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One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

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Re: One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

#121

Post by skeeter2020 »

dylan604 wrote: post #24
ksymph wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A single shot is unlikely to kill, and in these areas a snake can very quickly disappear into water or foliage. I doubt drones or night vision would help much for similar reasons - the issue lies as much in being able to reach the snakes as it does in being able to locate them. The Everglades are incredibly thick, a snake will easily outpace and hide from a human outside of roads. It does seem like there should be a…

> A single shot is unlikely to kill That's why they make guns that can load more than one bullet at a time. Also, maybe use a higher caliber bullet. Lot's of asinine pro-gun enthusiastic responses available for Florida man to retort with.

Gee thanks for explaining that for us all. Now I'd like to see you hit a fist-sized, moving target in the middle of the night, in the rain from the top of a pickup truck.

Re: One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

#122

Post by julianeon »

mminer237 wrote: post #41

This might be a bit gruesome, but why not shoot the snakes the on site? That seems way easier and faster than physically wrestling dangerous snakes sometimes bigger than yourself, throwing them in your truck, and shooting them in your garage. Is it just the solemnity? The chance of missing and it escaping and the difficulty of wrestling with a gun?

I imagine you'd end up with lots of leaded bullets in the water, over time. Naturally lead + water = bad.

Note: I know about this because there's a gun range near where I live by the lake, and the lake is now permanently off limits for swimming due to lead pollution.

Re: One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

#123

Post by vvanders »

potato3732842 wrote: post #90
NikkiA wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's usually a part of the local (town, county, state) wildlife management department, who are usually overworked as it is; and would welcome one job less to do - they'd probably love to go back to just being 'the dog catcher' like 100 years ago.

One would hope but you're still relying on the 1-N layers of management above that person to not try and hold onto the irrelevant workload for fiefdom size reasons. Also depends a lot on if the rule writing organization is the one actually paying to enforce it.

This is probably one of many different types of surveys and other activities that DNR(or DNR adjacent departments) coordinates, it's fairly common to have volunteer lead programs like this for surveys or other activities. As others mentioned there's no shortage of work in understanding and managing a regional ecosystem, the people who take these jobs usually care deeply about the ecosystems and are not doing the job for financial reasons.

Rather than being cynical maybe it would be worth your time to consider volunteering and better understanding how these things are managed. You might be surprised to find it's usually fairly educated folks who care about making sure what we have today is around for the next generation.

Re: One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

#125

Post by nojvek »

TechDebtDevin wrote: post #112
nanolith wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shooting invasive species is definitely legal in Florida assuming that you have permission of the land owner or are otherwise in a location where shooting is allowed (i.e. not in a municipality that bans the gunfire). It has to be done humanely: if you hit the invasive animal, you are responsible for dispatching it as quickly as possible. If you don't dispatch the animal, you can easily run foul of animal cruelty law…

I say we just give Florida back to Spain and call it a day.

I don’t think Spain can handle Florida anymore.

Re: One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

#126

Post by chasd00 »

goostavos wrote: post #103
munificent wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once you bag a snake, they're pretty easy to move around. Getting them into a sack isn't as hard as you might imagine either. Obviously, it's going to be more difficult for a larger snake, but it's way easier than getting, say, a cat into a cat carrier.

I know nothing about snake hunting other than the 3 youtube videos I just watched ( https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5JB_bzQwtZ8 ), but this professional sure makes getting them into the sack is about as hard and dangerous as I would imagine. Seems like you're one slip up from getting a chunk of your body removed (like that dude in the youtube video's arm).

Wrestling snakes is good for likes/subscribes. A .22 handgun is probably what is used when not filming.

Re: One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

#127

Post by chasd00 »

skeeter2020 wrote: post #121
dylan604 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A single shot is unlikely to kill That's why they make guns that can load more than one bullet at a time. Also, maybe use a higher caliber bullet. Lot's of asinine pro-gun enthusiastic responses available for Florida man to retort with.

Gee thanks for explaining that for us all. Now I'd like to see you hit a fist-sized, moving target in the middle of the night, in the rain from the top of a pickup truck.

Shooting a snake in the head is pretty easy. Usually when you find one, it’s still in the water. Then you just follow the body around to the head. I use to do this all the time as a kid in the country hunting water snakes with a .22 rifle and scope.

Re: One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

#129

Post by ineedaj0b »

mminer237 wrote: post #41

This might be a bit gruesome, but why not shoot the snakes the on site? That seems way easier and faster than physically wrestling dangerous snakes sometimes bigger than yourself, throwing them in your truck, and shooting them in your garage. Is it just the solemnity? The chance of missing and it escaping and the difficulty of wrestling with a gun?

shooting things in the everglades is tough. it's swamp land. i think there's a decent amount of lead in bullets

Re: One of Florida's most lethal python hunters

#130

Post by themaninthedark »

munificent wrote: post #93
thfuran wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has to be easier to get a dead python into your truck than a live one, right?

Once you bag a snake, they're pretty easy to move around. Getting them into a sack isn't as hard as you might imagine either. Obviously, it's going to be more difficult for a larger snake, but it's way easier than getting, say, a cat into a cat carrier.

I don't know, I just get the cat to climb into the carrier on it's own.

You have to make the carrier a mundane part of the cat's life. Leave it out randomly so the cat isn't associating it with unpleasantness, put snacks in it. Then it won't be an object that brings fear and anger.

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