Category: Alligator Hunting

How to Skin an Alligator

First, if you have a gator to skin, congratulations on a successful alligator hunt. If you plan on heading out for a gator, then good luck. Now, like a cat, there is more than one way to skin an alligator. The first method is a belly skin. This save the belly to make alligator products. The scutes or osteoderms are the bony plates embedded in the back skin of an alligator. They give the alligator the bumpy appearance and protect the alligator. This first skinning method leaves the belly skin of the alligator intact and is the preferred method if the hide is to be sold or tanned and made into leather goods.

This method consists of making an incision on each side of the alligator (leaving one to two rows of osteoderms or scutes along the belly side) and on the top of each leg and then removing the hide with the belly skin intact. The underside of the skull also should be skinned with the rest of the belly. The back skin of the alligator with the osteoderms or scutes in it can then be removed and discarded or kept according to your wishes. Because of the difficulty of tanning the osteoderms, the back skin is not considered very useful and most often is discarded. Continue reading How to Skin an Alligator

Alligator Hunting Tips for South Carolina

Hunting is rarely easy. If it was easy to find what you’re looking for then why would they bother to call it hunting at all? However, like any type of hunt, there are some things that you can do to increase your chances of being success on your next alligator hunt. First, purchase your gator hunting equipment and become familiar with it before you take to the field.

Obtain maps of the zone where you were plan on hunting and familiarize yourself with the area. You are entering the alligator’s natural habitat, so learn how gators think and where they will be. Determine who will accompany you on the hunt (i.e. select a guide if desired) and ensure that everyone that plans on going with you has appropriate hunting licenses and/or tags. Continue reading Alligator Hunting Tips for South Carolina

Georgia Alligator Hunting Zones

Starting early each September, good alligator hunting can be found in the state of Georgia. These hunts help control the gator population and provide recreational hunting opportunities for those seeking to hunt this big, prehistoric reptile. If you are heading out gator hunting in Georgia, make sure you are in one of the open hunting zones. For purpose of managing, hunting and dispersing alligator harvest, Georgia is divided into 9 alligator hunting zones as follows:

Alligator Zone 01 – Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Early, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart, Terrell and Webster Counties. (Q=65)

Alligator Zone 02 – Baker, Decatur, Grady, Miller, Mitchell and Seminole Counties. (Q=140)

Alligator Zone 03 – Crawford, Crisp, Dooly, Dougherty, Houston, Lee, Macon, Peach, Schley, Sumter, Taylor and Worth Counties (Q=60)

Alligator Zone 04 – Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Cook, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Thomas, Tift and Turner Counties (Q=85) Continue reading Georgia Alligator Hunting Zones