Personally, I would never hunt something just for the sake of killing it (hunting for food is a different matter.) I figure that anything causing 'problems' in our yard is 'fair game' (coyotes, for instance), and if one of these critters were in my yard, I'd like to think I had the option of dealing with it myself instead of having to call someone (and give it time to eat the dog, chickens - wife - while waiting for a response.) Besides, gator tail tastes good - and I could always use some boots.
I think if the alligators are going to be utalized like you said, for food and some boots. Then by all means lift the restriction. But, there are always going to be those people who kill them to kill them. i think that you should have a limit on the amount of alligators that you can kill in a year or something so no people can go nuts.
We don't have as many gator problems in Loiusiana. In general, we are less likly to apply the "law" on someone who shoots a problem gator in their yard there.
Flahriduh is much more liberal in their mindsets. "Oh, it's a cute little 6 footer, feed it some chicken dear." They have many neighborhoods with "conservation area ponds" and such that have gators in them. These fools don't have fences, it would obstruct their view. They have dogs, cats, and small children playing in their yards.
I drove through a friends neighborhood and noticed a 5 footer scoping someone's dog in their backyard. I stopped and knocked on the door to tell the people to call the Wildlife an fisheries or Sherriff dept. The buttheads didn't open the door, they shouted "No soliciting."
I drove by a few days later, and no longer see a dog.
People grow up up north, have no idea about local wildlife, and don't listen to warnings.
I say, kill the problem gators. No pansy "save the poor little defenseless gator, and move it."
The "endangerment" cam from unregulated hunting, and poachers. There is no longer a problem, the gators have recovered. Time to cull the herd.
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Ibanez guitars, S&W revolvers, Glock Semi's
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If something like that comes in my yard, it's dead. I don't care if it's on some protected species list or not. My family and pets should be way more protected than some random gator.
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Sometimes I think that government fits that old-fashioned definition of a baby: An alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
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Ingredients: 1 egg Cayenne Pepper to taste Salt to taste Garlic salt to taste
Oil, enough for frying
1/2 tsp. Accent or Mrs. Dash
1/2 to 3/4 c. milk
Flour
Gator tail
Direction:
Skin gator tail. Clean and wash meat. Cut meat into 4-inch pieces. Beat egg and milk together. Mix salt, pepper, garlic salt, Accent and flour together. Heat oil for frying. Dip gator tail into egg mixture and then into flour mixture and place into hot oil. Cook until golden brown. Don't knock it until you've tried it.
__________________
I Hate GM, deal with it.
One shot, One Kill! Don't waste ammo, it's pricey!
2005 GT Screaming Yellow: SLP Loudmouths
Ibanez guitars, S&W revolvers, Glock Semi's
Republican write in Presidential Candidate 2012
Ingredients: 1 egg Cayenne Pepper to taste Salt to taste Garlic salt to taste
Oil, enough for frying
1/2 tsp. Accent or Mrs. Dash
1/2 to 3/4 c. milk
Flour
Gator tail
Direction:
Skin gator tail. Clean and wash meat. Cut meat into 4-inch pieces. Beat egg and milk together. Mix salt, pepper, garlic salt, Accent and flour together. Heat oil for frying. Dip gator tail into egg mixture and then into flour mixture and place into hot oil. Cook until golden brown. Don't knock it until you've tried it.
I've never cooked it, but I've eaten it more than once. Several restaurants here add it to their menu during the week of the U.T./Florida game and a few have it all the time. If it's done right, I like it quite a lot. If it's not done right, it's like eating a breaded pencil eraser - tough, chewy and tasteless.
I may have to try out your recipe. As you might imagine, most of the seafood in this area doesn't even remotely compare to what you get at the Coast. If my wife and I want good seafood (especially crab) and we aren't headed for the coast anytime soon, we skip the restaurants and go to a place in Knoxville called 'The Shrimp Dock.' It's a 'fish market' owned by some folks from Louisiana and they have the freshest stuff available around here (and some right tasty andouille from a company in LA, too.) Even the frozen stuff there tastes more fresh than most of what we can get in this area. Maybe I can find some gator tail there.
There is this little hole in the wall in Etowah, TN called the C & W Drive In that is owned by a Cajun lady. She serves good fried crawfish tails, but I don't think she serves gator. Of course, my favorite thing there is her Roast Beef Po' Boy. She says it is a pretty traditional sandwich in the N'awlin's area. Apparently, she stuffs a roast with garlic and spices, roasts it for 14 hours then slices and serves it on a po' boy type 'roll' with lots of gravy, mayo, lettuce and tomato.
Oh, and can't you skin the rest of the gator, remove the meat from the bone and grind it to serve in patties like hamburger? It seems like I remember seeing an old picture of a little roadside stand in Florida that sold gator burgers.
I don't do dressed (mayo and veggies), just lots of the gravy.
If you like fried crawfish, you'll love properly boiled crawfish. I have to stress PROPERLY. SE TX, south LA, and South MS are about the only places I know of to get it done right. Haven't tried any from AL. There is one place here that serves them, but I think they are too light on the seasoning.
Gator is tough when overcooked, just cook till golden brown, not brown. It's not my favorite, but if I shoot it, I eat it.
__________________
I Hate GM, deal with it.
One shot, One Kill! Don't waste ammo, it's pricey!
2005 GT Screaming Yellow: SLP Loudmouths
Ibanez guitars, S&W revolvers, Glock Semi's
Republican write in Presidential Candidate 2012
Oh, and can't you skin the rest of the gator, remove the meat from the bone and grind it to serve in patties like hamburger? It seems like I remember seeing an old picture of a little roadside stand in Florida that sold gator burgers.
Never tried, I don't see why not. Truth is, they stink so dang bad on the outside, I'd hate to cut one open.
__________________
I Hate GM, deal with it.
One shot, One Kill! Don't waste ammo, it's pricey!
2005 GT Screaming Yellow: SLP Loudmouths
Ibanez guitars, S&W revolvers, Glock Semi's
Republican write in Presidential Candidate 2012
I don't do dressed (mayo and veggies), just lots of the gravy.
If you like fried crawfish, you'll love properly boiled crawfish. I have to stress PROPERLY. SE TX, south LA, and South MS are about the only places I know of to get it done right. Haven't tried any from AL. There is one place here that serves them, but I think they are too light on the seasoning.
Gator is tough when overcooked, just cook till golden brown, not brown. It's not my favorite, but if I shoot it, I eat it.
I do like boiled ones, but, as you said, it's hard to find them done well around here (kind of like trying to find really good, fresh raw oysters.) I do have to admit that I don't care much for sucking the heads, though.
Freakin' deer are out of control in Ohio. They're all over the place.
Urban sprawl is displacing the deers' homes, and as a result, the deer are becoming suburbanites.
Had some venizen once, but I've never tasted any 'gator.
If it tastes good, shoot it...
__________________
1992 Deep Emerald Green Mustang GT Hatch, 5 speed, 2.73s, Mac fenderwell cold air intake, '93 Cobra MAF, Mac 70mm throttle body & spacer, Explorer intakes, Mac unequal headers & offroad pipe, Magnaflow catback, Walbro 110lph fuel pump, Jet adjustable FPR, MSD Blaster coil, Accel 8mm wires, FRPP aluminum quadrant, UPR firewall adjuster, stock cable, Granatelli upper control arms.
Waiting to go on: Granatelli lower control arms, and GT40 Iron heads!
Freakin' deer are out of control in Ohio. They're all over the place.
Urban sprawl is displacing the deers' homes, and as a result, the deer are becoming suburbanites.
Had some venizen once, but I've never tasted any 'gator.
If it tastes good, shoot it...
Venison is my favorite of all meats. Sliced venison backstrap, dredged in flour and fried in butter with lots of black pepper - nothing - not ham, not bacon, not pork tenderloin - nothing goes better on a biscuit! Roasted haunch of venison is good, too, and so is venison jerky, stew and chili.
When dad and I used to deer hunt in Georgia and Alabama (mostly on property that belonged to various members of our family) I was able to get my hunting license because the requirements were different there. I've lived in TN pretty much all my life, but have never hunted here. I've legally hunted in other states but can't get my license here yet because I have never gotten around to taking Tennessee's Hunter's Safety Course (some states require that for people under a certain age but in TN, if you were born after '68, you have to have it in order to get a hunting license regardless of your age.) Since dad's not around anymore, any hunting I do will likely be around here, so I have got to get that certificate so I can get my TN hunting license. I've currently got a freezer full of good venison, but my wife got that from a place that processes deer - it was my anniversary present this year (in TN, they can't sell the meat because it isn't gov't. inspected, but they can 'give' it to you for the price of processing if the hunter that brings it in doesn't come back for it.) Not quite as 'cool' as bagging it myself, but it's good meat and at least it won't go to waste (it bothers me when something is killed for no good reason - and I consider 'gettin' in ma belly' to be a good reason.)
In TN, Russian Black Boar are a problem. They were brought into the Smokies by some folks who were planning on starting a private hunting lodge back in the 1920s or so. Right about that time, the Great Depression hit, the 'elite' weren't quite so elite anymore and the lodge went belly-up - leaving the boar to run rampant with no real natural predator. They have trashed parts of the Smokies and, when they are at their worst, authorities all but beg people to come and shoot them. One year, bag limits on them were completely lifted. Game Wardens were killing them right and left and I remember one on the 6 o'clock news jokingly saying something to the effect of, "If folks will come kill these things, I'll help clean them, myself!" Apparently, they are nearly as destructive an import as kudzu.
My dad told me that when he was a kid, he and his buddies used to go to the dump, and shoot rats! All Chinese food jokes aside, I'm all for shooting varmints too.
Also, what's so wrong about shooting deer from a moving car? Anyone who is able to do that should get extra kudos for their marksmanship...
__________________
1992 Deep Emerald Green Mustang GT Hatch, 5 speed, 2.73s, Mac fenderwell cold air intake, '93 Cobra MAF, Mac 70mm throttle body & spacer, Explorer intakes, Mac unequal headers & offroad pipe, Magnaflow catback, Walbro 110lph fuel pump, Jet adjustable FPR, MSD Blaster coil, Accel 8mm wires, FRPP aluminum quadrant, UPR firewall adjuster, stock cable, Granatelli upper control arms.
Waiting to go on: Granatelli lower control arms, and GT40 Iron heads!
[quote=meangreen92]Freakin' deer are out of control in Ohio. They're all over the place.
Urban sprawl is displacing the deers' homes, and as a result, the deer are becoming suburbanites.
quote]
That's only because you don't have a substantial Cajun population.
__________________
I Hate GM, deal with it.
One shot, One Kill! Don't waste ammo, it's pricey!
2005 GT Screaming Yellow: SLP Loudmouths
Ibanez guitars, S&W revolvers, Glock Semi's
Republican write in Presidential Candidate 2012
JEB and others, what do you think? 
