Snakes!

[Mark Tyson]

What weapon, other than a firearm, would you use to kill a venomous snake?

As an aside, what firearm would you use to kill a venomous snake?

(Can't believe I misspelled venomous with two e's in my original post! I blame my publik skoowl edgukayshun . . .)

 

[Kevlarman]

A big truck. I was driving with my grandpa when I was a youngin' and he saw a Mojave Green rattlesnake sunning itself in front of his porch. As we were still in the truck (Toyota 4Runner) he merely ran it over, then backed up and proceeded to do it until it was dead.
Had rattlesnake stew that very night.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

a revolver with shot loads, would handle that chore nicely.

 

[El Tejon]

A "weedwacker"!

Used one to kill a thick Copperhead on my club's 300 yard range last year. Fortunately I had just sharpened it.

 

[Jorah]

I probably wouldn't kill it unless I had to;

But for non-firearm weapons, my first choice would be my trusty machete.

Among firearm choices, shotgun would be the one I'd reach for.

-J.

 

[tw1112]

yeah i wouldn't kill it unless i really had to. Thing is, most of the times humans are the ones that are trespassing and scaring them, so just try backing away. BUT, if I had to, maybe a nice blade will do the trick!

 

[Correia]

I used a hayhook on a rattle snake once.

When I was a teenager I lived on a farm, I was up on top of a haystack throwing down bales. I had a pair of 12 inch hay hooks. I flipped a bale down, turned back around and was looking right in the face of a rattle snake!

I didn't even think about it, but I back handed that sucker with the hook. It disappeared. Literally. I looked around trying to figure out where it had went. I spotted it about 50 yards away (no joke) falling out of the sky.

Gotta love adrenaline.

 

[NEon]

1. Shot gun
2. shotshell revolver
3. lawn mower

 

[p35]

Let's remember that they live on rodents, which makes them a Good Thing. Having said that, shovels and hoes were what we used as kids. A machete is getting way too close IMHO.

 

[Coltdriver]

I was one of the first residents into a 400 acre valley that had seen only grazing cattle for 100+ years.

The valley was full of rattlers. They would bite your horse, your dog and anything else that got in the way. They were on the road, your driveway and places you would not suspect. Mostly they were a menace to our kids.

I came to marvel at the sheer violence of their strike. It was like they were using their body to fling their head at you. And their fangs were sticking straight out! I let one hit a baseball bat and his fang got stuck in the bat hard enough that he had to pull a few times to get it out!

Rattlers are also one of the toughest creatures I have ever encountered. I have run them over once only to stop and see them slither off into the weeds.

A well placed chop with a slightly sharpened garden hoe gives a good safe distance and a reliable result.

I switched to an old Norinco .45 with a weak return spring and turned em to stone with CCI shotshells. The return spring was so weak it would allow the shot shells to cycle the slide. The effect was amazing at about three feet. No visible clue except they would become still and be utterly paralyzed from the multiple hits to their nervous system.

 

[sm]

Coltdriver right, rattlers can be aggresive.
Have used 45ACP (stupid me had rested foot on log--after snake finally left, 230 gr FMJ
Garden hoe

Water moccasains:clearing a pond, shotgun, garden hoe,

 

[Don Gwinn]

Tactical Shovel.

 

[PALongbow]

Longbow with a judo point or broadhead attached to a 700 grain ash arrow shaft. Trust me it works!

Ron

 

[enfwago]

lawn mower, weed wacker or shovel.

 

[Gila Jorge]

Love my Browning 2000 12ga auto...because when I run into one it means several are nearby...last encounter was in malapi quail hunting and ws looking around and heard the buzzing....once 6 footer was about 4 feet away...blew his head off...then heard more buzzzing and the second was 3 feet from the first and stretched out about 6 feet also...nicely took his head off too...then got the heck off the malapi and had bad case of the heeby-jeebies.

 

[Wakal]

I like most snakes better than I like most people.

That said, a few months ago when the rattlesnake won't listen to my offer of freedom if only he would leave the target shed and go live in the woods, my boot and a Spyderco worked well.

Poor little guy, too bad he had no ears.




Alex

 

[bigjim]

Originally posted by tw1112
yeah i wouldn't kill it unless i really had to. Thing is, most of the times humans are the ones that are trespassing and scaring them, so just try backing away.

So snakes have property rights now?

 

[tw1112]

Originally posted by bigjim
So snakes have property rights now?

I like in prk...anything's possible

 

[Neal Bloom]

Yup, a shovel is pretty handy when it comes to snakes. Got lots of practice when I used to irrigate the alfalfa and pastures back on the farm.

 

[ruger357]

I'd have to go with the lawn mower. Just make sure the bag is on good.

 

[NEon]

Now we need a post showing everyone doing this!

 

[Smoke]

I grew up on a ranch in central Texas, rattlesnakes and other poisonous varieties were plentiful. I used to kill every snake I saw, poisonous or not until I witnessed a Bull snake eating a rattle snake.

But on to the point, I use and have used:

A gun. (whatever was available)
A shovel
A cedar post
A hoe.
A weedeater with a saw blade attached (don't try this one)
A catch rope
Rocks
Anything heavy enough to throw froma safe distance.
A lawnmower
A shredder
A pickup
A tractor
A Bucket.

But by far the most common (that I learned from my dad) was my belt. It was always with you. You could pull it off and grab the end with out the buckle so that you could bash the snake with the buckle. I only broke one buckle when I used an old WInchester cast brass buckle and hit a snake that was on the highway. Other than that one time it never failed me.

I hate poisonous snakes. I'll leave the others alone if they reciprocate.

 

[Betty]

My policy on venomous snakes:
If it's out in the woods, I leave it alone. If it's in the barn, near my home,etc., it probably lives there and I'm going to kill it before it bites someone.

I'd use any tool handy - a shovel sounds good to me. Spear it right behind the head. :impaled: I would use a shotgun as my choice firearm.

I catch snakes for fun - I haven't caught a copperhead or rattler yet, but they're next on my list. I just don't catch chicken snakes anymore - they stink and excrete all over the place.

 

[bigjim]

Whacking day

This thread reminds me of that Simpsons episode called Whacking day.

 

[ahenry]

My grandmother swore by a hoe. My good friends mother swore by a 22 pistol with rat shot. My grandfather was fond of a shotgun when he got older. My first experience with a rattlesnake and a 22 turned my off of 22 fmj as a snake killer. Large rocks do a good job, but I rarely carry large rocks around with me. Thus and therefore, I tend to use whatever implement I have on hand. I’ll leave them alone unless they are where I need to be. Their fondness for hay stacks often puts them where I need to be though...