Alligator Hunt???

[Kamoman]

Can anyone recommend an outfitter for an Alligator hunt? I have a coworker that wants to give her husband a croc hunt for his birthday so I told her I'd reach out to TBH to see if I could get her some options.

Thanks,

K-Man

[Dale Moser]

In to follow.

[SaltwaterSlick]

GarGuy on here is the KING when it comes to gettin' big gators. I don't think he's been signed on since the switch-over to this new software, but you might try sending him a PM... It might email him if you do.

[DUKFVR]

Oyster bayou or fin and fowl in Anahuac do gator hunts

[AntlerCollector]

I hope you find a good outfitter. I want to go too

[RS3]

I’ve caught several on private property my dad owns in a noncore county (season is April - June). Can’t guarantee any size but we’ve caught ‘‘em from 5’ to 11’. Usually do a lot of fishing and/or play a round of golf when we’re not baiting or cleaning gators.

[skinsfan]

We went with fin and fowl last year and overall it was a neat experience. 4 of 6 got gators and people, food, and lodging were nice. Far from 5 star but nice! The hunt itself is not what you see on TV, it was pretty straightforward, check lines via boat, truck, or buggy, pull gator up and shoot it. Processing is a bit of a scam and taxidermy is not cheap!

[IowaHunter]

We went with fin and fowl last year and overall it was a neat experience. 4 of 6 got gators and people, food, and lodging were nice. Far from 5 star but nice! The hunt itself is not what you see on TV, it was pretty straightforward, check lines via boat, truck, or buggy, pull gator up and shoot it. Processing is a bit of a scam and taxidermy is not cheap!

Please elaborate on the processing scam.

[skinsfan]

I don’t remember the exact numbers but here were my frustrations.

You do not get your own meat, but take meat that is there.
you pay something like $15/# to buy the meat if you leave your gator there and if you did not have a gator it’s only
like $18/#. You can buy all of the meat you want for $15/# as long as you leave them a gator. They are also selling meat to commercial buyers so I felt a little ripped off.

Example: I take a 10’ gator that may yield 150# of meat, I only buy 30 because of the sticker shock. I pay the processor $450, leave them my gator, and they sell the remaining 120#. I don’t know if this makes sense to anyone else but I tried my best

[SaltwaterSlick]

I don’t remember the exact numbers but here were my frustrations.

You do not get your own meat, but take meat that is there.
you pay something like $15/# to buy the meat if you leave your gator there and if you did not have a gator it’s only
like $18/#. You can buy all of the meat you want for $15/# as long as you leave them a gator. They are also selling meat to commercial buyers so I felt a little ripped off.

Example: I take a 10’ gator that may yield 150# of meat, I only buy 30 because of the sticker shock. I pay the processor $450, leave them my gator, and they sell the remaining 120#. I don’t know if this makes sense to anyone else but I tried my best

That would be a big ol' "hail no" for me! That is absolutely a scam!

[Kamoman]

Thanks for the input.

I'll pass this info on to her and she books the trip...I'll let you guys know what kind of experience they have. They're an expatriate (Canadian) couple that are here in the states for a few years so he's trying to experience as much southern outdoor stuff as he can.

[DUKFVR]

Thanks for the input.

I'll pass this info on to her and she books the trip...I'll let you guys know what kind of experience they have. They're an expatriate (Canadian) couple that are here in the states for a few years so he's trying to experience as much southern outdoor stuff as he can.

Good luck to them!

[gander]

I don’t remember the exact numbers but here were my frustrations.

You do not get your own meat, but take meat that is there.
you pay something like $15/# to buy the meat if you leave your gator there and if you did not have a gator it’s only
like $18/#. You can buy all of the meat you want for $15/# as long as you leave them a gator. They are also selling meat to commercial buyers so I felt a little ripped off.

Example: I take a 10’ gator that may yield 150# of meat, I only buy 30 because of the sticker shock. I pay the processor $450, leave them my gator, and they sell the remaining 120#. I don’t know if this makes sense to anyone else but I tried my best

I usually kill anywhere from 15-25 gators a year and I'm assuming I know where you brought the gator to from what you're describing. I will not side with them but I will provide a bit of perspective. That place is skinning and processing your gator and then they breakdown the meat and trim off any fat and then you get freezer packaged meat that is broke down into pound packs. So think of it like a deer processor, you bring them the entire gator, they skin, trim, salt your hide and even send the hide off for you to a tannery. That is where that price is all in. If you bring a deer to a processor fully whole they are going to charge you to clean it, then charge you to process it, then charge you for whatever you want made out of it, even if you just want the meat packaged.

Being that I'm about 99% sure I know where you brought it, that place pretty much has a monopoly. I know a few years back the state of Texas handed out just shy of 2k gator tags and that place had 1700 of those gators come thru them. They can charge what they want. With that being said, I know a local guy who started his own small deal and that's where I bring mine to now. You get back ALL of your meat, but you must leave a cooler or two of ice with him, they take the meat off the carcass and throw it in your cooler and they salt your hide for you and give it back to you. It's way cheaper and you get all your meat but you're responsible for packaging your own meat after and shipping your hide off to a tannery with all the correct paperwork. They are also on my way back to Beaumont and not in the opposite direction. I will still bring some gators to that other place just for its ease when people are from out of town or state.

To add, if I were going to book a gator hunt, I would get in touch with Rance May, who runs his hunts in the Anahuac/Hankamer area. He kills some big ones every year.

[skinsfan]

Good points above, I just looked back at my receipt and it looks like I paid them another $175 as a tanning deposit and $225 for a belly processing fee. I have a strange feeling they’re making a little money on the tanning as well. $250 is what it cost for a euro mount. I think a monopoly is an understatement. If you don’t mind sharing the info of the other guy I would greatly appreciate it.

[skinsfan]

On another note, I exaggerated the meat prices drastically. 8$ a pound if you brought them your own gator and I don’t have a note but I believe it was $10 if you bought it in the store without a gator. My thoughts on this is there’s not enough of a spread there.