Calibre suitable for crocodiles
- Thread starter armo.
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hairlesshunter
Well-Known Member
Have a look here http://www.sportsafield.com/content/best-caliber-croc
Monkey Spanker
Well-Known Member
I once had a very interesting discussion with a very distinguished chap who had culled 'man eating' crocodiles years ago with an open sighted rifle. He claimed that their brain was about the size of a doves egg and you needed to hit them exactly between the eyes front on. Any other shot and the croc would disappear into the water. If the shot was successful, the croc would not move, but its mouth would open to full width and then slowly shut. Lights out - dead croc.
Can't say I've tried it and I'm guessing a decent size calibre would be required. I've seen lots of crocs and alligators close up and they are seriously scary!
They haven't changed for millions of years as they are pretty good at what they do!
I'd want a 30.06 or a 300 win mag minimum!
MS
Can't say I've tried it and I'm guessing a decent size calibre would be required. I've seen lots of crocs and alligators close up and they are seriously scary!
They haven't changed for millions of years as they are pretty good at what they do!
I'd want a 30.06 or a 300 win mag minimum!
MS
I have not personally shot a crocodile, but have shot alligators, and know others who have shot alligators with rifles, or arrowed them and used the 200-lb test braided line to draw them near enough for dispatch with a .38 Special or .357 to the brain. A friend, who used to be a PH in Kenya and still returns to hunt with his cousin, a gamekeeper, has killed a fair number of large crocodiles which were making a habit of killing people. The long and short of it is that he had taken them, with instant kills, using 7x57 Mauser, .270 Win, .30-06 and .375 H&H. I and others I know have done the same with some smaller and very large alligators, using .308 and .30-06. In all cases, conventional soft point spitzer and round nose bullets did the job. You don't have to hit the tiny brain dead-on, when the wound is a hole 2.5 inches in diameter. You don't have to shoot them only between the eyes. You are more likely to have a side shot present itself, because you want to lure them out of the water or catch them well up on the bank. They will open their mouths wide to help cool themselves, blocking a head-on shot.
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^^^a little from Craig Bodington on the subject
If you want a really fascinating (and rather surreal) account of croc hunting, strongly recommend The Eyelids of Morning by Peter Beard.
He was a rich playboy type artist who attached himself to a MASSIVE croc hunting experiment on Lake Turkana (Kenya) in the late 60s or early 70s. They shot thousands, living in ramshackle tents on a remote beach.
My father was involved, generally flying supplies to them. One of the favoured techniques was to paddle out into the water with a .30-06 balanced on a mud smeared inner tube. They paddled up to within 30 yards or so of resting crocs, shot them in the head, waited for the thrashing to stop, and then felt for the carcass with their feet. Balls? Bloody big brass ones.
https://a.1stdibscdn.com/archivesE/art/upload/75/2617/CPB-BV-002.jpg
He was a rich playboy type artist who attached himself to a MASSIVE croc hunting experiment on Lake Turkana (Kenya) in the late 60s or early 70s. They shot thousands, living in ramshackle tents on a remote beach.
My father was involved, generally flying supplies to them. One of the favoured techniques was to paddle out into the water with a .30-06 balanced on a mud smeared inner tube. They paddled up to within 30 yards or so of resting crocs, shot them in the head, waited for the thrashing to stop, and then felt for the carcass with their feet. Balls? Bloody big brass ones.
https://a.1stdibscdn.com/archivesE/art/upload/75/2617/CPB-BV-002.jpg
Sidewinder
Well-Known Member
Any bullet that will hold together and fully penetrate it depends if you are recovering the carcass or not i used to use a 30/06 or one of the heavier rifles i had the 0/06 got the most use and i used to use 168grsp Samsom IMI ammo that was superb quality i bought about 5000 from a auction in Birmingham and i used it for everything if you are not recovering the carcass i found it better to use a bullet that went through both sides.
ps i do not like crocodiles they ate my dog and my girlfriends dog we used to live on the tulli block in botswanna
ps i do not like crocodiles they ate my dog and my girlfriends dog we used to live on the tulli block in botswanna
Old farrier
Active Member
Hi
Probably best to check with the outfitters or your ph
You may find crocodile falling into the dangerous game category where you have to use minimum caliber stipulated (375) by the regulations for the area and permit
I'm assuming you're trophy/sport hunting
Expanding for your 1st shot and solids for backup insurance shots
All the best with your hunt
Of
Probably best to check with the outfitters or your ph
You may find crocodile falling into the dangerous game category where you have to use minimum caliber stipulated (375) by the regulations for the area and permit
I'm assuming you're trophy/sport hunting
Expanding for your 1st shot and solids for backup insurance shots
All the best with your hunt
Of
All they seemed to use on that Swamp People tv show was a rusty .22lr with no sights
Neil.
shoot it Lisbeth! Shoot it! that sure is a big ole gator Lisbeth,
they put baited hooks out and dragged them towards the boat, then dispatched them at PBR with the lil old 22 into the brain
kjf
Thanks for that - a copy is winging its way to me from the States
Forget the .22 or .223. When I was a boy, and float fishing the Edisto River with a pal, we had large ( 12 foot plus ) gator following us, after our string of fish. We pulled the fish up into the boat, and I shot it several times with the .22 just to annoy it and make it back off. We could hear the bullets ricochet off its tough hide.
Eyelids of Morning is a book I received as a gift, when it first came out. Peter Beard was a really good photographer. His previous book, End of the Game, forecast what has happened in East Africa.
Eyelids of Morning is a book I received as a gift, when it first came out. Peter Beard was a really good photographer. His previous book, End of the Game, forecast what has happened in East Africa.
Orion
Well-Known Member
Also worth a read is the account in 'Leopards in the Night' by Guy Muldoon (his 'The Trumpeting Herd' is also one of my favourites).
He recalls an encounter with a professional croc skin harvester who, rather than use firearms, employed pick-axes and sledgehammers in netted water to achieve his cull!
My Dad actually helped quite a lot with End of the Game - he was working in Tsavo at the time, and quite a few of the aerial shots of elephant carcasses were taken from planes piloted by my father. I think they crashed one at one point.
I met Beard once, in the early 90s, when he still tried to maintain a bit of the bohemian life in a very chaotic, if extremely luxurious, faux tented camp in the Ngong Hills. He was a very odd mix of affected Great White Hunter, Warhol-esque artiste, New York aristocrat and lush. Lots of stunningly attractive ladies wearing very little and every narcotic and stimulant you could wish for. Sadly, I was only 13 and did not fully appreciate much of it! If I remember right, he made repeated passes at my mother, and he and my dad almost ended up in a fight.
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