Alco Air Boss Chaos
Alco .457 Big Bore Pellet Goes to Puerto Rico Alco Bullets received a surprise call about our .457 Air Boss pellets recently. The big bore slugs were designed for accuracy and hunting in North America. Not once did we think someone would find a purpose for them eradicating caimans and feral pigs in Puerto Rico. Non-native caiman and pigs are wreaking havoc across the U.S. Territory.
All In to Help
Two PCP big bore Alco .457 pellet customers, Robert and Fred, are a hunting team in Puerto Rico referred to help a new owner get rid of the caimans on property that was abandoned for thirty years. The property is being developed as nature get away, but the development work had stopped out of fear of the caimans. Caimans are known to travel in groups and are more aggressive than alligators, especially if they feel threatened. The males can grow to be 13 feet long and the larger specimens have been known to attack people. The owner contacted a local gun store and asked if they knew anyone to help them. The store owner suggested they reach out to Fred for a solution. Fred and Robert partnered up a few years ago to help out some area farmer friends with the invasive green iguanas. It was a natural
progression of break barrel airguns to PCP for iguanas, then to big bore airguns for feral pigs. They view this as a team effort and seldom go out alone and work under the idea of take your shot, but if you miss it’s game on for both as these are invasive species that create a tremendous amount of damage and need to be removed.
Caiman Hunting Challenge
Fred is an entrepreneur and has his own business in Puerto Rico. Fred has been an avid hunter since age six and is originally from Virginia. He did some research learning where and how to shoot gators ethically and worked to approach safely to get a little closer with an airgun versus a rifle for good results. He said
the challenges were with a range finder which doesn’t work well in water environments. Thus, you need to have a pretty good awareness of the range that comes with experience. The most recent pig the team took down was the largest one they have seen. As the backup shooter Fred said, “The shot is a complete
pass through the double lung and a second double lung that was just under the hide from passing through. The hog dropped ten yards from the second shot. 357 pounds, so the pellets work even if you can't get a headshot. Thanks for making a great slug. ”Robert, shown with the caiman that they shot was born in Louisiana and had experience hunting alligators while living in the states. After being in the military, he married and moved to Puerto Rico to raise his family.
The team has started a YouTube channel, Lens and Lead, which has lots of iguana hunting and some of the caiman hunting. As a new channel, improvements come with each video that is created and the team plans to keep developing and improving the content. Alco Bullets appreciates Fred and Robert for sharing their hunting experiences with us and wish them well as they continue to help with Puerto Rico’s growing problems.