1 less rattlesnake!

[murf205]

While scouting out some new hunting ground, I found out the answer to how effective a 44 loaded with home made #8 shot capsules. Not a monster but I sure wouldn't want to step on him in the early morning going to the stand.Attachment 319067

[Grayone]

Good deal. He would have to go. Non poisonous would get a pass.

[murf205]

Yep, that's the way I see it. I never kill a King snake but the other black ones (Moccasins) get the same treatment as the guy above. I was always wondering how effective these shot loads were and believe me, they do the trick at 10'.

[KenH]

My Mama always felt the only good snake was a dead snake. Sadly that also applied to ALL snakes, not just the poisonous snakes.

[Rockindaddy]

We have the Northern Diamondback's in Pennsylvania. Many years ago growing up there were rattlesnake hunts to get as many out of the woods. Since the snake feeds primarily on rodents mainly mice we have had a large increase in Lyme disease. The mouse is the carrier of the Lyme disease. The ticks that are carried by the mice infect them. Farmers, woodsman, gardeners, loggers and people that spend alot of time outdoors are most likely to come in contact with a Lyme tick. My neighbor and his family raised a large flock of sheep. Richard contracted Lyme and it went undetected for a long time. It altered his life as the disease progress until it was finally detected. Yeah Hog snakes, Black and King snakes really reduce the mice population but the mass killing of rattlesnakes has greatly allowed the Lyme disease carrying mice to proliferate this terrible disease. I have had to take a couple two week doses of Doxicycliene after a big red bullseye appeared after getting bitten by a Lyme tick. Yeah I am careful where I walk in the woods not to stumble upon a Timber rattler and always check for a tick that may have hitched a ride on me. But look out for the red bullseye at the bite site! Time to get to the doc and get a scrip for Doxicycliene. Think about that next time you blast a snake!!!

[MrWolf]

Anytime man tries to adjust nature to suit him it seems to backfire as we just can't see the bigger picture nor how other things interact. Just an observation.

[Winger Ed.]

Yeah. Hate to see it go to waste:
I never cared much for eating them. They remind me of chewing on a wet paper towel.
However- Hopefully there's enough left to make a nice hat band or something.

[dale2242]

I used to kill every rattle snake I saw.
I no longer do unless they are around small children or pets.
They eat mice and are very important dealing with the mouse population.
No, I am not a Greenie, I'm a retired logger.

[murf205]

"Think about that next time you blast a snake!!!" I will, right before I blast a venomous snake. I said previously that I never kill King Snakes or any other non poisonous snake. Thanks for the advice.

[elmacgyver0]

I don't bother snakes, and they don't bother me.
Of course, if I were up to my fanny in them, I might see things differently.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Congratulations, Murf--- one more victory in the ages-old animosity between mammals and reptiles! Seems like an increase in venomous snake bites in the news lately.

DG

[TNsailorman]

I live in a semi populated area and I haven't seen a poisonous snake in years. The last one was a dead copperhead that someone had ran over and killed and then threw it up on the bank of my yard. Its head was mashed flat but I threated it with caution anyway. I put it in a bag in the trash. Any poisonous snake that shows up in my neighborhood will die quickly. Too many children around here to take any chances. Out in the boonies is another matter. I have ran into rattlesnakes and copperheads while squirrel hunting and let them be, but that was in the mountainous areas of east Tennessee. james

[WILCO]

Great job Murf!!!!!!!!!

[T-Bird]

I killed a juvenile copperhead, in my yard a couple years ago. I didn't have a safe means to move him to a different location from my neighborhood. Other than that, I don't kill snakes, If I'm in a place that venomous snakes might be, not near pets, children, ( the woods). I watch for them so I don't step on them an surprise them into biting me. They would much rather use their venom on prey that they can eat (which is what it's for) than for defensively biting me for stepping on their tail.

[Texas by God]

I guess that one of the cats killed the foot long little rattlebug that Mama found in the yard last week.
I’ll feed them a bit more meowmix for policing the area….


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[Baltimoreed]

I’ve killed more moccasins than anything else on my property in eastern NC.

[triggerhappy243]

I also make my own 44 mag snake shot loads.

[762 shooter]

Copperhead + Dog = $1800.00
Copperhead + Child = $11,000.00.
Copperhead in yard = dirt nap.

762

[1006]

I kill poisonous snakes whenever they appear if I have the tools-shotgun is preferred. Maybe the non poisonous snakes can thrive in the space left behind by the dead ones.

[firefly1957]

It is actually a crime to shoot any snake here in Michigan you can destroy them by other means but not shoot them .
I pretty much leave snakes alone we do have what everyone else calls Pigmy Rattlers my last dog was bitten by one though the ear most of the poison was down his face ,he was still sick for three weeks . The fangs were 1/2" apart the dog only weighed 30 pounds at the time . Several times after that he had a leg swell while chasing chipmunks in a rock pile .