Three years later I finally whined enough to make them take me. My dad, his friend Josh and I were going to Florida! My mom was picking me up from officer camp the day we were going to leave. When I had gotten home my mom told me she didn't think we were going to go. My grandpa was in the hospital and Josh's wife was in the hospital for labor pains. Well I of severely upset. What kid wouldn't be if someone cancelled their vacation? A few hours later my grandpa called and told us to go he would be there when we got back. Josh brought his wife home with false labor pains. We finally decided to leave about 3 o'clock in the morning. It was an awful ride down there. The boys drove the whole way only stopping a few times to change drivers. I, on the other hand, slept the entire way down.
The next afternoon when we reached Winter Haven and checked into the hotel the guys both raced for the shower. They had worked all day the day before and never changed or showered. We went to bed and when we got up in the morning we went to the local Walmart to get our trapping agent licenses. Then we played the waiting game. Our guide was a nuisance hunter. This means that if someone had a problem with one in their yard, on a golf course or even in the middle of the highway a nuisance trapper is who comes to get the alligator.
There was a lot of gators called in but the weather never cooperated good enough for us to get one. However we did get one on a fishing pole with a treble hook on the first day. It was only four foot but its a start.
On the last day we had to hunt we got a call about a gator that ate someones puppy. There was also reports of a missing goat and peafowl. When we got there the owners of the house came out and talked to us and let us know the daily activity of the gator. We waited and finally Pork Chop ( the guide) called us over to the other side of the yard. There was a big gator laying in the weeds next to the bank. I wasn't tall enough to see over the edge and be able to shoot. So my dad went to the other side and walked right up on top of it. Thawk! Dad had penetrated the side of the gator. Now Josh and I ran over. Josh shot the gator again to assure we had multiple attachments to the gator. Dad then took my bow and shot the gator once again. Well, tried too. The first shot he took the string was wrapped around his finger and he caught the arrow in mid air. (My dad is right handed where as I am left handed.) He re-nocked the arrow and shot again this time hitting the gator. I then was handed the bang stick and had to jump in the water with the gator. I took the bang stick and hit the gator in the top of the head to kill it. when the stick makes contact and there is force behind it, it will set off the 220 bullet in the bottom of the stick. Just like shooting a gun! We had finally gotten a gator!
This past year my dad and his friend Kirt and I rerturned.
This year we got eight alligators in one night.
That was a big gator! it must have been a rush when u got to kill it with the bang stick. This is very interesting and I look forward to reading more.
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