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shootin rattlesnakes?

D

DonTreadOnMe

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2008
Messages
454
Location
Near The Beach, Virginia, USA
imported post

LovesHisXD45 wrote:
marshaul wrote:
DonTreadOnMe wrote:
I am all for hunting....but testing your ammo? *sigh*

Crap like that under minds our argument that gun owners/hunters help with conservation and actually value wildlife.

:X
Click to expand...

I'm all for having a reason before you shoot an animal, but what better reason is self-defense? I'm not a skilled snake-handler, so if I come across a poisonous snake I'd like to have a round or two of snake shot ready to go. Doesn't mean I'll use it, but I don't particularly want to take any risks either.

What's your problem anyway? Nobody here is talking about killing animals for fun. Having you posting this nonsense undermines (get it, "under mine"? Make sense now?) valid self-defense.
Click to expand...
+1 :) I was camping with my dad in one of the canyons one time. On our way back to camp, we cam across a huge rattler. He was curled up next to a rock and was blocking our path back to camp. It was a transverse trail with dropoff on one side and steep incline on the north side. There was no way around this snake, and he was way pissed off. I had my 45 on me and was debating wether to "terminate the threat", but my dad laughed at me and looked around and found a fairly long branch a little ways back on the trail. When we got back to the snake, he started rattling again and gettin all riled up, so my dad slowly pushed at the snake with the stick. After about 30 seconds of gettin harassed by the stick, the snake had his fill and slithered off the trail and down the mountain.

Moral of this story. I don't think either of us were wrong or right on how the situation was handled. His way, the snake lived, my way, and the snake is toast. My dad simply had a quicker thought process than I did and obviously more sensible way to handle it. Had I been alone, and the fear I felt in the moment, I would have just shot the snake.

This just goes to show that different people handle situations different ways, and nobody is always correct or wrong. The situation and the person and their response to said situation determines everything. I learned a lesson that day though. I no longer think about using deadly force against a rattler when I run into them now. I just look around for a big long stick if I can't go around them. :)

Kevin
Click to expand...
Wise and thoughtful man! ...wise lesson, and not just for dealing with snakes.
 
S

scorpioajr

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
1,387
Location
Eagle Mountain, Utah, USA
imported post

DonTreadOnMe wrote:
LovesHisXD45 wrote:
marshaul wrote:
DonTreadOnMe wrote:
I am all for hunting....but testing your ammo? *sigh*

Crap like that under minds our argument that gun owners/hunters help with conservation and actually value wildlife.

:X
Click to expand...

I'm all for having a reason before you shoot an animal, but what better reason is self-defense? I'm not a skilled snake-handler, so if I come across a poisonous snake I'd like to have a round or two of snake shot ready to go. Doesn't mean I'll use it, but I don't particularly want to take any risks either.

What's your problem anyway? Nobody here is talking about killing animals for fun. Having you posting this nonsense undermines (get it, "under mine"? Make sense now?) valid self-defense.
Click to expand...
+1 :) I was camping with my dad in one of the canyons one time. On our way back to camp, we cam across a huge rattler. He was curled up next to a rock and was blocking our path back to camp. It was a transverse trail with dropoff on one side and steep incline on the north side. There was no way around this snake, and he was way pissed off. I had my 45 on me and was debating wether to "terminate the threat", but my dad laughed at me and looked around and found a fairly long branch a little ways back on the trail. When we got back to the snake, he started rattling again and gettin all riled up, so my dad slowly pushed at the snake with the stick. After about 30 seconds of gettin harassed by the stick, the snake had his fill and slithered off the trail and down the mountain.

Moral of this story. I don't think either of us were wrong or right on how the situation was handled. His way, the snake lived, my way, and the snake is toast. My dad simply had a quicker thought process than I did and obviously more sensible way to handle it. Had I been alone, and the fear I felt in the moment, I would have just shot the snake.

This just goes to show that different people handle situations different ways, and nobody is always correct or wrong. The situation and the person and their response to said situation determines everything. I learned a lesson that day though. I no longer think about using deadly force against a rattler when I run into them now. I just look around for a big long stick if I can't go around them. :)

Kevin
Click to expand...
Wise and thoughtful man! ...wise lesson, and not just for dealing with snakes.
Click to expand...
So now i have to carry my gun AND a big stick? Aww maaan.. 'Disturbing The Peace', here i come.
 
D

DonTreadOnMe

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2008
Messages
454
Location
Near The Beach, Virginia, USA
imported post

ProtectedBy9mm wrote:
DonTreadOnMe wrote:
LovesHisXD45 wrote:
marshaul wrote:
DonTreadOnMe wrote:
I am all for hunting....but testing your ammo? *sigh*

Crap like that under minds our argument that gun owners/hunters help with conservation and actually value wildlife.

:X
Click to expand...

I'm all for having a reason before you shoot an animal, but what better reason is self-defense? I'm not a skilled snake-handler, so if I come across a poisonous snake I'd like to have a round or two of snake shot ready to go. Doesn't mean I'll use it, but I don't particularly want to take any risks either.

What's your problem anyway? Nobody here is talking about killing animals for fun. Having you posting this nonsense undermines (get it, "under mine"? Make sense now?) valid self-defense.
Click to expand...
+1 :) I was camping with my dad in one of the canyons one time. On our way back to camp, we cam across a huge rattler. He was curled up next to a rock and was blocking our path back to camp. It was a transverse trail with dropoff on one side and steep incline on the north side. There was no way around this snake, and he was way pissed off. I had my 45 on me and was debating wether to "terminate the threat", but my dad laughed at me and looked around and found a fairly long branch a little ways back on the trail. When we got back to the snake, he started rattling again and gettin all riled up, so my dad slowly pushed at the snake with the stick. After about 30 seconds of gettin harassed by the stick, the snake had his fill and slithered off the trail and down the mountain.

Moral of this story. I don't think either of us were wrong or right on how the situation was handled. His way, the snake lived, my way, and the snake is toast. My dad simply had a quicker thought process than I did and obviously more sensible way to handle it. Had I been alone, and the fear I felt in the moment, I would have just shot the snake.

This just goes to show that different people handle situations different ways, and nobody is always correct or wrong. The situation and the person and their response to said situation determines everything. I learned a lesson that day though. I no longer think about using deadly force against a rattler when I run into them now. I just look around for a big long stick if I can't go around them. :)

Kevin
Click to expand...
Wise and thoughtful man! ...wise lesson, and not just for dealing with snakes.
Click to expand...
So now i have to carry my gun AND a big stick? Aww maaan.. 'Disturbing The Peace', here i come.
Click to expand...

Ok, now that is funny! But, humor aside... Look at LoveshisXD45's father story. I for one would settle for adding his fathers sensible, thoughtful and wise mentality to what one should carry with oneself.

Most of the time, simply walking around the animal is all that is needed.
 
T

Triathlon

New member
Joined
Sep 4, 2008
Messages
4
Location
, Utah, USA
imported post

I went on a walk about exactly a week ago just before sundown. I was visiting family out in the Ranches. On my way back I saw a rattler about 18" long on the sidewalk. This was right in the middle of a subdivision, although it was right next to a large drainage area with lots of weeds.

It was dusk and the snake was probably warming itself on the concrete.I'm really glad that I even saw the snake and I had no idea what kind of snake it was at first. That would have been bad if I had stepped on it, but it moved quickly enought that I probably would not have stepped on it even if I didn't know it was there. As I got closer it moved across the ground between the sidewalk and the road, and then I stopped to see what type of snake it was, and it went down in the gutter and then stopped on the pavement. Once it got in the gutter I was able to see that it was a rattler.

I mentioned it to someone on the Ranches Home Owners Association and have not heard much since, but I think that the HOA will contract for snake pest control for that particular drainage area, given the close proximity to many small children who live close by and other children who play in that drainage area. He said the last time he'd heard of rattlers spotted in the Ranches was about seven years ago.

If you leave them alone they will try to get away from you. If you surprise one and it has no way of escape, well, I think you will get bit before you can draw a gun.


Edit: The snake never made that rattle sound. It was quiet.
 
L

Loneviking

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
344
Location
Carson City, Nevada, USA
imported post

Usually there's no need to kill them. I caught one that was around 18 inches at my house a few weeks back. Stuffed him in a box and took him a few miles away to a 'natural area' and turned him loose.

You have to watch out for the big rattlers though. They can strike up, at your face. I've seen a six footer, all curled up, strike up almost 5 feet. That's the reason you approach these guys with a loooong stick. Once you get 'em stretched out, then they can't do that!
 
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