Iguana hunt in Puerto Rico

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echochap

Member
Apr 1, 2015
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MN, United States
Just finshed up day one of an iguana hunt in Puerto Rico, I shot between 80-100 and there were six of us behind the trigger(s). I'm here for Predator Xtreme and Airgunner (UK) with the editors of Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, Peterson's Hunting, and NRA American Hunter. These guys are being blown away by airguns and the effectiveness on this quarry. We're shooting Hatsan Carnivores in .30 and .35, though I've also been using the AT 44 in .22 with H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme and it's a great combo for head shooting these lizards that go up to 5 ft and over 20 lb. Using JSB .30's and the Grizzly .35 in the Carnivores.

If there are any herpetologist and lizard lovers out there, I'm one of you. But they estimate there is a population right now of 8 million green iguanas on the island (only 4 million people). The lay around 50 eggs up to three times per year so the problem is growing exponentially. And there are no natural predators.... only people with airguns :) . Tomorrow we'll be having a reptile grill out at the farm!
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echochapI'm here for Predator Xtreme and Airgunner (UK) with the editors of Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, Peterson's Hunting, and NRA American Hunter. These guys are being blown away by airguns and the effectiveness on this quarry.
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Jim, it's great to hear those media representatives are seeing first hand how modern, mid-bore airguns perform in hunting five foot long critters. IMO such exposure will help to promote airgunning and may in time influence U.S. states to include airguns as legal means of taking game in hunting regulations. Bob
 
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The Grizzly pellets are .356 and Hatsan told me the barrels they have on the Carnivore are optimized for a .356 projectile. I received the pre-release pellet from H&N and my Recluse, the RAW 1000, the Sniper (rifle or carbine) and the Crosman Bulldog did not like them at all. But I have to say that we were all nailing iguanas fro 20-70 yards with them. Between my experience and what I'd been reading had lost interest in them, but need to go back with a production batch and try them out again!
 
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"echochap"The Grizzly pellets are .356 and Hatsan told me the barrels they have on the Carnivore are optimized for a .356 projectile. I received the pre-release pellet from H&N and my Recluse, the RAW 1000, the Sniper (rifle or carbine) and the Crosman Bulldog did not like them at all. But I have to say that we were all nailing iguanas fro 20-70 yards with them. Between my experience and what I'd been reading had lost interest in them, but need to go back with a production batch and try them out again!
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No these guys are really having a problem. I talked to an old farmer who said he can't grow anything because of the iguanas. He said the only thing he had to fight them was his dog. We shot a few hundred on one 200 acre farm and they were still everywhere. The guy that shoots over this farm told me he has taken many hundred from this farm and everytime ghe goes out it seems there are just as many.
 
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"blackdiesel"So the Grizzly pellets actually shoot well in the Hatsan? Everyone who used them in Korean guns reported they performed horribly. I hope you have some video of this hunt. BTW your pictures not showing up here, I saw them on FB and there are some big lizards.
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I agree, these guys are all saying that they believe airguns are an up and coming segment of the shooting and hunting sport. Out of this trip there will be several articles in all the mainstream hunting magazines and one of the major TV shows highlighting how effective airguns are for depredation hunts.
 
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Iguana is very lean meat as well. Also known in Costa Rica as chicken of the trees. There were so many iguanas harvested in the '70s and 80's that their numbers were quite low. If memory serves the government helped organize iguana farms with a goal of providing meat, skin and replenishing the numbers. Now rafting on some rivers you can see plenty of the males turquoise faces bobbing from prominent tree branches. When I lived there I always wanted to eat some but never got around to try it. 
 
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With that population growth I’m fussing they were introduced? What else are they doing to control them? Hopefully it’s more than just airgun. -KzooRichie

Sounds like an opportunity for a new twist to Eco-tourism... Eco pellet depredation tours. Pay to stay at a nice resort and then shoot pestilential iguanas to save local farmers from devastation. At the banquet each night the tourists could watch the through-scope videos of the day's hits. Awards could be given out during dessert for the highest count, the longest shot... Nothing but opportunity! I'll go. It sounds like fun even if I did just think of it. 
 
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Eco-tourism is a great idea. The fact that hunters and other outdoorsmen were the original conservationalists is lost on many.

A way to bring $ to an economy in desperate need and help controll a non-native invasive species. Win-win. Also, as an American territory I'd expect (just guessing here) that bringing a weapon is far less hassle than a foreign nation.
 
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