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How to begin this story - my wife and I have been together for 8 years - we dated for 4 years during college and have been married for 4 years. Well during these 8 years there is one thing that stood out - I was a hunter and she wasn't. She grew up loving animals and could never think of hurting them in any way, but she didn't mind that her husband hunted. Well when we married back in 2006 she took the hunter's safety course to appease her husband, but still had no interest in hunting. However, one day in 2008 she heard that you could hunt alligators, and said that if we could get drawn on a gator hunt then she may possibly go hunting with me and kill one. Well 2010 was the year because we were drawn for zone 4.
Now my wife was freaked out to say the least. Going out in the marshes at night in a little swamp boat after alligators - what had she gotten herself into. Well I contacted my good friend and buddy Gary Frye (FryDaddy40 here on GON) who is a alligator hunting guide here in Georgia (http://www.happyacresexpeditions.com/). Gary was all booked up for the season, but being the good friend that he is said he would work us into his schedule because he had made it his goal to introduce my wife into hunting with a good experience. Sept. 4, 2010 marked to opening day of the Alligator Hunting season, and also marked that day that my wife would go hunting for the first time ever in her life.
My Wife's goals for this trip - don't get hurt or die, especially do not fall out of the boat into the nasty marshes and kill an alligator at least as tall as she is, but not too big because she wanted good tender meat and good young alligator skin for her a new purse and heels. Well we met Gary down in zone 4 and he introduced my wife to alligator hunting and how to work the equipment that goes along with harvesting an alligator. Now my wife has only shot a pistol once in her life and has never fired a long gun or archery equipment. She was utilizing a Excalibur Crossbow with a laser bow fishing sight. By 8pm we were out in the marshes searching for her first harvest ever. By 9:30pm she had shot at 2 alligators, but missed. However, her luck was to change at 9:30pm when the bolt struck home and she was able to harvest a nice 5'3 gator that weighed around 65 pounds. Needless to say my wife is now hooked on hunting and is ready to not only go alligator hunting again in the future, but now wants to hunt other game such as deer etc...
I too was able to draw a tag, and I came into this trip open minded. I wanted my wife to harvest game for the first time ever, and if I was able to get some meat then that too was an added plus. Now don't get me wrong - I would love to kill that 25 foot Lake Placid alligator that would be the Georgia and World Record, but with that kind of kill comes those wonderful taxidermy expenses - and well those costs are not in my ballpark at this time. That will be an adventure for another day and time.
My goal was to kill a good sized tender meat alligator, because I love eating them. Gary was able to get me on a good sized 6 footer that had weighed about 85 pounds. I was able to harvest my meat gator, and boy was it loadeded with good, tender pink alligator meat.
To some alligator hunting is about the experience and to others it is about killing the state record, but to me this trip was about firsts. The first time my wife went hunting - the first time my wife shot at game, the first time wife wife harvested game, and the first time that I was able to share my lifelong hobby with my lifelong partner. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful spouse who (has never been hunting) is open minded enough to go ride around in the swamps at night shooting at a game animal that can hurt you with one flip of the tail or snap of the jaw for a first time ever hunting trip. I now have a new hunting buddy thanks to the Georgia Alligator Hunting Season, and I am thankful that I was able to share the thrill of the hunt, chase and kill with my new hunting buddy/wife.
Special Thanks goes out to Gary Frye and his guide service for filling our 2 tags with 2 good sized meat gators. Now I am off to American Tanning to get the hides tanned for my wife's new wardrobe and then to the taxidermist to have her alligator head freeze dried - she is determined she wants to display her first ever kill on her desk at work -
Now my wife was freaked out to say the least. Going out in the marshes at night in a little swamp boat after alligators - what had she gotten herself into. Well I contacted my good friend and buddy Gary Frye (FryDaddy40 here on GON) who is a alligator hunting guide here in Georgia (http://www.happyacresexpeditions.com/). Gary was all booked up for the season, but being the good friend that he is said he would work us into his schedule because he had made it his goal to introduce my wife into hunting with a good experience. Sept. 4, 2010 marked to opening day of the Alligator Hunting season, and also marked that day that my wife would go hunting for the first time ever in her life.
My Wife's goals for this trip - don't get hurt or die, especially do not fall out of the boat into the nasty marshes and kill an alligator at least as tall as she is, but not too big because she wanted good tender meat and good young alligator skin for her a new purse and heels. Well we met Gary down in zone 4 and he introduced my wife to alligator hunting and how to work the equipment that goes along with harvesting an alligator. Now my wife has only shot a pistol once in her life and has never fired a long gun or archery equipment. She was utilizing a Excalibur Crossbow with a laser bow fishing sight. By 8pm we were out in the marshes searching for her first harvest ever. By 9:30pm she had shot at 2 alligators, but missed. However, her luck was to change at 9:30pm when the bolt struck home and she was able to harvest a nice 5'3 gator that weighed around 65 pounds. Needless to say my wife is now hooked on hunting and is ready to not only go alligator hunting again in the future, but now wants to hunt other game such as deer etc...
I too was able to draw a tag, and I came into this trip open minded. I wanted my wife to harvest game for the first time ever, and if I was able to get some meat then that too was an added plus. Now don't get me wrong - I would love to kill that 25 foot Lake Placid alligator that would be the Georgia and World Record, but with that kind of kill comes those wonderful taxidermy expenses - and well those costs are not in my ballpark at this time. That will be an adventure for another day and time.
My goal was to kill a good sized tender meat alligator, because I love eating them. Gary was able to get me on a good sized 6 footer that had weighed about 85 pounds. I was able to harvest my meat gator, and boy was it loadeded with good, tender pink alligator meat.
To some alligator hunting is about the experience and to others it is about killing the state record, but to me this trip was about firsts. The first time my wife went hunting - the first time my wife shot at game, the first time wife wife harvested game, and the first time that I was able to share my lifelong hobby with my lifelong partner. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful spouse who (has never been hunting) is open minded enough to go ride around in the swamps at night shooting at a game animal that can hurt you with one flip of the tail or snap of the jaw for a first time ever hunting trip. I now have a new hunting buddy thanks to the Georgia Alligator Hunting Season, and I am thankful that I was able to share the thrill of the hunt, chase and kill with my new hunting buddy/wife.
Special Thanks goes out to Gary Frye and his guide service for filling our 2 tags with 2 good sized meat gators. Now I am off to American Tanning to get the hides tanned for my wife's new wardrobe and then to the taxidermist to have her alligator head freeze dried - she is determined she wants to display her first ever kill on her desk at work -
