soft point bullet as we willl be shooting gaters off the bank (not real sporting but its varmit control, not hunting). Will be doing head shots on gaters 5-10 ft long. I am worried about (1) reflection of bullets off the water and (2) adaquate penetration through their hide if if we mis the head. Any sugggestion on bullets?
  • bwaites
    Moderator
    • Mar 2011
    • 4445

    #2
    Barnes, no question. Either 100's or 120's should be fine.

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    • #3
      Hunh…The guys on TV (Swamp People, I think) seem to mostly use .22LR. And rusty ones, at that.

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      • bwaites
        Moderator
        • Mar 2011
        • 4445

        #4
        Originally posted by Jamie45 View Post
        Hunh…The guys on TV (Swamp People, I think) seem to mostly use .22LR. And rusty ones, at that.
        True, but at point blank range! One of them uses a 17HMR, and I can't figure out what bullet!

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        • Armored Transport

          #5
          Might be a good "REASON" to pick up a Beowulf upper...

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          • #6
            Originally posted by hm2 clark View Post
            I have a friend who is a Fla land (and swamp) owner. He needs to get rid of a few dozen gators and has the permits to do so. hem He has asked me to help him (we olan to eat not just kill the gaters) and I think I will give the Grendel a try. I kinda know the .22 mag is inadaquate and the 30 06 works, and have been told by Fla Crackers that the .223 fmj /243 is inadaquate and the hunting bullets can bunce back at you. I wll be using a 18"barrel and am leaning tword a soft point bullet as we willl be shooting gaters off the bank (not real sporting but its varmit control, not hunting). Will be doing head shots on gaters 5-10 ft long. I am worried about (1) reflection of bullets off the water and (2) adaquate penetration through their hide if if we mis the head. Any sugggestion on bullets?
            I've shot a lot of gators and never had any problems with anything from .22LR to .375H&H with any bullet style. Just be sure and put it throught the brain and it's all over with. I've brobably shot more with a .22WRFM than anyother caliber both FMJ and HP worked well. But in most cases I was shooting them from above, at a downward angle.
            If you are shooting them on the water, from a horizontal angle then a really fast varmint bullet would be best so if it does hit the water it comes apart. I've never seen a lack of penetration be a problem. Their skull is pretty fragile behind the eye. So a 22-250 firing 40 grain Vmax bullets would be a good choice.
            If your using your grendel then 95 grain V-Max.
            Or, a 12 Ga with 00 buck at ten yards is pretty effective too.
            Bob

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            • #7
              Does your friend make boots?? I have always wanted a pair of gator cowboy boots;>)

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              • #8
                i want a gator wallet! if your taking requests, lol

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                • #9
                  I'm in for a gator hat .. teeth still attached ..

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                  • Jgloveracob

                    #10
                    95 V-max

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                    • sneaky one
                      Chieftain
                      • Mar 2011
                      • 3077

                      #11
                      HM2--Want some- still new in box- wolf soft points? I still have a few boxes that I won't use for deer hunts -perfect though as a reptilian whacker. Bill A. had some pics of them thru the b. gelatin-even he was impressed a bit. What does gator taste like? Don't reply- tastes like -chicken.

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                      • #12
                        I've shot a few gators. Some with a .45 colt handgun, some with a .30 carbine (until I found out how much my singer sewing machine was worth), and the rifle shots you're talking about with a .260 rem ackley improved. That was really too much gun, blowing off the tops of their heads like that. I'm a huge barnes fan, but not for that purpose (although I definitely would for 14 foot crocks in Africa, with a bigger gun). I agree with the Grendel and a rapidly expanding bullet because of the safety factor, and they aren't going to bounce off anything. Their carapace isn't going to hold up against that. I wouldn't expect it to do well if there is a little water between the head and the bullet though.

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                        • #13
                          When hunting for hides, it isn't clear that expansion is desirable or needed. Preventing richochets, however, is important. One can minimize the tendency to ricochet by going with a flat-nose bullet. The front edge of the bullet tends to dig into the surface of the target, tipping the bullet toward the water and making the entry more consistent.

                          Here are some examples in 6.5: http://www.gsgroup.co.za/techdata.html. The 6.5 bullets are in 110 gr and 115 gr.

                          Of course, if you have a CNC lathe or the right bullet mould, you can more your own. Even 1100 ft/sec will work on the gator, cycling the action might be an issue unless you up the velocity a tad.

                          Another trick used by folks in the first few years after WWII, was to pull the FMJ from 30-06 and reseat with the base and the exposed lead forward. Manufacturers don't recommend the practice today because there are many, many, better selections available for expanding bullets. Again reliable function through the action needs to be demonstrated for the flat nose.

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                          • vanguard138

                            #14
                            One of the things I miss about Florida....gator tail. I have a friend in the Tampa Bay area that loves to hunt gator. I used to cross a canal to get to my favorite bass pond .....

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                            • #15
                              I agree with the flat nosed bullet idea. The .45 colt loads were 360 grain flat nosed gas checked bullets at 1100 fps out of the Freedom arms that i used.

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