Sellmark's Kevin Reese arranged an October alligator outing near Venice after the group left New Orleans. Kenzie Fitzpatrick, a competitive 3-gun athlete, and a companion hunter joined him; neither woman had pursued the reptiles before. Louisiana hosts the nation's biggest alligator numbers, exceeding two million, following a decade of protection starting in 1962, and now treats them as a managed renewable resource funded partly by licenses, with nonresidents needing a sport hunter permit plus a guide such as Walter Heathcock of Fin Twisters; legal options include lines, archery, and rifles but not shotguns.