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Post by serialsolver on May 10, 2012 21:25:37 GMT -5
I was pulling up weeds in the flower bed/garden today and almost pulled up a copperhead. I always carry a shot shell in my quickstrip. Now I carry two shot shells and may start taking a j frame loaded with shot shells to pull weeds with.
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Post by mike257 on May 12, 2012 22:24:15 GMT -5
Sixgunn the snake is still alive in the first photo ? I dont know how you do it man Im freaked out just by the photo. Im not sure what I would do if I saw that in person. I definitely would not feel comfortable with anything less than a 12 guage .
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Post by steveb on May 14, 2012 7:43:34 GMT -5
They are much scarier when you hear them buzzing, but can't see them ! You have to wait a second to get a direction on'em, before you can take a quick step away. I found one here in NE Ohio, in my flower bed, one of the Pygmy ones. Was riding the ATV trails at camp in Penn woods and heard one so loud, I heard it over the Honda's motor and stopped to find it. Found it right next to the trail, within reach of my left foot/ankle ! Had another come up thru a knot hole in the porch floor at camp and pin me in the corner. steve b
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Post by sixgunnn on May 14, 2012 19:32:00 GMT -5
Nope after seeing how dangerous RS are I do not now nor would I ever again touch a live one. When I was young and stupid I touched one or two and somehow didn t get bite. Which was not through any great brilliance of my own let me tell you.
We have six different kind of snakes here I know of. Seems to go about 45 % bull snake 45% Rattle snake and 10% are a combination of hognose, blue racer, garter and king snake. Who da thunk so many snakes unless you were in the far south.
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Post by dlhredfoxx on May 15, 2012 9:29:45 GMT -5
Viper class snakes must definitely be taken seriously as they are very dangerous. Growing up in Texas and spending as much time outdoors as I have, I've had a lot of encounters with venomous snakes. Here in Texas we have Western Diamondback ratters, Copperheads, Cottonmouths (aka Water Moccasins) and even Corral Snakes along the coastal areas. I've had the unfortunate luck to have been struck three times. Twice by rattlers and once by a Copperhead. Only one of the bites was serious (by the Copperhead) which bit me on the end of my big toe while I was fishing (barefooted no less). I was lucky enough to get to the hospital and have anti venom treatments done quickly to prevent any long term tissue damage but I got very sick and the area around the bite was very painful for weeks. My entire foot was swollen up like a football for days after. The rattler bites were on snake boots so I was able to walk away without injury. Not to mention the dozens of close calls with them over the years. Nothing like having one start to rattle at you in the dark when you can't see 'em. I don't hunt anywhere in the Western part of the state regardless of the season without snake boots or chaps on... they love to come out after dark and curl up in the middle of roads to soak up the heat. I know that this may not be a popular thing to say but I don't leave any venomous snakes alive that I happen to encounter... just too plentiful and dangerous here.
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Post by redlevel42 on May 20, 2012 23:02:18 GMT -5
I have bird dogs, so I kill any venomous snakes I see on my place. Even though the Tall Timbers Research people have determined that snakes of any kind are the number one nest robbers of quail, I don't kill non-venomous snakes. I must have let 100 common King Snakes go unharmed in the last few years. Here is a Timber Rattler I killed right out my back door a few years back. A year earlier, I had killed its twin literally stretched across the bottom step on the porch stairs. Three-inch .38 special j-frame with CCI snake loads. About 10-12 feet.
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Post by Boge Quinn on May 21, 2012 7:11:44 GMT -5
Remember, guys, I'm always looking for another set of rattles to drop into a geetar or mandolin!
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Post by whitworth on May 21, 2012 10:15:46 GMT -5
I ran into this guy this last weekend in North Carolina. Not the friendliest fella...... ;D
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Post by bigboredad on May 21, 2012 10:18:56 GMT -5
great now I'm going to have nightmares them pictures are a little to close for me
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Post by whitworth on May 21, 2012 10:19:49 GMT -5
great now I'm going to have nightmares them pictures are a little to close for me Haha! Just keep a revolver nearby! ;D
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robl
.375 Atomic
These were the good ole days!
Posts: 1,415
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Post by robl on May 21, 2012 11:11:01 GMT -5
I doubt many folks have seen the long terms results of a snake bite or been struck & missed, as I have , or watched a beloved dog die in agony... They are vermin. No hand wringing on the Simply Rugged Ranch when it comes to eradication of poisonous snakes.
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Post by Markbo on May 21, 2012 13:18:47 GMT -5
Snakes - like all of God's creatures - have their place in the world. While potentially dangerous, they are not mean. They have no plan or intent to harm people. It is people who appear intent on harming them that causes them to do what they do to protect themselves.
I have never seen any snake on THIS continent chase after a person and I have been personally catching snakes of all kinds (including rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads) since I was a child. I caught my first live RS at about 7 and have caught & handled dozens and dozens. I have killed exactly 2 in my life. One as a boy with a BB gun and another at about 30 that was hidden in some thigh high grass, rattling loudly and I could not see him until he rose to strike at me.
It wasn't the snakes fault. I was peeing on him!
I am not a rancher and I don't live where they come into my home so when I see them, they get a pass unless they are in or around the deer camp trailer and if one of the other more paranoid members don't try to kill them I will still try to move them. I have never moved one and seen it come back.
Having said all this, if any children or pets are in the picture, all bets are off. They are dead.
Beautiful, intriuging and fascinating creatures. Hell I've been hurt worse catching a squirrel than by any snake I've ever handled. Not to minimize the risk... they can harm you. But they do not hate you.
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Post by Boge Quinn on May 21, 2012 14:29:45 GMT -5
Absolutely correct - they are just doing their snaky jobs, and taking care of themselves. No meanness, just being what God made them to be.
Just as we're doing OUR jobs when we protect our kids/livestock/pets from them. I've never killed a snake out of meanness, and I like to see the non-poisonous variety around the place, doing their snaky jobs and killing vermin. I will tolerate poisonous snakes as long as I don't see any, and I will welcome non-poisonous snakes as long as they stay out of the house. If a poisonous snake gets close enough for me to see it, I will kill it. If a non-poisonous snake gets in the house, I will escort it outside. No meanness, just being what God made me to be.
When I do kill a rattler (which is VERY rare, as I just don't see 'em much near me), I do them the ultimate honor of dropping their rattles into a prized instrument.
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Post by bigboredad on May 21, 2012 19:06:48 GMT -5
I might be able to out run that turtle but only on a good day. I better start saving for a .50 sumpthin
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Post by toroflow on May 21, 2012 19:54:44 GMT -5
I might be able to out run that turtle but only on a good day. I better start saving for a .50 sumpthin Yeah, that turtle's shell might be a match for Whit's .500 max and bounce the slugs off!!!
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