best choice for rattlesnakes?

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cpileri

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Planning to move to the Killeen TX region, although still waiting for the actual orders!
I hear there are LOTS of rattlesnakes and i have small kids, and their grandmother wont visit unless i can reassure her of a dwindling snake population.
I will ;live in the unincorporated areas of the place- maybe harker heights or morgan's point, not sure yet.
So i believe it is legal to discharge a firearm on your own property.
How about a .410 for rattlers? any other rec's?
a quiet 22? high velocity pellet gun?
Thanks
C-
 
A shovel.

Actually I have no experience with rattlesnakes, just copperheads which they say are much tamer. In all honesty I don't know if there's anyway to kill any snake DRT(hand grenade?). They have such a primitive nervous system that they keep functioning for hours after death, my neighbor describes her husband squealing in fright when he was struck by a rattlesnake that had been beheaded and partially skinned and was in the kitchen sink.

I think the best you can hope to do is either behead it so it has no means of delivering venom or if you're just on a rattlesnake killin' mission shoot it from afar and don't be surprised if it slithers away despite you're emptying your gun into it.

I've blasted chicken snakes clean in two with a 410 than kept coiling up and striking for a long time after they had to have been dead.
 
The latest I killed a buzz tail last year was December 2 and I've already dispatched one early this month. I only kill ‘em if they’re around my house or where I’m working; not if they’re just out in the boonies eating mice and enjoying themselves. I probably take out a half dozen a year or so. I use a hoe. Shovel’s good. Ya don’t need to shoot ‘em and you don’t need to kill everyone you see, only the ones that are really a potential threat.
Have fiun.
 
It takes a little fabrication, but what you need is an old lawn mower tractor.Thinking around a 16 horse,12 minimum. You will need some good ATV tires off at least a Polaris Sportsman 500 for ground clearance, at least a 48in. blade deck with about 24in height adjustment. A good hydrostatic transmission. Then you mount a 410ga. to the right side of the hood and oh, how about a Hipoint 9mm carbine to the left. Ofcourse, swivel mounts would be used. With a few adjustments here and a tweak there you will have a snake killing machine.Locate,fire, and drop the deck for the finish. Good Luck !!!! :cool:
:uhoh:
 
Keep your yard mowed and your bushes trimmed up off the ground. Keep any trash waiting to go to the dump such as old tires buckets or whatever well away from the house too, and they just wont have any reason to be near you. They like cool and damp shade in the summer so don't give them any near the house.
 
Flamethrowers work well if you can find their dens. I'd still have my trusty Mossberg 500A with rec shot and some sort of polearm for single snakes. Long shovels with a sharp edge make a good polearm, they don't damage that easily and slice well. I hate rattlers and copperheads. Copperheads are more of a problem in my area :fire:
 
Snakeshot in .38 works well for close encounters as does .410

For quiet defense use a shovel. Just remember not to get too close.

Keep the weeds down around the house, fence and yard. Rattlers will look for shaded areas during the day so try to eliminate that type of areas.

Also if you build a porch make sure its enclosed so snakes cannot get under it.

Best thing to do is remain proactive on eliminating snake hang outs and you should be ok.
 
I've used a variety of weapons to kill rattlesnakes over the years.

12ga
20ga
.22

Shovel
Rocks
Cedar Posts
Crowbar
Belt Buckle
Catch rope
cedar axe
boot heel
weed eater with a brush blade
lawnmower (accidental)
Shredder (accidental)
Haybaler (accidental)

I'm sure there were others, those just come to mind. Basically grab anything that will allow you to beat their head to a pulp while remaining outside strike distance.

Smoke
 
Maybe a Colt Python or Anaconda? :p


Seriously, any caliber you're good with is good. But would you really want to blast a western diamondback with a 375 H&H Mag elephant rifle?
 
Another vote for a shovel or hoe.
After that, anything filled with CCI snakeshot.
After that, a shotgun with a very light bird load, like 8 shot.
When/where I lived in Arizona, .22's with CCI snakeshot were very popular for dispatching critters.
 
Slitherin' Critters

Follow the good advice given by KNZN regarding keeping the weeds down and hiding spots. Whether or not you can shoot legally in the area it is a MUST to make yourself a "snake pole" to nab the critters and keep a machette or hand ax handy to take their heads off. Whack their heads off, then use a shovel to pick up the head for disposal. DO NOT play with the head after you cut it off because sooner or later you WILL get nailed.

If you decide to go the shootin' route just a plain old cheap .22 single shot rifle with snake shot will get the job done without disturbing the neighbors too much. If you want to make more noise I think you can get snake loads in .38/.357 from CCI.
 
38 shot loads will take the fight out of them but not DRT in my experience

Then you can finish off if you want with a rock or whatever is handy.

A shovel is okay but I haven't found a holster for one yet and they are really hard to conceal :D

Believe it or not, rattlers are hard to hit with a solid round at close range because there's not much mass there and the bullet path is still below the aiming point. A miss doesn't do much good :)

And a 22 solid or HP doesn't do much except make them mad unless you hit in the right place. There's not much vital area - like shooting somebody in the leg.
 
Burrhead, knzn and LD are right on target. The first thing is to not push the panic botton. The next is to clear the property so that it isn't "snake friendly." Last, but not least if you think you will have to shoot them keep a revolver of at least .38 caliber loaded with shot rounds. A shotgun may be better, but depending on the neighborhood it may be overkill.

Once you move in and make friends with the neighbors see how they handle the problem - if there is one.
 
I'm in with the "whacker" guys. A grass whip or a shovel makes a very effective anti-viper device. Leave the non-venomous ones alone though--they're your friends, even though Grandma might not think so...:D

TC
TFL Survivor
 
Yeah... to minimize potential damage, you want to sever the head in some fashion and then keep the head away from anyone or anything. Any kind of shotgun will work, but I'd rather take my chances with a shovel, hoe or long axe.

If you've never killed a large snake before... it is quite an experience. I remember visiting my great uncle in about 1981 or so, and while I was there, he killed what he called a black racer. Cut the head off with a hatchet and the body writhed for at least an hour. For the first minute or so, I was horrified. The next several minutes, I was amazed.

Keep in mind, it's their property just as much as it is yours regardless of who pays the taxes and there are more of them that there are of you. ;)
 
I've lived in texas but now live in pennsylvania. believe it or not I killed more rattlers here in PA. used sticks, shovels, stones. shovel is the most effective.
 
Not to hijack this thread, but I'm getting ready to move to a real 'country' location. Nearby relatives tell me about 6-foot rattlers, and one of the neighbors at the new house showed me the skeleton of a rattler he killed last August. It lost an argument with a backhoe. The skull on it was bigger than my fist (and I measure 4 1/2" across the back of the fist).

What would you use on a snake that big? Is 410 enough?
 
A shovel is okay but I haven't found a holster for one yet and they are really hard to conceal
Click to expand...


How about a shoulder rig? 'Course, you'd walk like Walter Brennan... :what:


So, is a big, slow shovel better than a fast, small shovel? And what about over-penetration? Is a magnum shovel overkill? How about hi-cap vs. standard shovels?



:neener:
 
"encourage feral hogs to homestead on your property"

Good idea, then ya can go hunting later!

Keeping the brush down, and making it unfriendly to da snakes is the best. We have some bull, and black snakes at the range. Good fer keepin the mice, and packrats population down. Did have one member who took out a rattler with his .357 when leavin one day. Snake coiled up by the gate, and he merely defended himself:D
 
So, is a big, slow shovel better than a fast, small shovel? And what about over-penetration? Is a magnum shovel overkill? How about hi-cap vs. standard shovels?
Click to expand...
:D :D :D :D

Then we could discuss the difference between round-point and square-point ....

One of those fire shovels with the teeth on one edge would be about perfect.

I guess one could carry a folding shovel in an ankle rig ...? :)
 
If you want pest control advice go to an expert with 20 years in the business. Me.:)
Do what others have said to make the yard unattractive. Also there is a product on the market called Dr.T's SnakeAway, Which is $5 worth of crushed mothballs, that sells for about $50. Spead it around the perimeter of your property and under any porched or similar structures and under the shrubs. You can also just buy the crushed mothballs.

There used to be a product called Bloodmeal that was made from rabbits blood with camphor you can spread your yard with that, it has a less noxious odor, if it is still available.

Also never ever kill a black snake or any non-poisonous snake they do much more good than harm. One of the standing rules in any pest control operation is to NEVER kill beneficials.

If you shoot don't aim for the head,they don't seem to care much. Aim where the head and neck come together.

One time while hunting I shot a small Rattler in the head an thought I killed it, so I took it back to camp and set it on the cooler when my buddy came back and reach over the truck bed to get a soda the snake apparently came to and struck 3 times before he could react. Luckily the shot had blown one of the snakes fangs out and broke it's jaw, it was cold so my friend had heavy clothing on, and the snake was small enough that it couldn't penetrate the sleeves of the jacket , wool shirt and long johns. It's kinda funny now but wasn'e at the time. Actually we were 18 or so at the time so it was kinda funny 5 minutes after it happened
 
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