Area: Ocheechobee lake
Game: gator- hog
Outfitter: Osceola Outdoor – Mike Tussey
Gun: Browning 7/08 (Hog)
Crossbow (gator)

Dear Friends

I’m just returned from a hunt in Florida. Was really a surprise to see how wild is the interior of this state with not only swamps but also a beautiful tropical forest.


Mike Tussey hosted me and my wife in a nice and confortable cabin close to the Ocheechobee lake.
Last week ( as I knew after your advises) the wheather was pretty cold and windy so not the best for hunting in Florida.
However I was able to take a nice female boar the first afternoon, in one of the farms rented from Mike around the lake, where ther’ are many automatic feeders.




Here the hog population seems very high wit lots of signs but, because of the wind, I saw only one group of 7/8 animals came to eat half an hour before dark at the feeder where I was waiting. The hog was hit hard but was able to run away for about hundred yards in the dense bush and we found him only thanks to a Mike’s hound.



Immediately after dinner we went to the lake, where the “gator men” was waiting us close to his boat. He gave me a very heavy crossbow with a very strong fishing line connected to the tip of the arrow made like a harpoon.



We then got into the boat and we started to explore a wide lagoon. The gator men used a strong spotting light to illuminate the banks and the surface of the water. Dozen of eyes shone. Were all alligators! What an emotion. We were looking something big so we crossed the lagoon for a couple of hours, until we saw a big gator just in front of the boat. I shot him with the crossbow at about 8 / 10 yards. Immediately he disappeared under the water. We waited a bit and then we started to recover it using the fishing line but it was impossible because he was only wounded. Then the “gator men” took something like a large hook with a rope and began to plumb the bottom until he was able to hook it and pull it to the surface. Then he gave me a stick of metal, with a 44 caliber cartridge on the tip, telling me to be ready to aim between the eyes when he emerged and strike it strong. Of course the alligator continued to agitate and to give blows with his tail. He sprayed water everywhere. So I missed the first shot and we had to reload ( and was not so easy with the boat moving so strong). Finally the second shot was right and the gator died. Was so heavy (700 pounds) that was very difficult to load it on the boat.







But at the end I could see a really beautiful mature gator 11 feet long.





Was a strange hunt, mostly fishing/hunting that only hunting but very interesting for the wonderful environment in which it takes place and the majesty of the trophy.



After a so long night the next day I tried for a big mature boar without success. So, with my wife, we started to Miami beach for few days of tourism and shopping.
I must admit that even in this city there is a type of game rather interesting .

Congratulations! Man that is a big gator!

I took a 10 footer down their in 2010.What a great time. I would recommend this to everyone. I life mounted it swimming on a pedestal,very impressive...It can be view on the gallery page on the web site.....

What a great hunt,good people and great weather. I took a 10 ft gator. I life mounted it swimming on a pedestal ,very impressive. It can be viewed on my gallery page on my web site...

not a difficult hunt but very interesting.
And the gator is a real trophy. Unfortunately is too complicate and expensive to ship a trophy so bit in Italy.

Mario,

You can have the skull bleached out and put it on a dark piece of wood. Something like walnut or ebony. I did that with a 9 footer I took a few years ago.

That skull, with all the teeth and jaws open about 4 inches is pretty impressive. Gets lots of comments when people see it. And it isn't expensive or difficult to do and can be packaged and shipped in one box.

Great hunt !
That metal stick is usually called a "bang stick" and is used for other things like sharks for protection , in 12 Gage.

Glad to see you have had another successful hunt!

thanks guys!
Yes ... "bang stick" was the name. I had forgotten.
Flags, yes is a good idea. I will try to do that.

Mario,

This will give you an idea what it would look like. Picture it on a piece of really dark wood. It makes a cool mount.

Mario,
Nice Gator!!
The skull Flags posted is how I have mine

beautiful!

Glad you had a good time. Mike is a very old friend of mine. He runs a quality hunt for sure...