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Python hunter: Miami man takes on Glades swamp serpents-judicious employment of a 12-gauge
miamiherald ^ | 08.08.09 | CURTIS MORGAN

Posted on 08/10/2009 12:12:52 PM PDT by JoeProBono

Nobody has killed more Burmese pythons in the Everglades than Bob Hill.

Long before the state launched its new python patrol, Hill was quietly -- aside from judicious employment of a 12-gauge -- racking up a count of constrictor carcasses likely to stand for some time.

The patrol has bagged six in three weeks. Hill figures he's ``dispatched'' 35 this year alone, and he's been in the dispatching business for the South Florida Water Management District since 2004.

That was the first time a rattled boss rang him from the L-67, a flood-control levee deep in the Everglades. Hill, a soft-spoken Miamian with a half-century of swamp savvy, chuckled recalling it.

``He said, `Bobby, I've got a snake here. It's as big as my truck.' ''

Some 300 pythons later, the side job has turned into full-time work. And Hill's uncanny nose for the giant snakes -- sometimes, he can literally smell them -- has turned the modest maintenance worker into not only the state's top exterminator of the exotic menace, but a leading authority on their habits....


TOPICS: Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: python; snake
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1 posted on 08/10/2009 12:12:52 PM PDT by JoeProBono
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To: JoeProBono

Taste like chicken?


2 posted on 08/10/2009 12:16:13 PM PDT by GulfBreeze (Palin 2012 - For The Change You Wanted!!!)
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To: JoeProBono

Bob has the right idea.


3 posted on 08/10/2009 12:16:43 PM PDT by WayneS (Respect the 2nd Amendment; Repeal the 16th)
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To: GulfBreeze

or dog, or cat, or goat or deer or child.....depends on what the heathon ate


4 posted on 08/10/2009 12:18:30 PM PDT by advertising guy (Consumer Of Confiscated Liquers Czar)
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To: JoeProBono

The state ought to pay a bounty, not by snake, but by the foot. i.e. 1 x 12’ foot snake = 2 x 6’. This approach emphasizes quantity and quality :-)


5 posted on 08/10/2009 12:20:13 PM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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To: JoeProBono
12 gague is greate, but I'd take a .357 as backup, and Buck 119 in case thing went really sour

6 posted on 08/10/2009 12:27:24 PM PDT by Spirochete (Texas is an anagram for Taxes)
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To: JoeProBono

OMG, Spatula City has a cousin! www.tongs.com too funny.


7 posted on 08/10/2009 12:32:14 PM PDT by NonValueAdded (Why Does Obama Want Health Care in 4 Weeks When it Took Him 6 Months to Pick a Dog?)
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To: Spirochete
Python v Python


8 posted on 08/10/2009 12:32:17 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: advertising guy

> ``A head shot is considered a humane way to euthanize them,’’ he said, and he can hit it with confidence anywhere inside 15 to 20 feet.”

Cool.


9 posted on 08/10/2009 12:33:12 PM PDT by max americana
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To: Joe 6-pack

With a prize for the biggest and the most every season.


10 posted on 08/10/2009 12:37:04 PM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (Nemo me impune lacessit The law will be followed, dammit!)
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To: mad_as_he$$


Looks like ol' Bob done shot his last python ...
11 posted on 08/10/2009 12:43:29 PM PDT by Scythian
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To: JoeProBono

No mention of what load he’s using, any ideas?


12 posted on 08/10/2009 12:44:23 PM PDT by Recon Dad ( MARSOC DAD)
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To: Recon Dad

Trade secret?


13 posted on 08/10/2009 12:53:49 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: Recon Dad

Depends on the choke. I would think something like a x-tra full turkey choke and a load of high brass #2’s would do the job.


14 posted on 08/10/2009 12:53:52 PM PDT by technically right
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To: All
Pet cat eaten by 13ft python Monday, August 10, 2009 7:09:36 AM · by Daffynition
15 posted on 08/10/2009 1:00:06 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: JoeProBono

I doubt seriously that a tricked out street gun is what is called for in the Glades. It no doubt requires a stock They can also double as a boat oar.


16 posted on 08/10/2009 1:05:41 PM PDT by billhilly
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To: Scythian

lol.


17 posted on 08/10/2009 1:20:10 PM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (Nemo me impune lacessit The law will be followed, dammit!)
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To: Recon Dad

article says No. 4 steel (duck load)


18 posted on 08/10/2009 1:20:38 PM PDT by TNMountainMan
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To: Recon Dad

The article said he uses #4 steel shot.


19 posted on 08/10/2009 1:20:43 PM PDT by Born Conservative (Working hard so those on public assistance don't have to.)
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To: Recon Dad

The article said he uses #4 steel shot.


20 posted on 08/10/2009 1:20:44 PM PDT by Born Conservative (Working hard so those on public assistance don't have to.)
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