LITTLE ROCK –-(Ammoland.com)- Sixty-eight lucky individuals will be heading to the swamps this September in search of one of Arkansas’s largest big game species. Arkansas’s 2016 alligator season is Sept. 16-19 and Sept. 23-26, and hunting is only allowed at night.
All permit winners must attend a hunter orientation class before being issued their permits. Orientation classes will be held from 9-11 a.m., August 6 at the AGFC’s regional offices in Hope and Monticello. Another orientation class will be available from 9-11 a.m., August 13 at the AGFC Headquarters in Little Rock. Permit winners will need to bring $35 for the processing of their permit. Successful private land at-large applicants also must provide written landowner permission and a map of their proposed hunt area.
Alligator hunting isn’t for the faint of heart. Hunters scan the surface of the water with spotlights from a boat, pinpointing alligators before easing up to them with a harpoon or handheld snare.
“Alligator’s eyes glow red in the light,” said Mark Barbee, the AGFC biologist in Monticello who coordinates the annual alligator hunt. “Easing up to them with a pole-mounted snare or harpoon can be as challenging as finding one if you haven’t already done some scouting.”
The slow, steady approach is followed by an intense bout of chaos once the harpoon hits home or snare snaps closed. Alligators are known to roll, dive and thrash violently during the fight, and the larger the gator, the harder it pulls.
Permit winners are allowed up to three assistants during the hunt, but only the permit holder is allowed to snare, harpoon and dispatch the alligator.
“Safety is extremely important, not just from the hazards of fighting the alligator, but with handling firearms during the hunt,” Barbee said. Unlike the television scene that spawned the popular slogan of “Choot ‘em,” Arkansas alligator hunters must completely subdue the gator before finishing it with a shotgun or shotgun shell-loaded bang stick using shot no larger than no. 4 common shot. “It’s lethal when placed properly behind the alligator’s head, but isn’t something people are going to just jab into the middle of the fight.”
Once dispatched, all alligators must be tagged with a temporary possession tag and hunters must notify the AGFC by phone to check the animal. All hunt details will be provided at the mandatory hunter orientation classes.
2016 Alligator Permit Winners
- Jake Hargraves, Hope – Zone 1 Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc WMA (Public)
- Brad Ainsworth, Magnolia – Zone 1
- Dr. Clancy Cleveland, Prescott – Zone 1 Little River (Public)
- William Stafford, Ashdown – Zone 1 Little River (Public)
- Rebecca Myers, Ashdown – Zone 1 Millwood Lake (Public)
- Joshua Thomson, Ashdown – Zone 1 Millwood Lake (Public)
- Michael Henderson, Murfreesboro – Zone 1 Millwood Lake (Public)
- Cody Cruse, Ogden – Zone 1 Millwood Lake (Public)
- Jacky Simmons, Lockesburg – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Neal DeLee, Hot Springs – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Stephen Allen, Lewisville – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Hoy Pittman, Benton – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Randy Pharr, Emerson – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Samuel Bowman, Ashdown – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Jackie Camp, Magnolia – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Jason Teague, Nashville – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Johnathon Tollett, Fouke – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Knighten Starnes, North Little Rock – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- David Baker, Stamps – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Blair Lovewell, Ashdown – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Thomas Jones, Little Rock – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Benjamin Jones, Little Rock – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Denis Dunderdale, Cotter – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Lance Williams, Roland – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- John Bennett, Texarkana – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Kayla Taylor, Hope – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Alyn Watson, Magnolia – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- Mark Fielding, Horatio – Zone 1 Private Land At-Large
- James Fraser, Vilonia – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Don Burchett, Barling – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Nicholas Karras, Cabot – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Nathan Smith, Clinton – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Abby McCool, Prattsville – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Charles Miller, Dumas – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Austin Hill, Dumas – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Timothy Foster, Dumas – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Jerry Wilson, North Little Rock – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Brett Crow, Pine Bluff – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Dewayne Ray, Star City – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Amber Hurtt, Judsonia – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Kirk Coward, Paragould – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Trevor Graddy, Batesville – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Michael Cordaro, Russellville – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- David Boullie, Ward – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Wesley Rainwater, Royal – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Jonathan Ross, Clinton – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Michael Huckabee, Paragould – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Johnny Thomas, Hazen – Zone 3 Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Public)
- Tiffani Burns, DeWitt – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Kenny Hunter, Star City – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Slade Kagebein, Ethel – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- James Pelt, Camden – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Jackson Weaver, Little Rock – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Jeffrey Hillman, Lake Village – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Tyler Richmond, White Hall – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Gary Darrough, Star City – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Andrew Norwood, Little Rock – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Patrick McGarity, Sheridan – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Richard Cargile, Searcy – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Austin Miller, Elaine – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Garrett McGhee, Wynne – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Will Fagan, Greenbrier – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Chris Peterson, Star City – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Joshua Bishop, Little Rock – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Joseph Williams, Crossett – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Matthew Taylor, Hamburg – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Barry Bateman, Paragould – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large
- Nate Burnett, Paragould – Zone 3 Private Land At-Large