14-foot-plus gator sets new record for Mississippi

Beast taken near Natchez in waters off the Mississippi River

Exactly one-half inch.

That’s all it took for Bryan Burnside and his team to etch their names into the Magnolia State’s record books when they harvested a giant 14-foot, ¾-inch gator early Monday morning near Natchez.

The beast set the new Mississippi state record for length by a half-inch over a 14-foot, ¼-inch gator taken on private land in 2015.

Burnside and his Muddy Water Maniacs, a team of alligator hunters from Rankin County, released two 11-foot-plus bulls earlier Monday before the third time was a charm with the 14-footer.

They were understandably secretive about disclosing the location where they located the big gator.

“Let’s just say it was on a body of water just off and connected to the Mississippi River near Natchez,” he said. “It’s the same place we caught a 12-8 last year. We didn’t even scout it this year. We’ve been there before and we knew a lot of big gators live there.”

For all the details on the big gator — and the brief scare they had when it made a beeline for their boat — click here and read the full story from our friends at Mississippi Sportsman.