People ask me all the time why I catch pythons by hand instead of just walking up and shooting them or chopping them with a machete. It’s probably the most common question I get. And honestly, it’s a fair one. These are big, dangerous snakes. So let me break down exactly why catching pythons by hand is the only way I do it.
First, let’s talk about what people think is easy. Walking up to a Burmese python and putting a clean shot in the brain sounds simple enough. In practice, it’s a whole different story. These snakes are almost never sitting out in the open waiting for you. They’re usually half buried in the grass, coiled up under brush, or already in defensive mode and trying to strike the second you get close. Taking a shot under those conditions and hitting exactly the right spot is a lot harder than most people imagine.
And if you miss that mark? Now you’ve got a wounded snake that’s in pain, potentially thrashing, and harder to control than before. That’s not a situation I want to be in, and it’s not the right way to do it.
There are also animal cruelty laws to think about. I take those seriously. When I catch a snake by hand, I can get it under control, calm the situation down, and deliver a quick, clean kill. That’s the humane way to handle it. Wounding an animal and leaving it to suffer is not something I’m willing to do.
Then there’s the skin. Burmese python leather is valuable. These skins go into belts, boots, wallets, bags, all kinds of products. That’s a real part of how I make my living out here. The moment you start putting bullets or machete chops into a snake, you’re putting holes and cuts into your product. I’m not going to shoot up something that’s worth real money in the leather trade. That doesn’t make any sense.
So the process I use is pretty straightforward. I locate the snake, I get hands on it as fast as I can, I get it under control, and then I make a clean, quick kill once it’s secure. That’s better for the animal, better for the skin, and it keeps everything legal and above board.
Now, I’ll be honest about the last reason too. Catching these things by hand is a rush. Wrestling a twelve-foot python that doesn’t want to be caught is genuinely exciting in a way that just walking up and shooting one is not. It takes skill. It takes experience. It takes a willingness to get bit and scraped up and covered in swamp muck. That’s the part of this job I love.
If you’re not trained or not comfortable going hands-on with a python, I’m not telling you to do it that way. Get it out of the wild however you can. A dead python is better than one that gets away and keeps reproducing in the Everglades. But you’re not going to see experienced professional python hunters out here reaching for a gun when there’s a snake in front of them. We want to catch them. We want to feel the whole thing from the stalk to the grab to the finish.
That’s the job. That’s why I do it the way I do it.
