I just got back from a really great trip and I thought you all would enjoy hearing about my hunt. I still can't believe how well things worked out. The ranch was beautiful, the guides were first class and the trophy quality and amount of wildlife was outstanding.

Outfitter: Silver Lake Preserve (350,000 acres) www.silverlakepreserve.com/
Guides: Wayne Zahn and Kyle Jones
Location: Glades Co. Florida
Weather: Mostly Sunny 72-82 degrees
Rifle/Ammo Used: .50 Cal. Knight Disc Elite, Leupold 3.5X10 scope, 250 gr.T/C Shockwave bullets, Triple Seven FFg

January 3, 2007

Wanting to find a warmer climate this winter for a pleasant family vacation, my wife and I decided to take our two girls to Disney World in Florida. The thought of traveling to a tropical state like Florida brought dreams of hunting a new and completely different type of animal, the American Alligator. With my wife in charge of theme park details, I was free to contact outfitters in central and southern Florida regarding alligator hunting. I was looking for a guide who could provide me with a daytime spot and stalk alligator hunt and who would allow me to use a muzzleloader. After talking to numerous guides and outfitters about things like fair chase ethics, property size and trophy potential, I booked my hunt with Wayne Zahn, at the 350,000 acre Silver Lake Preserve. Silver Lake Preserve not only met all of my requirements, Mr. Zahn was a very patient gentleman who answered all of my detailed questions promptly. In addition, when I told Wayne I wanted to hunt with a muzzleloader, he was truly excited and welcomed my weapon choice.
For the next few months I tested various powders and bullets at the shooting range and even though quite a few of the bullet and powder combinations I tried were accurate enough for most any big game hunting, I was looking for pinpoint accuracy. My 50 cal. Knight Disc Elite finally showed me that a 250 gr. Bonded Shockwave pushed by 90 grains of FFg Triple Seven would shoot a ragged three shot, one hole group out to about 100 yards with a solid rest. I continued practicing shooting off of shooting sticks even through freezing December, Idaho weather.
After a week of Disney World the day of my hunt could not come soon enough. I arrived at the ranch early, where I was met by Wayne and the ranch’s wildlife biologist Kyle Jones. After a lesson in alligator antimony and a shot at the range to check my muzzleloader, we were ready to hunt.

Throughout the morning we traveled the huge ranch and viewed many small gators.

As the day warmed I finally had the chance to stalk and belly crawl within range of a management gator that would measure nearly 8 feet in length. It took me forever, but I finally controlled my breathing and squeezed off a really good shot…my first alligator rolled once and laid still in the water.
My day was now an official success and after taking a few photos we loaded him up and set out looking for a gator with more size. Wayne and Kyle informed me that there was rumored to be a big alligator living for the past few days in a remote watering hole, so off we went. Sometime around noon we arrived at the pond and together we snuck in towards the water. As I stopped to load and cap my muzzleloader, Wayne crept ahead and got a look at the big bull gator unaware of us as he sunned on the bank next to the water. I completed the final downwind stalk alone, hoping not to spook the gator that was now looking bigger than any reptile I’ve ever seen on the Discovery Channel! Feeling confident with the quartering away shot angle and my solid shooting rest, I quickly picked a spot and gently squeezed the trigger. As the smoke cleared I could see the gator’s giant tail slapping back and fourth, trying to get him self off the bank and into deeper water to no avail. My shot was centered in the alligator’s golf ball sized brain and the bonded Shockwave dispatched the big lizard almost instantly.

As I approached the dead gator I could not believe his size, not only in length but also in girth too! In fact, I think he could have eaten my first gator as a snack! However, it wasn’t until we pulled him out of the water with the pick-up truck were we able to get a grasp of his length and with the alligator still twitching our first measurement was over 11 feet 7 inches. Almost breaking the current SCI muzzleloader record for the American Alligator.

So, with the help of three other men we loaded the gator into the truck, and headed for the main lodge.


Then after a few phone calls and a check to the Safari Club website Wayne, Kyle and I were off to meet Bruce Essen, the local SCI measurer. Bruce documented the Alligator to be exactly 11 feet, 9 ½ inches. Beating the current #1 muzzleloader Alligator by 1 1/2inches! Its weight was estimated to be 600 pounds.
This hunt was really a once in a life opportunity and I cannot thank everyone enough! Bruce Essen was very kind accommodate my schedule and make time to score my trophy. The Silver Lake Preserve is a beautiful place with an abundance of wildlife of all kinds. Wayne and Kyle and all the folks at Silver Lake are really committed to excellence and will do what ever it takes to ensure your hunt is a great success.

01/18/07 I edited this post after I found out that the SCI record book numbers are not recorded in inches but in feet and inches...sorry for the confusion. FC

Very cool. He'd make a heck of a pair of boots.

That's an awesome gator and a nice story as well.

Congrats on your fine hunt.

Reloader

Wow!! Nice one! That's one way to make a trip to Disney memorable.

Thanks for sharing.

Nice hunt report and a good way to end a week at Disneyland. It's not every day you see a photo of a gator hanging out the back of a truck.

This is a hunt I have considered. I like the way he prices his hunts.