Trip to Florida to hunt Iguanas and Pigs.

[dverna]

Just watched a you tube video on tannerite pellets taking any along with you?
I see no reason why a good shotgun with slugs or buck shot wouldnt be very effective on pigs.
Im betting you have a real ball Hoping you do too.
Going for deer or other big game is a one or two shot trip. The hogs iguana and varmints is a shooters holiday, as much shooting in a day as you want.
Have a great trip, enjoy all you can.

My thought as well. Could never justify spending thousands to fire one or two shots. Something like P-dog towns or iguanas seems like a lot more fun.

[country gent]

Prairie dogs, wood chucks crows used to be, now iguanas and pigs in some areas 50-200 rounds a day is a great day. Deer or big game 3 rounds and your upset with your performance

Also the rounds used arnt normally heavy recoiling

Take a lot of pellets have a ball.

[JimB..]

I have this dream of a boyscout troop, 20 boys with air rifles, clearing the iguanas out of a public park or golf course. They could probably do the same thing every weekend and not run out of targets.

Have fun on your hunts!

[dogrunner]

Good luck with your hunt, i live 50 miles or so away from where you are hunting. It should prove interesting, I am waiting for the complete story, keep us posted. Get exact locations of your hunting grounds and I can see if I've ever hunted there or not. I loved when we hunted the Kissimmee river from boats, we took a bunch of kids and it was always more fun to watch them kill something than to do it yourself. The FWC issued permits to keep track of these snakes and other exotics, and did nothing to keep them under control, then 15 years ago when it became obvious they were out of control would not allow aggressive hunting because they believed that hunters would not be able to resist shooting the deer out of season and at night if they came across them while removing snakes, so they had even longer to get out of control. This is all on them, the FWC for allowing this to get to this point, they should all be replaced for incompetence.

AMEN, Ebb................Truly if there exists a more incompetent agency in the State of Florida it could only be Children and Families................That commission is totally staff driven and if you partake of some of their so called business meetings you'll quickly note that they are utilized as a PR program rather than a management vehicle. Truly a sorry state of affairs and a sorrier agency!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Gosh, great to hear from all of you. To answer some questions.

I am 74 so I've got to do this while I can. I am Staying with my little Bro at his place outside of Fort Myers. He is going to take me on a Site Tour one day and Mira Lago is on the list of things to see. I am also going to see my Chiropractor of 40+ years who moved to Tampa a couple of years ago. He is also a gun guy and serious Marshall Artist. He's gonna work on my Left Thumb which has got a problem.

I can only afford to shoot one Feral Pig, Over Bait from a Tree stand, Shot will be 20-30 yards at most. The Auto-Berg has a Fully Rifled Barrel. I shot it yesterday and it is dead on out to 50 yards with a variety of slugs, all of which are similar to Brenneke's. (See pic of red slug above) I am only taking 15 rounds of ammo, and a few "Pre-Leon" Slugs R Us Sabot Slugs. I am planning on only needing one shot. Pig will be donated to local Shelter. Pretty confident that one shot will knock down anything up to about 300 lbs, anything smaller won't stand a chance !!!

The Lizard Hunt is around Boca Raton or Miami in the canals. They move around to different places so that there is always plenty of targets to shoot. I'm expecting to shoot at least 30 lizards. It is $1250 for the boat, two guides and Dog and they will even supply the guns and ammo. I am taking my own gun a .25 cal Air Venturi Avenger. I think that is pretty reasonable for a Day on the water

Like they say,,, "Plenty more where they came from!!!"

I asked the "Shoot the Pythons" question of the girl who booked my hunts. The reason why they don't shoot the Pythons is because those things have to be hit directly in their Pea Sized Brain or they get away. As soon as they catch them they take them home and cut the heads off with a Machete. Python Skins and big Iguana Skins are worth a lot of money. Python Cowboy shot a big Orange Male that had taken over he 9th Green at a Municipal Golf Course in Miami. It was 4 1/2+ feet long and weighed about 15 lbs. He made a small Back Pack out of the skin and got $1500 for it!!! They make wallets and all kinds of high end Leather goods out of the skins. Teh other thing about those snakes is that their teeth all are pointed back into their mouth, so if they get ahold of you it is very hard to get loose.

There is a Bounty on the Snakes. $100 for the First 4 feet, then $25 a foot after that. So a 16 foot long snake would fetch a $400 bounty but, and the Skin and Meat would probably bring another $1200-1500+.

I am NOT going Python Hunting!!!

I will keep you posted as things come together. Leaving May 15 and be back the 23rd.

Randy

[TNsailorman]

I hope you have a great trip to Florida. Sounds like you have a good handle on your agenda. I am with you, this ol country boy is not going to wrestle a Python. If I can't shoot it I will leave it to someone else to wrestle. james

[Finster101]

Fort Myers is my neck of the woods. Be happy to meet for coffee or a beer.

[country gent]

Bet the pythons would be fun on a heavy rod and reel with a heavy snag hook.

Also wondering now if Iguanas are edible?

Maybe a stop at a redneck Zoo where they have the species area and recipe on the placard.....

[Finster101]

Some people do eat iguana. I am not one of them.

[GregLaROCHE]

I always heard iguanas were good eating. I enjoyed batter fried alligator in Florida restaurants. Iguanas can’t be much different.

[elmacgyver0]

Just about anything is good eating to the right person.

[Barry54]

Met a young lady from Florida this week. I thought about this thread and asked her if iguanas taste like alligator. She said NO! They taste like glue! Remember when you were a kid in school and smelled the paste, and decided to taste it? Well, that’s what they taste like.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes I remember eating paste in Grade School. However I haven't done that in 60+ years so not going to start any time soon. From what I gathered from "Jenny," the girl who books Mikes (Mike Kimmel AKA Python Cowboy) hunts, is that they only eat the legs? Kind of like Frog Legs. No mind here, I'm strictly a Meat and Potatoes kind of guy, and the idea of eating Godzilla has never crossed my mind. They just don't look like they'd be good eatin'

Really pumped up about this trip. Got the shotgun sussed out with 3 different slugs last week and all shoot to POA at 50 yards with open sights. I'm bringing the Red Turkish ones shown in the top picture, 5 Brenneke's which are running 1385 fps. and 5 of my Slugs R Us slugs which are the most accurate. 1" at 50 yds. The others are more like 2" at 50 yds. which is more than adequate for what this gun will be aimed at, and the distances involved. The only reason for the Brenneke's is if something really big shows up. The gun has a fully rifled 18" bbl,. I was having some issues with the barrel leading quickly, but Dipping the Slugs in to Mica and then pushing them into the hull cured that problem. All got 23 gr of Unique and a new Primed Rio Hull with a Roll Crimp. I can load 5 or them including the crimp in less than 10 minutes with weighed charges! These ae running about 1250 fps.

There are benefits to being around here for a while.

Anyway more coming but that's it for a while.

Randy

[gc45]

why kill Iguana, are they pests in Florida?

[Barry54]

why kill Iguana, are they pests in Florida?

My ignorant self guesses they are an invasive species. Let me know if I’m wrong.

[Finster101]

why kill Iguana, are they pests in Florida?

Yes. Bigly!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Go On YouTube and check the videos of the different Outfits doing Pest Removal. There are literally millions of the lizards and it is a situation where, as they say,,, "Plenty More where they came from!"

They originally came in from Puerto Rico on the Banana Boats, but they also came from New York when fools brought them down to Reptile Heaven and suddenly their cute little 12" Lizards became 3-4 foot long lizards and they didn't know what to do with them?,,, so they just let them go! Then they Breed Prolifically, Next they are taking over territory and Crapping in your pool. One video has a big orange one that had taken over the 9th Green at the local Golf Course and would charge people trying to putt.

They are also Amphibious and so they really like living around the waterways and in trees above the water ways.

It's called "Invasive Species" with no Natural Predators.

If I moved to FL I could make a decent Retirement Income from shooting the things (Pest Removal), and have a great time doing it.

My gun is an Air Venturi Avenger .25 cal. ($350 See first Pic) and shoots 25 gr pellets at 900 fps! It is dead on at 50 yards and good out to 100. Ideally suited to this task and it is actually why I bought the thing in the first place. Have 4 Weihrauch Spring Powered Air Rifles which are worth twice what this one cost and it is nearly twice as powerful as my Beeman R1 .22 and just as Accurate at half the price.

I shot several Ground Squirrels in my Front Yard with it, and it made such a mess of them, I went back to my .177's !!!

Randy

[jsizemore]

The iguanas dig tunnels and undermine the sea walls and bridge abutments. They eat the plants around the houses. The males are territorial and if you have one claim your yard he will attack with a tail like a whip.

[Plate plinker]

why kill Iguana, are they pests in Florida?

Invasive and causing serious problems for native flora and fauna.

[gc45]

I see now, same as the big snakes in florida, they dont belong!