Like others have said, bucket list go harpoon/x-bow and knife. SC and GA if you don’t mind waiting a few years to draw a better zone.
SC I believe you could use a rifle on a Landowner tag but I’m not positive. I went the harpoon method and if you think you can roll up on a big one that’s been hunted it’s not as easy as it sounds. We try keeping them on shore until we can harpoon but you don’t box in an 11’ gator easily. I had one charge the Jon Boat in the dark and head butt it nearly tossing me in off the front platform. I also had one 6-8’ above the water line jump in the water and just miss the boat. He caught a harpoon in the cheek and we got him.
4 years ago I passed an 11’ boat side in the daylight and got skunked. Then forgot the draw date a few years so I’m down points. 3 is pretty much a guarantee in SC unless your in the best zone. Then it’s still close.
GA I’ve also missed a few but points carry. Unfortunately it looks like it’s 8 points roughly to draw the zones I want.
Good luck and think of it as an experience not necessarily a hunt. My second time we hunted them more but mostly because the guide didn’t feel safe in an unknown lake with cypress stumps everywhere in the dark. The first hunt was over in a very eventful night. It’s sort of like fishing and hunting mixed.
I’d also ignore sizes on shows. Seeing an 11’+ in person the ones I saw on shows after didn’t appear close to the same size. There’s also a difference in a 5-700 lbs 12’ gator and a 3-400 lbs 12’ gator. Like deer or people they are pretty different.
The taxidermist cost is definitely a consideration. I have an 11’ Head with neck done by a very well know Taxi who happens to be in gator country so has had plenty of experience. It was $1500 ish IIRC. Hides of wild gators aren’t valuable but at that time they cost $2k ish for clothing tan. Taxi tan was $5-600ish. Now I’ve found Clothing tan is about what taxi tan cost me.
