Pythons in Florida

This was on Facebook this morning. Anyone on the Forum hunting Pythons?

Pap

Pappy--

I hope they are killing thousands.

I don't remember whether there is a cash bounty on them, but once dead it might be a good idea to leave the carcasses to feed back into the eco system.

Larry

Hell no Larry. I need new boots, LOL

Warren
You need some of that python for your new python inlay Mudbone sheaths for the project you haven't started yet.
Someone could make some money from the snake skins

Peter

Roger that Peter.

Last count from @ a week ago was I believe 437 in the past 4 months. A celebrity chef got 3 and is supposed to cook it on one of the upcoming season.

In most areas, prize money is more like a Calcutta w/ the hunters putting up. Like fishing tourney's! However a new pilot program in a few areas are paying minimum wage of $8.10 per hour and $50 for a 4 footer and $25 for each additional foot.

Will see what I can find out on the harvesting question.

The only thing I ever remember eating growing up on the bays that resembled a snake was eel. OMG just try and pick one of those slimy suckers up. When Scotch Bright pads came out it solved that problem. Smoked eel was ok anything else was too oily. Never had snake. Not sure if I want to. And don't try to tell me it tastes like chicken, lol.

Update the Pilot program has $175 K in funding and has also brought in 2 professional Indian snake hunters. Believe it is the Miami Dade area. Looks like bonus $$ pop up for snakes protecting nests w/ eggs.

In years past the amateur hunters could harvest and sell their catch!

WP, Not sure even Chief's sauce picante recipe would do it for me!!! Guess it depends on how hungry ya get!!!

I want the skins!!!!!!!

Yeah me too. Like I said, new boots.

Stick with gator.

Yeah well they make fine boots too

Fascinating photo. We don't have any snakes here in N.Z. thankfully.
Have tried Python in Queensland, Australia when doing E&E. Jolly good eating actually. In fact,we were so hungry, would have happily eaten the crotch out of a rag doll..

So what are these things eating in the Everglades to be so prolific?

Not to pass along what might only be a rumor...

But somebody in Florida told me in recent years that other non-native snakes have found their way into the ecosystem. This guy said "cobra" and maybe others, but a web search does not bring up anything about this.

I understand the pythons skins can be used, maybe just skin them out and leave the carcass. Bring the heads in for the cash reward.

Larry

Dumb question here but what would be the gauge/caliber to use on those huge snakes???

Would a Taurus Judge in 410 be good or would a 12 ga pump be better.

Is a hunting license required to hunt the Burmese Pythons??

Wayne

Wayne,

I think any of these would be good choices for snakes. That combos pack was set up for the Judge and similar revolvers.

Warren,
I have all of the above. Also use them in my Bond Arms derringer.

Nifty little piece,I have 9 different barrels for mine.

Kind of hard to choose which one is better,the Taurus Public Defender Poly or the Bond.

Wayne

Wayne,

I've got the Snakeslayer. Nice gun, I like the barrels available as well.

Warren,
I have found that the recoil in the Bond Arms not at all bad. The grip permits the recoil to go into the palm of the hand and not the web. 410 loads are not bad at all and now there are many different factory rounds to choose from.

I think that when the Taurus Judge series came out a few years ago,ammunition companies sat up and took notice.

Wayne

Agreed Wayne, but some of the 3" loads are stiff. Going to look at the Judge, also the Smith Governor sometime.
A friend of mine fully engraved this Snakeslayer. The stag grips are from their custom shop.

That engraving work is stunning.

Please let me know if you ever decide to unload it.

That one is staying put Rob but thanks for the offer.
Incidentally it is unloaded

I've had my Bond .410 for a long time. Great belly gun in snake country. Very shootable.

Pap

Warren,
Superb job on that engraving. I see that you also have their pocket holster.

Pap,
Venomous snakes are few and far between at my location,however,we have an abundance of two legged snakes and are pretty much over run by coyotes.

In the past year,there have been six attacks on folks walking their dogs. Three dogs have died and the other three were seriously injured.

These are Eastern Coyotes,up to 65+ lbs in weight.

The state says that there is not a problem. I guess they have not stepped out of their offices lately.................

These are the same folks that said there are no mountain lions/cougars in the state. Then one was hit by a vehicle near a city. The state did a DNA on it. Said that it was from South Dakota,I guess just visiting for the week end!!!!

Wayne

Wayne--

The coyote is a problem that I have not seen state wildlife departments acknowledge.

I am told of them going after deer, and you can only assume that they also kill birds that nest and feed on the ground, as well as anything else they can catch.

In Ohio there is a direct relationship between the increase in coyotes and the decline in ruffed grouse. However, I think there are other things that also contributed to the decline in grouse.

Sometimes it seems that officials don't foresee or act to prevent a problem or a trend until it has already occurred. They knew about pythons for years, but only when they got so plentiful and killed off many species did decisions get made to encourage killing them. I wonder if the approach has been that they would not try to eradicate them but only to "control" them. Maybe the thought is, "Well, once they eat up all their food supply, then mother nature will put her natural limits on their numbers and they will die back." The problems with that are that other species might not survive through such cycles, and there would always be some residual food source so sustain enough of the invasive species so that there would always be a breeding population.

Larry

At times with all the incredibly confusing game/wildlife/fishing/hunting laws in VA,
I tend to not appreciate the few things done well. With coyotes it's now shoot them if you see 'em..... 24/7, 365 days per year......the way it should be. Same with elk in 90% of the counties. Fools wanted to turn back the clock, stock 'em, maybe hunt 'em someday. Forgot how many cars hit deer in Va every day. After the first auto deaths in the coal counties, changed their minds. Like hitting a black angus steer, only taller.

It's open season on Coyote here too Duke. In fact you can use lights in NY. A few years ago I would hear them nearby in the hills but I think the farmers around here shot most of them. Haven't seen Red Fox lately either.

Two coyote dead in the road from my home this morning. And they've been hunted here at night, using infra-red & calls since the late 70's.....has not really mattered. Hear them often between 2:00-4:00am when their gathering calls sound. You don't get to see them often in the day in the east in these mountains......but they're everywhere.

A friend of mine in a neighboring community has taken over 60 coyotes this past year. All of them weighed in at 60+ pounds so I think that they have been cross breeding with wolves.

Our illustrious state says that is impossible,yep,right,uh-huh.

My friend uses a .300 Whisper suppressed. Coyote season is all year long except for nights and Sundays.

Wayne

Love my own 300W suppressed. The deer have been thinned at night each year in this college small town for the past 10 or so years with this round......all venison going to Hunters for the Hungry. This is a very successful, "quiet" program and I've never heard it discussed by anyone other than local officers.

I'll stay in northern Michigan,thank you. Just coyote black bears, and the occasional cougar. I've only been able to get out into the woods about 2 times a week so far. I usually carry a small gambler and a ruger lcrx 3 inch .38+p loaded with 125 grain jhp. Sounds like the only critter missing from the Everglades now is Godzilla.

Brent,
It looks like you take things kind of serious in Northern Michigan.....and with good reason!!!!

I feel sorry for the folks in FL with their Everglades being the "melting pot" for exotic stuff now. I hear that now cobras are in the mix as well as some other nasties.

My "canoe gun" is a barely legal 16 ga H&R single shot shotgun with the barrel cut to 18" and I had Diamond D Leather make a 16 ga leather buttstock ammo carrier for it.

Loads are #1 buck and slug. Being that it is so light,the recoil is quite substantial but might be the right stuff for a canoe trip in the Everglades.

Wayne

A man after my own heart. Years ago I done the same to an HandR 20 gauge single. My father bought it used for $20.It was my present when I turned 15. Perfect rabbit gun. Many enjoyable memories of hunts on a Saturday morning in the fall and winter.

I have a .20 gauge handy with a 16" barrel. No telling how many coyotes I dumped while on my snowmobile. Mostly in the early spring when the snow was crusted up. We didn't have the new type snow powder tracts they have today. Plus back then, a good western coyote skin was worth $25.

Pap

Taste like eel (that ate a chicken).

Now that's funny!

Happy to see TTB back in the saddle. Yeah great stuff Tom.

I have to laugh when I hear about how folks say that they can make game (or whatever) taste like chicken.

Why go all the bother when you can just go out,buy a chicken a be done with it.

I prefer to have my game taste like,game.

Getting back to the sweet 16 which I got for free many years ago (legally). As I had said before the bbl I cut back to 18" and put a buttstock shell carrier on it but also installed a sling and an XS BIG front night sight on it.

Even with the cylinder bore,it patterns well at 30 yards and is "bowling pin accurate" with slugs at 50 yards.

That is my canoe/truck gun.

Wayne

Heh, yeah, only time you find something else cheaper than chicken is when pork is on a low swing. Otherwise, it's the cheapest meat on the planet (other than houseflies).

I found a Savage on a Browning A5 patent in 16 ga. I think it is better built than the original A5. Made in Utica. Love that shotgun.

Pap

Wayne,

If you lose your paddle you could still get home.

"Worst" meat I've eaten has to have been a small skinny swamp buck. Tasted like it had eaten only cedar it's entire life. Muskrat,beaver,rabbit,partridge, it's all good. Would like to try snake. Have to be a cold day somewhere hot before I would try opossum,nasty, foul beasts.

I hear ya on the opossum same with coons....I'll pass!
I'll stick with the swamp lizards.

I think I would readily eat a snake before eating a opossum. Same with a bear. I've seen both eating the most rotten crap ever. At least a snake eats a fresh critter, not rotten meat. Many of my hunting friends eat bear meat, but I haven't been that hungry yet. A coon is there is somewhere in the middle. I've never eaten one, but would, over a possum, for sure.

Pap

Pap I don't know about bear eating bad stuff, but here between what the shrimp, oyster, catfish & gators eat....tuff to be picky in that regard on my end.

Don't know about shrimp, but I forgive them. Catfish from the cold Snake River are the best and I don't eat gater either. Mostly, I like elk meat, but fried catfish is a close second.
Pap

Pythons in Florida? How about Gators in Houston?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati...ston/614574001/

Brown gravy and onions makes most things tolerable!!!

Tom Flynn

Don't forget the bacon Tom.

Warren,
I would imagine that a 'gator on your doorstep would be an eye opener for sure!!!!

Reminds me somewhat of my brother in law up in British Columbia,Canada.

They woke up one morning and looked out on their deck and saw two large brown bear in their hot tub!!!

I asked him "what did you do" and his reply was "nothing".

They waited for a while then the bears went on their way. They had a major clean up and repair job to do on their hot tub.

Wayne

That's unfortunate but funny Wayne. I'll bet the bears had a great time.

Warren,
You see,bears and moose tend to be,well, bears and moose. They just do what they do.

I am just so glad that life can be .....interesting. Otherwise it would tend to be just a bore.

Wayne

Pappy--

Regarding bear, I was told of a group of hunters who cooked meat from a bear they had killed, and afterward came down with trichinosis. The information online says that cooking meat might not kill all of that parasite.

Along that line, my vet in Florida stopped hunting wild pigs after four of his friends contracted brucellosis, apparently through small cuts or scratches on their hands as they processed pigs they had killed.

Stuff is lurking out there, just waiting....

Larry

Exactly. Same with cougars and reptiles, they are very prone to salmonella. Just like don't eat wild rabbits until after a killing frost. Unless you are in a survival mode and lost your belly fat, wait until you catch a few catfish before you oink out.

Pappy,
If I am not mistaken,I think rabbits,during warm weather,develope "warbles" which is a worm like creature that forms under their skin. First frost usually kills off that parasite.

I guess that the best method of protection is to cook all game thoroughly before consuming.

Always wear gloves when dressing and prepping game.

Wayne

Yes, I believe you are right, and also toularemia (sp?), supposedly goes away after a killing frost.

Pap

I am getting ready right now for a trip to southern GA next month for a quail hunt at the plantation.

I will be using my Darne side by side 12 ga (weights 6 lbs loaded) using very light field loads.

I will also have my Bond Derringer in 410 for any snakes that I hope I DO NOT encounter.

Any quail that I do harvest,I donate to the local soup kitchen so the homeless VETS can have a quail dinner that night.

Wayne

Thomasville area? You're a good man to donate quail. Fried quail, mashed, saw mill gravy and skillet biscuits, would be tough to pass up.

Pap

Pappy19,
No,Moultry,GA, Morrison Pines Plantation. Might I see you when I am down there???

I have been going there for a number of years. Really great folks and being that it is early season,I am usually the only hunter there.

Pretty much have 5,000 acres to myself.

Wayne

Just wondered. My mother lives in Tallahassee and when we visit her, we always go to Thomasville. Two great sportsman stores there, Kevin's and Stafford's. Lots,of great quail plantations there. With my wife bedridden, don't know if I will get back there anytime soon. Send us some pictures.

Pap

Pappy19,
Yes,the Thomasville area has a number of quail plantations.
Not only does the plantation I go to have quail and turkey hints but they also produce cotton and peanuts.

Sorry to hear that your wife is ill. I had to care for my wife 24/7 for over three years before she passed away. I lost 70 lbs in the process and almost lost my right foot at the same time.

So I basically know what you are going through.

Getting back to the quail hunt,I will also take my T/C Contender with the 14" 410 bbl to see how that works. Should be interesting.

Wayne

I like my Savage 720 16 ga. On a Browning patent. Best made, even better than the Belgium Brownings. Your TC should be fun.

Pap

Papy,
IMHO,the 16 ga is really under appreciated. It is an excellent gauge with lots of potential.

If I am not mistaken,it is still quite popular in the deep south.

Wayne

Lots of 16ga Ithaca shotguns out there, too.

Windor,
A few years ago Ithaca made the wise choice of reintroducing the lightweight 16 ga pump. I think that it was a wise move.

If I am not mistaken,Ithaca guns are now made by Inland in Ohio. The company has seen a lot of changes over the past few years.

The parts and bbls from the old NY made guns do not interchange with the later models. I found that out the hard way.

Getting back to the pythons in FL,I wonder if the latest hurricanes have caused the pythons to move into somewhat drier,more populated areas down there?

I understand that it is a serious problem.

Waye