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Registered on:1/20/2022
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re: Best guided gator hunts

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 8/22/25 at 3:21 pm to
Mark Staton was the outfit that took mine, but there were dozens of gators on the dock that day and all of them were going to them, so can't say if they'd take only one.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that there's a better than average chance that I won't be getting "my" hide back. Feels kinda like dropping off "my deer" at the processor. Really no way to know what you're getting back. The gator I got was 10'4'' and I (my wife) got to pick the color and finish for the stuff we'll make out of the hide. I was told that my gator would be enough for two pairs of boots, a handbag, and a bunch of belts, wallets, coasters, etc. The turnaround on just the hide is 12-15 months, so sometime between now and Christmas, I should hear back. Same deal with the head. Its been with Southern Taxidermy for almost a year.

re: Best guided gator hunts

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 8/22/25 at 1:48 pm to
My only advice, regardless of who you go with, is make sure cleaning/skinning the gator is included.

I went on an all-inclusive gator hunt a while back. They had the folks waiting at the dock to ask you what you want to do with your hide (prepped for taxidermy, prepped for boots/wallets and such, etc) as well as a whole skinning shed outfitted to make pretty short work for them of getting the meat out. All I could think about was how if I had done this hunt by myself, I would have signed myself up for about two days of follow up chores and tasks. We're talking about a LOT more moving parts than standing around a tailgate with a beer breasting out some doves.
I've heard/read that they migratory Canadas used to come through Louisiana in numbers worth targeting back in the 50's and 60's. Crazy how they can bounce back in some flyways in huge numbers but not in others.

re: Top 30 Lakes in Louisiana

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 6/27/25 at 8:04 am to
quote:

I grew up fishing D’arbonne, we have had a camp there since I was a kid.


Nice, whereabouts?

My family had a place across the lake from the Spillway from the time they built the lake til a few years ago. One of those complete BS situations where my parents (who footed the bill for absolutely everything there and were responsible for all upkeep) sold it right out from under me without even asking my permission. You wanna talk about selfish.

Random aside, I sat next to an elderly gentleman on a plane a while back who was one of the engineers when they built the lake/spillway. Super interesting conversation.
quote:

Lake D’Arbonne


Super underrated lake for so many reasons. White Perch fishing there is unmatched in my opinion. I've caught a handful of good bass, but good lord the white perch....

re: European Big Game Hunting

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 6/22/25 at 3:29 pm to
You know, the bear isn't what we'd all consider "pretty". It was a Eurasian Brown Bear, so its really shaggy but not in a uniform way across its coat. You kinda have to look at it the right way to see the appeal. Then again, I guess I haven't seen a grizzly rug up close so maybe they're all like that?

Bears wouldn't be top of my European hunt list. I'd really like to get a Red Stag, Ibex, or Chamois...probably more due to the setting than the critter. If an Ibex fed on the edges of a soybean field, I'm not sure it would have the same appeal for me!

re: European Big Game Hunting

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 6/21/25 at 1:30 pm to
A buddy of mine did the same thing. Took the family to Italy last year, did a week or so there, then he went to Croatia and went bear hunting.

He said the hunting was great in some beautiful country but the accommodations were downright awful. He said he would have rather slept outside on a blanket than inside the Soviet era hell hole they had him in.

Here is where the story gets interesting: On the last sit of the last day of the hunt, he shot a blondish bear over a bait pile. It was bigger and shaggier than a black bear but smaller than a grizzly. The bear took off and they tracked it with a good blood trail until dark. My buddy had to get back to Italy the next morning to link up with his family and this was the kind of remote place where if he didn't take his scheduled bus to his scheduled flight, he was gonna be stuck for a few more days. The guides said they'd recover the bear, get it caped out and send it to the States with his CITES paperwork. The next morning at the airport, he gets a text from the guide saying they found the bear but it had wandered into an UNCLEARED MINE FIELD from the war in the 80's. They said that they would have to wait until their equivelant of the Corps of Engineers could come in and help guide them in to recover the bear. Took a couple days, but they got the bear and were still able to save the cape. The rug looks great.

Can you imagine getting shot in the shoulder only to run into an uncleared mine field?
Elton Kennedy is an excellent pull into this discussion. Sneaky quiet money there.
quote:

I just had to arrest a squatter in mine two weeks ago...


Not to derail, but I think we'd all love the story on this! We've all pulled up to the camp late on a Friday night with that very slight sense of apprehension as you unlock doors and turn on lights and such. To find someone inside squatting would be quite the surprise.
I always have a handful of buddies who go to Shot Show and SCI and such and I have never understood why they hold these events DURING hunting season. I get that Shot Show is as much of an industry and Law Enforcement event as it is sportsmen, but the overlap has to be considerable. I suppose both events stay packed, so they're obviously on to something, but would it kill them to hold them in Mid-Feb? :dunno:

re: Retay Masai Mara 12ga

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 1/11/25 at 2:43 pm to
Because I have a Benelli and have had to deal with Customer Service...
I absolutely love mine. Got it the year after the SBE3 came out and I have no regrets about the Retay over the Benelli.

I actually had a phenomenal customer service experience with them. My masai mara was not properly cycling 7 1/2s during dove season. Called them up, they had a prepaid box at my house two days later. Dropped it at UPS and the very next day, I got a call from an absolute baw who knew exactly what was going on, fixed it for free and even said that they had another issue with them that my gun was not experiencing, but they were going to replace another part just to be safe. The gun was back at my house 2 days later with a hat to boot. I'd be hard pressed to think of a time where I had better customer service with literally any company.

re: Roten's Duck Calls

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 12/9/24 at 9:52 am to
There was another thread on here a while back about Rotens calls. I bought one my senior year of high school and its still going strong 25 years later. I tried to track him down to get it tuned up a while back and heard this fantastic story that he had gotten in trouble and fled the country to Mexico. Turns out his neighbor posts here, showed it to him and got quite a laugh out of it.

I have really enjoyed mine. Would really love to get it tuned up again though.

re: Elk in Texas

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 10/11/24 at 1:44 pm to
quote:

Pricey enough I'm driving past all that and going to New Mexico instead. I'd love to kill a free range Texas bull, but not sure I ever will


Not to pry, but I thought that for a guided hunt with tags and land access and such you were looking at about $9500 just about anywhere, no?
If you're going to do it, don't do it yet. Gov. Landry hasn't requested Individual Assistance for the State, so the program that funds it hasn't been activated yet. I'm sure most of the Southeastern Parishes will get Individual Assistance in the next 48 hours, but I wouldn't jump the gun.

re: Duck Camp Dinners -Season 3

Posted by Tiger Pants 318 on 8/29/24 at 1:24 pm to
quote:

1897


Wait...I thought you ran a coffee shop?
Legit question: I've heard that they're actually not bad eating, but can't confirm. Any of yall ever try them?

Regardless, they just fly so damn slow that it somehow feels unsporting to shoot them. I suppose I've been on some hunts where I wouldn't mind though.
quote:

They’re 14-19 a box here right now


Just got back and paid $22. It wasn't all doves though, did a few days of ducks and perdiz so that helped. Got out of there for $1200 on shells. The outfitter also bought my lightweight Lacrosse Waders off of me for more than I paid for them. Worked out great because I had more room to bring back wine!

ETA: Also, I obviously don't know what you're planning on tipping your bird boy, but the standard is $50 per day (you'll have the same bird boy the whole time). I went with a guy last year who in addition to cash, brought his bird boy a tablet. It wasn't an iPad. I think it was just one of those Samsung tablets that you can get for a couple hundred bucks on Amazon, but holy crap you should have seen the look on his face and the other bird boy's faces when he gave it to him. Its not really about the value of the tablet as it is that they have almost ZERO ability to purchase anything like that in Argentina. The bird boy said that his kid used to have to go to school to look up anything for homework and this tablet was a game changer in that regard. I started doing the same and brought one down to my bird boy this year and it was the same deal. Even watched some of the other staff try to buy it off of him. It's a bit of an extravagance, but if you have the means, it really goes a LONG way with those dudes. I've also seen guys bring down carhartt pants (if you can get the sizes ahead of time).
quote:


You are quite the spineless coward of an American. Weak & Pathetic.


You got me, Da #1 Stunna. Dead to rights.

In the incredibly likely event that Joe Burrow shows up on my doorstep and asks for my firearms, I will immediately return to this thread and admit that I am indeed a spineless coward of an American, both weak and pathetic.
Are people hoarding to protect against a future tyrant? Or are people hoarding because they are being told by someone or something that there will be a future tyrant and that tyrant will do something that will make you want to hoard (ie purchase) things right now? I lean more towards the latter than the former.


quote:

Yes it got overturned but what about those 6 months of tyranny?


Yes. I shrug off those 6 months of absolute tyranny.

quote:

You and I are not alike in that regard


We are not alike in our definition of tyranny. We are also not alike in our definition of felon.