Leaving My Comfort Zone with a Gator Hunting Trip in Louisiana
If God wanted us to be vegetarians, he would have made broccoli more fun to shoot.
—Earl Dibbles Jr., Singer/Songwriter
After a year-long wait that seemed like forever, we were on our way to Grosse Savanne to fish and shoot alligators.
After a few days of fishing, something I finally feel comfortable with, we were doing something new and completely different. I did no research. I was truly a true blank slate.
Waking up at 3:27 am the morning after a long day of fishing and travel, I was full of anxiety. Ugh, go back to sleep. Pete was just sleeping like a baby. How!?!?!?
Again, I had no idea what was ahead.
I came to breakfast with gym shoes and was told boots would be more appropriate.
I came back and everyone had rain jackets on, so back to the room I go.
By then I’d made a track in the carpet, which was a good thing cause I needed to find our room again to get my bibs -- there could be blood. Clearly I was not prepared for the day ahead.
Now that I had my exercise for the day, it was time to meet guide Greg Dawsey in the parking lot. Pete told me to hop in the front so I could get all my questions out while on the drive to the lake. I opened the door and I had a guest in the seat with me, a gun. It was a rifle, just a .22, but I’d never shot a long gun before. By this point my brain was spinning and my eyes were popping out of my head.
Pete was right. I asked a million questions and Greg obliged. He answered every one of them, but I was still full of anxiety. This was really happening.
Greg dumped the boat and then parked the truck and trailer, the three of us jumped aboard and off we went, my breathing getting a little more intense.
The afternoon before our hunt the guides put out bait. They use bamboo poles that they put in the side of the bluff, which have about a 30-foot line, with a three-foot black leader, a hand-sized thick hook loaded up with a chicken quarter. They dangled the bait about a foot over the water – Here gator gator gator.
We came to our first stick, the line was in the water so either a bird sat on the stick and dumped the line or we had GATOR ON. If the gator was on that means it grabbed the chicken with the huge hook, swallowed it and while trying to get rid of the hook, hooked themselves.
Greg beached the boat, pulled the line up until he felt something heavy. First time’s a charm: GATOR ON!
My breathing was getting heavier and heavier and then Greg said, “Hanna, get the gun.” I think you probably could have seen my heartbeat through my bibs. This was it, everything we had been waiting for. Even though he’d explained the process to me, after I grabbed the gun and took a breath, I asked him to explain everything all over again.
Take the safety off. Shoulder the gun. Look down the barrel and shoot the alligator on the backside of the head, between the eyes. Make sure you wait until the alligator stops spinning and settles down. As soon as I thought the gator settled, he caught a glimpse of us, twisted and I shot. BOOM! My first shot with a rifle and all I got was a big dose of water.
The good news is that settled my anxiety. With the gun reloaded we started all over again. This time, I shouldered the gun, aimed between the eyes and ole alligator was too tired to fight. I nailed him right between the eyes.
Pete watched Greg fight the gator and from there on forward, with a few exceptions, Pete fought them and I shot ‘em, I became very comfortable and a good shot. Pete is very aware that my game day jitters have subsided and he better watch out. I did give Pete a chance with the gun but we got in a groove and all Greg did was drive the boat. We made a great team of three.
It's a good lesson to remember – trying new things provokes anxiety, but if you can tame that beast and move forward, it often turns into “the best time ever.”
Just a warning: the material in the video contains some salty language (remember, I was a little anxious) and the when the alligators get shot there is blood. Viewer discretion is advised, but if you’re not squeamish you may actually learn something. It might inspire you to try something out of your comfort zone.
By the way, Lt. Dan won’t be coming home to us but his sister’s hide and skull will be here next summer.
