[colt.45]

my papa has a lot of rattle snakes on his hundred acre wood that aren't exactly welcome, and me and my brother have sort of hunted them for the past 2 years or so.

i have always been the executioner and my brother has ben the guy that pins the head down. i have tried numerous ways of doing the dirty deed but i usually just found a rock or a good beatin stick to smash its head in. one time i just bent its head over backwards until its neck broke (i aint never doin that ???? again)

last time i went i took a thin fiberglass rod with a cordwrapped handle to just whack it with. it worked nicely but, i dont feel it has much power to it. i thought about getting a sjambok.

i guess im just trying to ask, what is a cool handheld weapon to dispatch snakes with

[hso]

Colton,

First off, how old are you? No offense, but it's terribly dangerous to use your bare hands to kill a rattle snake and bashing it with a rock in your hand is little better so I'm curious about your age and experience.

Second, why do they need killin? Have they harmed any of the livestock? Have they gotten into the buildings? Just 'cause they're snakes isn't a good enough reason and just 'cause they're rattle snakes isn't much better.

Third, if they do need killin' because they've gotten in the livestock or the buildings then the best thing is a long handled hoe. Pedestrian, plain, un-cool, but it has the two features needed for killing snakes. Reach to keep you away from the poison part and a sharp edge.

If you are actively hunting them you run the risk of being bitten. If you don't have a pressing need to do this I advise you to let the legless critters alone.

[middy]

Third, if they do need killin' because they've gotten in the livestock or the buildings then the best thing is a long handled hoe.
Hmmmm. I prefer a spade myself, less precision necessary. :D

Same idea, though.

[colt.45]

the reason is, they get under the house there and im not the only grand children that goes there. they're gettin into the pig pen too, the pigs usually end up steping on them but sometimes the snakes will kill a litle porker

i know i sound like a huge idiot with that post, but i do take precautions. i do it in the morning when its cold and they're just coming out to sun themselves, of you do it at this time they can barely moove, let alone produce a full strike, and i wear thick leather chaps

i agree, the time i broke its neck was VERRY stupid but thats what i was when i was twelve. im 15 now and i do have a king sake that will get aggressive sometimes so i guess i have some experience under my belt.

[TMM]

.38 revolver with shotshell loads...?

[JShirley]

He's 15.

I'd let them live, if I could. If I couldn't, I'd fry them. Ain't half bad.

John

[22-rimfire]

I would let them live unless they move into the yard. But, if you feel compelled to kill them, a wood staff works very well. A single sharp blow. Hit them behind the head and that's it. Breaks their spine.

Get your grandfather to loan you a 20 gauge shotgun as an alternative.

[Spot77]

I think we went over this about 6 months ago or so.....


Anyway, I got some of the .22lr shotshells for the Timber Rattlers up on Norton's land in West Virginia.

Many people said that the .22lr stuff was useless so I did a little patterning and penetration testing.

At 6 to 8 feet a .22 shotshell will fan out about 3 to 4 inches out of a Taurus Tracker 970 revolver with a 7" barrel. It will also penetrate both sides of a Pepsi can. I think I'm going to try it out on one of those squeeze tubes of caulk to get a more realistic idea of what it would do to a snake.

I certainly don't want to risk just making the snake mad. If it's in the cabin, it needs to be killed and I'd rather take it out from 6 feet away (I prefer 60 feet; I HATE snakes!) than to get close enough to beat it to death.

[ecos]

those poor, poor snakes :p im a big snake fan but rattlers tend to be nervous snakes, coupled with being venomous i will forgive you for killing them ;)

i agree with anything that keeps you at a distance. if the snake is 6 foot long and in striking position you want to stay at least 5-6 feet away since most snakes can strike up to 2/3 their body length. (i highly advise against grabbing a ruler to measure the critter to determine a safe distance)

also keep in mind most snakes venom sacs are located in or near its head, if you go for a head blow try not to get any venom sprayed into your eyes from the wound. this wouldnt be a big concern at a distance but up close with a rock/club maybe.

what type of kingsnake do you have? i used to own a speckled kingsnake...he was an angry little guy. ive also owned a ball python, red tailed boa(she was a little sweety), milksnake(not sure exactly which kind), and a bunch of garter snakes. my next snake will either be a rainbow boa or emerald tree boa.

[Ramius]

+1 on the advice to leave the critters alone unless absolutely unavoidable.

Like all other wild animals, they are not predisposed to hurt you. They'd rather retreat if possible, and will only strike if they feel threatened. Best way to get a snake bite is to corner one and try to kill it.

Btw if you do manage to reduce the reptile population, get ready for some rodents. They are hanging around because they can find food in the area. With no predators, mice, rats, and even rabbits can overpopulate like crazy.

Having said that, if you want to control the population, you said something about having a king snake. If that is true, you might want to find a few more and turn them loose to control the population the natural way. Kingsnakes are one of the few natural enemies of rattlesnakes, being imune to the venom and having a taste for any snakes smaller than themselves.

If you are going to kill them against the above advice, any of the other suggestions posted above will work. Be careful, if you are of smaller stature (and at age 15 I expect you are ) a bite from an adult could be the worst experence you've ever had.

Now if you ever need any advice on how to care for reptiles, let me know...

Pround member of the NC Herpetological Society since 1979....

[hso]

Ramius is correct. If you've got lots of snakes it's because they've got lots of prey like rodents. If you turn some bantys or guinea fowl out to eat the grain that the rodents are living on the rodent population will fall off and so will the rattlers. Add some king snakes and then whack any rattler that gets into the yard area and very shortly you won't have a rattler problem and you won't have any risk to yourself.

While a rattler is very unlikely to kill you the bite can leave a debilitating wound that could result in permanent impairment and your folks and grandparents wouldn't want that to happen. Besides, it's cheaper to get the guinea fowl to keep the rats down than pay for the ambulance ride and ER visit.

[colt.45]

he's a california king snake, hes realy aggressive to other people and sometimes me and realy likes to squeze the crap outa my arm. i knew that they eat other snakes but i never knew that they were immune to ratler poison.

were just trying to thin them out a little because of the younger grand children that go there. im the only person that goes there more than once a year so its not that big of a deal

[Boom-stick]

Back in the late '90's I worked on a ranch in North Carolina and used a ball point pen, sneak up on the snake and pin their neck to the ground, grab them behind the jaw, walk in the woods and throw them off as far as I could:)

This worked well until a vet was on site one day with a selection of captured snakes in his truck. The kids of the ranch owners were keen to point out the snakes they had seen me catching. The vet asked how I did this, then proceeded to tell me that I should use something bigger than a biro:what:

They looked like big worms to me:)
Never got bitten, but I did have one throw up on my arm, took about 4 days for the smell to go!!!