Rattlesnakes!

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wankerjake

wankerjake

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Flagstaff AZ
Well, I took my brother-in-law out coyote hunting today, trying to help out the deer herd. Anyway no luck, we saw one but it got away. Good day for snakes though. We got three, all with the SP101 loaded with #8 shot. For all you doubters and to those who are curious, snake #8 shot out of a snub nose kills snakes dead in a hurry. Two of the three didn't even flinch, one took about 10 seconds to die, but it just coiled up and writhed around. It didn't try to strike us. They were all shot at about 3 yards. Hope they taste good, their skins are tacked up on a board in the garage, we'll see how that goes. Anyway here's some pics to get us thru the offseason.

This is a pic of the first one before he got drilled. He was the biggest, pushing 36"
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King snake, we let him go. I got no beef with king snakes:
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Yours truly with a pair of western diamondbacks:
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The first one skinned with the others + the Sp101:
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Snake medicine. It's a garaunteed cure:
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Me and James:
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Redneck vittles:
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Personally, i hate rattlesnakes. If its out of my path, i will leave it alone. But, if theres one coiled up and in my path, its dead. I cut off the head and then bury it. I guess i just cant eat something i hate. I enjoy eating so i guess i cant enjoy eating something i hate.
 
Fried rattler is good eatin'. Not sure about python. I never had a problem killin' 'em with a 148 grain wadcutter. I've never figured out why guys think they have to use shot loads. Just head shoot the thing. Hell, I've done it with a .22HP from a NAA mini revolver before. At ten feet, it's easy.
 
I hope you were only killing the ones that didn't rattle at you. Up here the snakes are starting to learn not to warn you.
 
One reason to cut the head off it is full of poison ,They can bit at them selfs and they will strike with out a head, I know. Cut them up and treat them just like whole small cat fish and fry them . The meat can be a bit striggy but eats good. We use to do this in florida and cook at fish fries. MCgunner snake shot does give you a little bit for a chance to kill them with a quick first shot (snakes that is) when walk'n knee deep in water and one is 1 or 2' from you and pissed. Rattlers swim good and mocs will sometimes keep come'n at you. SO if your in snake country ,rat shot is a smart thing to do. Get your self a big snake coiled up and you can also shoot a lot of holes in that sucker try'n to kill it. I walked up on a 8'6" rattler years back and the only reason he did not bit me was he was all ready full of a small sized raccoon. I shot it 10 times with a 22 at 3 to 8 feet with me back'n up. I carried rat shot after that snake.
 
Real men use rocks...

In this case it was out of necessity. Little bugger took a bite at my dad after I think he stepped on it, luckily just got his waders and missed his leg. This one was hanging out in the middle of a public trail with kids and dogs running around so it had to die.

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The one time I went rattlesnake hunting my buddies mocked me mercilessly but I got the most kills. They all showed up with .22's and various revolvers with rat shot. I showed up with a 20ga loaded with whatever I was using for pheasants that year not being interesting in messing around! I don't go out looking for them anymore since I'm not going to eat them.
 
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When I'm out and about, I wear snake boots.

Get your self a big snake coiled up and you can also shoot a lot of holes in that sucker try'n to kill it.
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Maybe I'm just that good, but it never takes me, but one shot to the head. There sometimes ain't enough left of the head to bury, though, but it only takes one shot. I've even shot a lot of water snakes in the water with .22 pistols and rifles. One was coming after me, but it was a non-venomous snake. Still kinda scary when the head is 2 feet out of the water comin' at ya. ROFL. Those things are aggressive when POed. Took me four shots to hit his head on that one. I'd hit him amid ships at about 25 yards, knocked him off a log, he came up and saw me in my little boat and came after me. I was about ready to drop the gun and grab the paddle, but hit his head about 5 yards out.

If I was that bad with a handgun, I'd carry my .410 Contender and live happy. I've killed a few with it, too. It's usually what I go snake huntin' with. It's also neat cause I can unscrew the choke, drop in a hot .45 Colt, if I hear hogs comin'. :D It'll also take a rabbit on the run out to 25 yards. Up close, it's more like shooting a bullet than shot, very tight pattern with the choke installed.
 
rc model That was the biggest live rattler i ever say and MCgunner when i walked up on that snake it was coiled and i got to 3 feet of that snake and if not full could have struck 4' away so i got lucky and new it 10rounds later. This was not a snake i wanted to have a chance of getting away . As 41magsnub said ,i use to use rocks or sticks to hit them till i quite drink'n.hehe. Most times in the winter is when we would go snake hunting ,wait a couple hours for them to get in the roads to warm,easy pick'ns there. But walk'n in swamps even snake boots are under water so you just go and hunt .If you look for them you can't hunt,just keep move'n. In my drunk'n days i was frog'n ,walk'n in a ditch about 4 feet wide look'n for big frogs when i walked up on a 4' moc dick deep in water and that sucker almost got me before useing the gig to get him. That ended a good day of frog'n. Only one other time did snakes screw up a good day in the swamps and thats when you find yourself in a nest of mocs, 20 or better within 30 foot. Go back to camp and cook some breakfast and start over. That was 30 years ago
 
Only one other time did snakes screw up a good day in the swamps and thats when you find yourself in a nest of mocs, 20 or better within 30 foot. Go back to camp and cook some breakfast and start over. That was 30 years ago
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Buddy and me when I was a kid were out in the woods after a good rain and the moccasins and other water shakes were everywhere. We lived on a creek bottom, good squirrel hunting, rabbits, even geese on occasion, but snakes everywhere. So, my buddy spots "this" snake and he shoots. Says, I shot his head off. I says, "No you didn't." I took aim and shot a snakes head off. It was two snakes making woopie in the woods. LOL He had a full choked .410, me a full choked 16 gauge, both single shots. We thought we were "dangerous game" hunting, LOL! I think we got over a dozen that morning. Of course, I didn't know what snake leggings or boots were back then. :rolleyes:
 
"There’s something about Florida, where people feel free to let their exotic pets into the wild.

Result: untold thousands of Burmese pythons slithering through the Everglades.

Their numbers are unknown. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., estimates some 180,000 of these deadly snakes inhabit the River of Grass. Other estimates run around 30,000." This from an editorial on TCPalm.com.
 
According to the guy from Survivorman (Les Stroud?), you should always bury the head. The reason is that the venom remains poisonous long after the snake is dead. He does it so that no one will accidentally step on it or pick it up and stick themselves. Of course, the premise of the show is that he's lost in the wilderness, so I'm not sure that's something he should be worried about anyway...

We don't see too many around here, but next time I have to dispose of one I should try cooking it up. I've never had snake. Looks tasty.
 
next time I have to dispose of one I should try cooking it up. I've never had snake. Looks tasty
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Yeah this was my first time, it was really good. Our wives not only tried it but liked it! I cut it into abour 4" sections, put flour and spices on the pieces and a little olive oil and bacon grease in the bottom of the pot and baked them. Good stuff, they had a very mild flavor. I will be snake hunting in the future.
 
abc news just got done say'n there is now atleast 10,000 pythons in south florida swamps. wopeeeee
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That's the lowest estimate I have heard - anything between 50,000 and 150,000 was the latest. Reports of them killing alligators make them at the top of the food chain int he Everglades with no known predator except man. Currently, there are three folks allowed to go after them all.

We used to come upon rattlers hunting chukar in NV. If they were smart, they got out of the way, else the 20 gauge made them magpie food.......
 
got one witht he truck today i pulled over in the woods to take a leak and looked down before i stepped out of my truck and he was waiting there so i put it in gear and took care of it

i cant do snakes i had a bad experience one time where a rattle snake caught the tip of my boot while i was feeding the horses pulled the revolver and took care of it

i have no problem with nonvenomous snakes but if you look like a rattler, cotton mouth, copperhead your gone
 
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