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DCP
05-30-2016, 05:37 PM
Ok, the wife is scared to death.

I am the hero. (That wont last for long)

I think it is a Prairie King snake ( I am going to tell her its a Copper Head)

Oh boy I am going to get lucky tonight.

OS OK
05-30-2016, 05:47 PM
169229169230
No copper head, they are quite different in shades of brown, very light to reddish brown and tan. I'm not aware of where you live but it looks at first glance like a mean spirited Water Moccasin.

MarkP
05-30-2016, 06:07 PM
Good Luck!

Riverpigusmc
05-30-2016, 06:08 PM
head doesn't look triangular enough for a cottonmouth (water moccasin)

Duckiller
05-30-2016, 06:10 PM
It should be a dead one. Your wife has the right attitude.

Taylor
05-30-2016, 06:14 PM
I think a cotton mouth or water snake,then we don't know your location.Look at it's eye's,(if it's dead).

rl69
05-30-2016, 06:34 PM
Rat / chicken snake

OS OK
05-30-2016, 06:39 PM
Rat / chicken snake

Dang good guess…I suppose what will tell us all is, "What color is inside it's mouth?"
Rat/Chicken snake---dark mouth interior
Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin---snow white inside

Alright…go kill that bugger and look in his mouth!

OS OK
05-30-2016, 06:49 PM
169235

I loged out just now and headed for the bathroom thinking about that dang snake and when I came through the hall door and caught this in my peripheral…well…I almost didn't need the bathroom anymore!

Hate snakes!

It's the belt off the wife's rain coat!

bubba.50
05-30-2016, 06:53 PM
I believe ILLinois was the last state to allow concealed carry? anyway, I'll cast my vote with the rat snake group. just be glad it wasn't the extremely deadly & dangerous Snow Snake. they're not poisinous but, they catch ya when yer sleepin', crawl up yer butt & freeze ya to death [smilie=1:.

Hogtamer
05-30-2016, 06:59 PM
Got a bird nest on top of one of the columns on that porch? If so he had eggs or bird for supper last night, a good ole rat snake.

DCP
05-30-2016, 07:03 PM
Well it is not Cottonmouth it was climbing up a 2ft high block next to the house and then down its crack sideways.
I am in Illinois

BK7saum
05-30-2016, 07:48 PM
Black rat snake aka chicken snake. We have a bunch of them here in Oklahoma.

458mag
05-30-2016, 08:24 PM
That looks like one of them long slithery kinds. What else is there?

DLCTEX
05-30-2016, 08:24 PM
Yes, agree rat or chicken snake. Good rodent catcher and will climb to raid bird nests, which they locate by the droppings under the nest.

Thumbcocker
05-30-2016, 08:31 PM
had a similar one here this spring. He did his best to convince us he was a rattler by whipping his tail in the grass. Harmless and eat lots of mice. Snakes are welcome at our place as long as they are non-venomous.

williamwaco
05-30-2016, 08:36 PM
+1 on rat snake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_rat_snake

farmerjim
05-30-2016, 08:38 PM
Not poisonous. Head is not triangular, and it is not a coral snake. All non venomous snakes are good.

Blackwater
05-30-2016, 08:51 PM
Yep. Chicken snake or rat snake, depending on where you are. Terminology varys by region. Don't remember genus and species, but there are local variations. They'll get lighter in light colored surroundings, and darker in darker surroundings. Yours seems to have been in some dark places. Under the house maybe, if it's built up on blocks? Is there a pond or low land nearby?

They're very harmless. Their tiny teeth won't hurt even if it bit you, but CAN cause infection because of what all they'll eat - rats and eggs are high on their menu. They're really your friend, if you have poisonous snakes like rattlers around. If they keep the mice eaten up well, you'll have many fewer rattlers intruding in your own little Eden. They're VERY efficient mousers! Better than any cat, by FAR! For one thing, they can get into places cats never will or can. And they're like the Eveready bunny, they just keep going and going until they track the scurrying little boogers down, and then, it's curtains. They also eat a lot of eggs, in season. I'm not sure what all they'll eat, but I doubt they turn much away.

He's really your friend. You can almost always tell the poisonous ones, except for the coral snake here in America, because the poisonous ones are all pit vipers, and have a slender neck with an outsized head that's roughly like a triangle with the point blunted severely. That big head houses the poison sacs where the poison is stored that they scrunch out through their fangs when they bite. Any snake that skinny and with that small a head, unless it's an escapee from a zoo or something, is non-poisonous, unless it's a coral snake, and you can tell those by their bright, banded coloration and black head.

I caught one of them once, while out squirrel hunting while Mom visited my eldest aunt, who was like the grandma to me that I never knew. I brought it back to the house wrapped around my arm with its head in my fist firmly, and you would NOT believe how those women reacted when I tried to show them my prize! I thought Mom was going to kill me with a broom handle but every time I raised the snake up, she'd back off! I narrowly escaped with my life! I think it took 3 weeks for Mom to forgive me for that one!

BNE
05-30-2016, 09:24 PM
Guys! Did you read his post? This is the poor guys chance to look like a hero to his wife!

DCP - That is he MEANEST, SCARRIEST Snake I have EVER seen!! I bet its venom could kill the entire town. It is absolutely amazing that you were able to kill it in time.

Let me know if that helped you out....

bbs70
05-30-2016, 10:04 PM
Don't like snakes.
Have a house in Mo, and this weekend I had to chase a black snake out of the kitchen.
At least I assume it was a black snake.
Its dead.

MtGun44
05-30-2016, 10:14 PM
Harmless. Look at the head. Maybe a variation of the rat snake, whatever,
not venomous.

Leave it be unless you like having rats and mice around.

I can't grasp the folks who kill harmless snakes - they mostly eat rodents which
cause us trouble, why kill them?

Bill

woodbutcher
05-30-2016, 10:16 PM
:twisted: Like an old gentleman that I used to work with said about snakes.There ain`t but four kinds that I`m scared of.
Big un`s
Little un`s
Live un`s
and Dead un`s
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

Ole Joe Clarke
05-30-2016, 10:17 PM
169235

I loged out just now and headed for the bathroom thinking about that dang snake and when I came through the hall door and caught this in my peripheral…well…I almost didn't need the bathroom anymore!

Hate snakes!

It's the belt off the wife's rain coat!

That was funny!

Leon

MaryB
05-30-2016, 11:39 PM
She would hate the 5' bull snake living in my backyard. I had to shoo him off the deck today where he was sunning.

corbinace
05-31-2016, 02:29 AM
Yep, I too leave the Bull snakes be. I do get a start every time I happen on one as we have Rattle snakes too. Pretty close in appearance when you are about to step on 'em. I usually leave them be as well. That is, unless my brides hears about it, then I bag it up and move him away to a safer hunting ground.

Lloyd Smale
05-31-2016, 04:18 AM
Yes sir!
It should be a dead one. Your wife has the right attitude.

winelover
05-31-2016, 07:02 AM
Plenty of black rat snakes in Arkansas. This one is ,at least, a well fed 6 footer. BTW, the missus found it and went back to get her camera.



169263169264


Winelover

Shepherd2
05-31-2016, 07:54 AM
It's a black rat snake. We used to have them and black racers in quantity near our farm house. I bought a "snake catcher" online and went to work. Caught about 3 dozen racers and rats in several weeks. I'd move them about 3 to 4 miles away and release them. Some evenings I'd have 3 or 4 in my cage to dump. Never got rid of all of them but I sure thinned the herd.

SeabeeMan
05-31-2016, 08:01 AM
As others have said, definitely not poisonous. Looks a lot like the black rat snake my brother had for years. Snakes are always welcome at my place, they save 22 ammo when I don't have to burn it on chipmunks.

tomme boy
05-31-2016, 08:03 AM
Sure looks like a Fox snake to me. They will rattle their tail in the grass to make you think they are a rattle snake.

Hardcast416taylor
05-31-2016, 11:04 AM
We worked a farm back in the late `50`s that was home to a literal `ton` of blue racers as we called them. They would chase after you and then run away when you chased them. We baled up alot of them in straw from wheat, about drove our livestock crazy with dead snakes in the bedding. As far as I`m concerned the only good snake is a dead snake! Maybe if you told her it is a python you could be lucky for a week or so longer?Robert

RPRNY
05-31-2016, 11:20 AM
We came across a rattler Sunday out with the dog. She has a weakness for snakes and gets too darned close for my liking but she knew the rattle was bad ju-ju and stayed out of range. Maybe she's getting smarter. It was well off the trail and content with a warning rattle rather than anything more aggressive so I let it be. I worry about the dog getting bit so carry a 45 revolver with snake shot loads but I won't kill a snake unless it's a real danger to the dog.

Mica_Hiebert
05-31-2016, 12:04 PM
That looks like one of them long slithery kinds. What else is there?

Poisonous (viper) and non... the 2 very distinctive classes determine how cautious one is around said slithery thing, theirs also the constricting variety but usually them big nuf you make you say noooooo noooooo noooooo. Don't think I'll kick him off the porch!

montana_charlie
05-31-2016, 01:10 PM
I'm not familiar with that particular species, but it is obviously harmless.
Is your wife afraid of mice, voles, rats, and other rodents?

That snake was helping to control their numbers ... until you became a hero.

DCP
05-31-2016, 01:15 PM
We have 2 18lb dogs soooooooo I wish i could of let it be

One is going blind the other fears nothing

MaryB
05-31-2016, 08:12 PM
I have gophers, the snake is always going down their holes thinning the population for me. Stray cats do the same. Dang gophers almost destroyed my garden one year until the snake showed up...

dtknowles
05-31-2016, 10:18 PM
I believe ILLinois was the last state to allow concealed carry? anyway, I'll cast my vote with the rat snake group. just be glad it wasn't the extremely deadly & dangerous Snow Snake. they're not poisinous but, they catch ya when yer sleepin', crawl up yer butt & freeze ya to death [smilie=1:.

Yukon Jack and Lime Juice will prevent the Snow Snake Freeze.

Tim

sparky45
05-31-2016, 10:28 PM
I agree, Rat snake. Doesn't look like it's eaten in a while.

fiberoptik
05-31-2016, 10:45 PM
Wifey screamed snake one in Yuma. Go in kitchen, see a pencil on the deck. Said to her "It's just a pencil!" Pencil moved! Took him out back where he was safe from spastic Mexican wimmins. Another time I was 12, grabbed a garter snake who bit me. Aunt raced me to the hospital with a turnicate on my arm. I did get a tetanus shot for it. Doc thought it was really funny too as I kept telling them it was a garter snake! We did fund a nice 10 ft. Rattler in 29 Palms during desert ops. Almost bit one of the guys with his pants down. Sure was a tasty morsel!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

bruce drake
06-01-2016, 08:47 AM
I don't like snakes but I don't kill the non-poisonous ones if I can help it. If I'm in the woods, I leave that section of the woods to them if I see one, if they are in the backyard and I recognize it as a NP snake it gets picked up and tossed over the fence. if its a Nasty one, it gets a load of shot.

jonp
06-01-2016, 08:53 AM
Rat snake. Dont kill it, they eat lots of vermin. I had one under my house in the dirt crawlspace last year over 3ft long. First year no mice

Ole Joe Clarke
06-02-2016, 12:59 PM
I know what kind of snake this one is: a good un. :-) A friend sent me these photos this morning and gave me permission to post them. He said it charged him, after he stopped running he came back a made a good snake out of him.

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler01_zps2ijkewo3.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler01_zps2ijkewo3.jpg.html)

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler02_zpscljveq2v.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler02_zpscljveq2v.jpg.html)

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler03_zpswyjvelnw.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler03_zpswyjvelnw.jpg.html)

14 rattlers and a button.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

Mtnfolk75
06-02-2016, 05:13 PM
I know what kind of snake this one is: a good un. :-) A friend sent me these photos this morning and gave me permission to post them. He said it charged him, after he stopped running he came back a made a good snake out of him.

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler01_zps2ijkewo3.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler01_zps2ijkewo3.jpg.html)

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler02_zpscljveq2v.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler02_zpscljveq2v.jpg.html)

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler03_zpswyjvelnw.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler03_zpswyjvelnw.jpg.html)

14 rattlers and a button.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

I came across a little 30"r yesterday, it had 7 rattles & a button. It was in the woods & didn't seem too disturbed, we in my Honda Pioneer 500 & the 11 year old Grand-daughter wanted to leave it be ...... :cry:

FWIW, I always carry a shot shell loaded revolver this time of year :Fire:

MaryB
06-02-2016, 11:34 PM
Lot of good eating there!



I know what kind of snake this one is: a good un. :-) A friend sent me these photos this morning and gave me permission to post them. He said it charged him, after he stopped running he came back a made a good snake out of him.

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler01_zps2ijkewo3.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler01_zps2ijkewo3.jpg.html)

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler02_zpscljveq2v.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler02_zpscljveq2v.jpg.html)

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/olejoeclark/Misc/Rattler03_zpswyjvelnw.jpg (http://s928.photobucket.com/user/olejoeclark/media/Misc/Rattler03_zpswyjvelnw.jpg.html)

14 rattlers and a button.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

facetious
06-04-2016, 04:50 AM
That was funny!

Leon


You want funny. get a rubber snake and tie it to a string and tie the other end to a door. When thy open the door it drags the snake with it, if you set it up to fall on them even better :twisted:.

Blackwater
06-04-2016, 02:50 PM
Ol' Joe, tell your friend who killed it to aim for the head next time, if at all possible. Shot in the head with a shotgun or a large caliber pistol, the venom sacs are pretty well emptied, and that makes it much "safer," comparatively speaking at least, should some hapless person come along and step on it and get a fang in them. Once you see them, they're really no longer a real danger. Sometimes, a well centered shot will take out the fangs, too, if they're not that large, but bigger snakes may take two shots, even with a big bore pistol. With a shotgun, just back off a few steps so the shot charge has time to spread out a little. 3 or 4 steps should do it. If you're gonna' kill them, it helps to do it more efficiently. I've come to a point where I don't kill any of them, unless they're near a home where kids toys indicate kids are at risk. They're no longer taught how to deal with them or to look out for them any more. So ones near them just have to go.

Preacher Jim
06-04-2016, 02:56 PM
that snake being he is in illinois is probably a local democrat that was looking for a vote

DCP
06-04-2016, 04:26 PM
that snake being he is in illinois is probably a local democrat that was looking for a vote

Mostly the snake was from Chicago. I could see a sticker that said Cook County

shaune509
06-04-2016, 07:50 PM
Just today I opened the walk in door of the shop and heard what I thought was an air leak, looked down and found a +4' bull snake. That sucker was very hard to cut with a shovel.
Shaune509

TXGunNut
06-04-2016, 08:49 PM
With all the rain & high water around here the last few weeks there have been lots of snakes showing up where they normally don't. I'm only fair at identifying pit vipers and occasionally err on the side of caution. I don't like any of them but will tolerate a varmint-eating snake in some situations.

MaryB
06-04-2016, 10:53 PM
Should have relocated him, they eat a LOT of rats and mice! Heck if he was comfortable in the shop I would have left him be, better than a cat no litter box to clean!



Just today I opened the walk in door of the shop and heard what I thought was an air leak, looked down and found a +4' bull snake. That sucker was very hard to cut with a shovel.
Shaune509

rondog
06-05-2016, 01:07 AM
Looks like about three 12gauge shells worth of snake to me.....

OS OK
06-05-2016, 01:19 AM
169581

I had already shot this fellas head off and cut off/buried it and was preparing to skin and tan it.
I thought that standing where it's head looked just under the thong would make a provocative picture.
Sent it in text to my daughter and she had a fit…thought it was live…thought I had been bit? I sorta wish I hadn't pulled the joke on her, it caused quite a stir.
It gives me the chills every time I look at it!

NavyVet1959
06-05-2016, 05:13 AM
I have to laugh at all the responses from the "manly men" who are afraid of a little ol' snake. I've yet to meet a snake (on land, at least) that couldn't be handled with a garden hoe or rake. :)

Riverpigusmc
06-05-2016, 08:04 PM
I leave the rattlers alone unless they wander into the clearing our house is in, or the woods closest, where my son and his mutt play. Coral snakes I kill on sight, they're deadly. And I kill cottonmouths just coz they're evil and will chase ya

gwpercle
06-09-2016, 01:35 PM
Not poisonous. Head is not triangular, and it is not a coral snake. All non venomous snakes are good.

I got a whupping for killing a king snake when I was a boy , Daddy explained how they kept the rat population in check around the barn and then taught me how to tell the poisonous snakes from the non-poisonous ones.... They got their place in nature. Funny how once you learn about snakes you no longer fear them.
Gary

Don Fischer
06-09-2016, 02:32 PM
In the interest of education I decided to look the snake up and find out what it really is. For those interested, it is described in my Funk and Wagnails as a "Damn Snake"!

Don Fischer
06-09-2016, 02:34 PM
I got a whupping for killing a king snake when I was a boy , Daddy explained how they kept the rat population in check around the barn and then taught me how to tell the poisonous snakes from the non-poisonous ones.... They got their place in nature. Funny how once you learn about snakes you no longer fear them.
Gary

I'm not afraid of any snake, not even a damn snake. I've got guns!

Bazoo
06-09-2016, 02:50 PM
It is a prairie kingsnake.

rondog
06-09-2016, 08:16 PM
I'm not generally afraid of snakes, as long as I see them from a safe distance first. Won't usually kill them either unless neccessary. Harmless snakes get left alone, rattlers can usually be caught and relocated.

Never seen a copperhead or coral snake.

Cottonmouths - they gotta die.

landy67
06-09-2016, 09:45 PM
Have you tried one of these? They aren't as scary as they look at first!
169873
... Unless you run across a 10Ga version. Those suckers are scary-large!

Oklahoma Rebel
06-11-2016, 04:42 PM
yep black rat snake, they eat our chicken eggs

Lance Boyle
06-16-2016, 11:40 AM
Looks similar to our northern water snake, they vary from near black to brown. They are just plain first letter of the alphabet holes. They're not poisonous but if you boat near them they will come on the attack to drive you off. Serious attitude problem. They do eat tons of bugs, rodents and even fish. I leave them alone.

We also have eastern milk snakes. I had one lady tell me they were poisonous and that it was an adder. She knew because she lived in the south once. ;-/

I live on the edge of eastern diamondback rattler territory so I don't presume until I get a good look. They pop up often enough 20-30 miles from their core mountain area.

Lance Boyle
06-16-2016, 11:49 AM
I have to laugh at all the responses from the "manly men" who are afraid of a little ol' snake. I've yet to meet a snake (on land, at least) that couldn't be handled with a garden hoe or rake. :)


yep, snake handling sticks are basically a golf club with a slightly longer shaft and a slim head. I actually did a one day training class on handling reptiles. The instructor brought some different snakes, non poisonous varieties, eastern and western rattlers, some evil green thing from Africa, a copper head. They were all pretty easily handled. The only one that was openly hostile was the western diamond back. They're way more antisocial than their eastern cousins. We were warned ahead of time. The snakes would get more and more agitated as each successive student picked them up and bagged them and then put them on the floor again for the next guy to practice. I was first up with the western when he was fresh and he was way worse than the agitated eastern rattlers. He attempted a strike right from the get go but I was using good technique; full arm extension and used the whole length of the stick keeping my body and feet well back out of striking range.

What will get you is the surprise or the deliberate messing with them.

Ole Joe Clarke
06-16-2016, 12:10 PM
Actually I believe in handling snakes, especially the rattlers, copperheads and such. The best method to handle one is some #8 shot in a .38 special "snake load." Most of the time it only takes one.

OS OK
06-16-2016, 12:47 PM
yep, snake handling sticks are basically a golf club with a slightly longer shaft and a slim head. I actually did a one day training class on handling reptiles. The instructor brought some different snakes, non poisonous varieties, eastern and western rattlers, some evil green thing from Africa, a copper head. They were all pretty easily handled. The only one that was openly hostile was the western diamond back. They're way more antisocial than their eastern cousins. We were warned ahead of time. The snakes would get more and more agitated as each successive student picked them up and bagged them and then put them on the floor again for the next guy to practice. I was first up with the western when he was fresh and he was way worse than the agitated eastern rattlers. He attempted a strike right from the get go but I was using good technique; full arm extension and used the whole length of the stick keeping my body and feet well back out of striking range.

What will get you is the surprise or the deliberate messing with them.

I've watched the TV programs where 'manly' men trample through thigh high bush looking for a big poisonous example to handle on camera. They wear their cute little African Safari shorts and Aussie hat and cool lace up semi ankle boots, they have their cute crooked sticks...
I get about 5 minutes into this inane act and am 'consumed with the thought'..."What the hell are they thinking!"

Butler Ford
06-16-2016, 01:00 PM
Without a doubt that is the rare Copper headed Rattle Moccasin!!! You should get lucky for a week after removing that horrific reptile!!!

BF

ole 5 hole group
06-16-2016, 01:15 PM
Like you BF, I hope the guy got luck for a week!