22-rimfire
Member
Legislation, that is a great idea. Make it illegal to bite a human with malice. Prison time will fix this problem!
If I only had a brain.....
If I only had a brain.....
which gun should you use to kill a snake?
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runrabbitrun
member
Seriously another thing to consider if these snakes are close to the home is:
What are they feeding on and or hunting for?
I'm my situation, it was field mice getting into my shop.
Hey a snake's gotta eat right?
Well, I bought two Riddex plug in things and low and behold...
It drove the mice away and I haven't seen a snake since.
Now out of the normal perimeter of the dwelling, all bets are off.
Snakes will feed on the young small game anywhere they can find them.
This holds especially true in spring as those babes are being born.
What are they feeding on and or hunting for?
I'm my situation, it was field mice getting into my shop.
Hey a snake's gotta eat right?
Well, I bought two Riddex plug in things and low and behold...
It drove the mice away and I haven't seen a snake since.
Now out of the normal perimeter of the dwelling, all bets are off.
Snakes will feed on the young small game anywhere they can find them.
This holds especially true in spring as those babes are being born.
Brian Dale
Member
Yeah, Cannonball888, I needed a haircut. 
That's (Burmese) Louise (ten and a half feet long), at the lower edge of the picture, which was taken while I was editing some math stuff over at a co-worker's place. She does share some personality traits with Geraldo, now that you mention it. I didn't mind snakes until I took care of her for a week once (the owner to me: "just don't let her get a coil around your neck"). Snakes still don't give me the creeps, but I don't find them very charming at all.
There turn out to be two scary things in that picture, then: a big snake, and Algebra Story Problems.
The only Pythons I like are made by Colt.
That's (Burmese) Louise (ten and a half feet long), at the lower edge of the picture, which was taken while I was editing some math stuff over at a co-worker's place. She does share some personality traits with Geraldo, now that you mention it. I didn't mind snakes until I took care of her for a week once (the owner to me: "just don't let her get a coil around your neck"). Snakes still don't give me the creeps, but I don't find them very charming at all.
There turn out to be two scary things in that picture, then: a big snake, and Algebra Story Problems.
The only Pythons I like are made by Colt.
I decided to just hire my own personal bodyguard snake to kill the fer-de-lance. Here's a Zopilota snake killing an adult fer-de-lance (that pit viper is big enough to bite you on the thigh, above your boots!) at one of our projects in Nicaragua.
If someone on this forum asks what the best gun is to kill a person with in self defense, they get a straight answer (or at least a discussion about guns).
If someone on this forum asks what is the best gun to kill a snake with, they get a moral discussion on why they should not kill snakes.
That has always struck me as a little bit odd.
If someone on this forum asks what is the best gun to kill a snake with, they get a moral discussion on why they should not kill snakes.
That has always struck me as a little bit odd.
I see no reason to ever kill a Snake.
I grew up walking around them, sitting among them as they sunned themselves, and always finding them to be entirely sensible Creatures...Copperheads, Watermoccasins, Rattle Snakes, later Sidewinders also.
They are all very easy to get along with, are a benifit to Humanity for eating Mice and Rats and so on.
For Pete's sake...
Leave 'em be, and just walk around them...and respect them with no need of interfering.
If you want to remove a Snake from an inconvenient location, just gently use a Stick and lift them up, do things slowly and talk soothingly about your intentions, and set them into a Pillow Case or Bag or something, and drive them to a better spot and let them go.
No bid deal to do, just hold the Bag away from your Body if it is a Pit Viper.
It always worked fine for me.
I grew up walking around them, sitting among them as they sunned themselves, and always finding them to be entirely sensible Creatures...Copperheads, Watermoccasins, Rattle Snakes, later Sidewinders also.
They are all very easy to get along with, are a benifit to Humanity for eating Mice and Rats and so on.
For Pete's sake...
Leave 'em be, and just walk around them...and respect them with no need of interfering.
If you want to remove a Snake from an inconvenient location, just gently use a Stick and lift them up, do things slowly and talk soothingly about your intentions, and set them into a Pillow Case or Bag or something, and drive them to a better spot and let them go.
No bid deal to do, just hold the Bag away from your Body if it is a Pit Viper.
It always worked fine for me.
Col. Plink
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.45 w/ shotshells...
jimmyraythomason
Member
I have a 4 year old grand daughter and two 2 year old grand daughters. The 4 year old and one 2 year old live with me. The other 2 year old visits regularly. That is 3 dammm good reasons to kill every venomous snake anywhere on or near my place!
Yes, just like one of the family.
I wonder if the man in this article ever had the need to kill a snake:
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-05-21/story/elderly-georgia-man-dies-snake-bite
Mitch from LA
Member
Sadly, most folks show a very poor understanding of the degree to which snakes (even the venomous ones) offer a threat.
jimmyraythomason
Member
Mitch if a venomous snake is in the same area as my grandbabies that is MORE than enough of a threat for me to eliminate it. I personally know two people who were bitten by rattlesnakes as children. Both almost died from the bites. I visited one while he was in the hospital and saw the wound area. The entire top of his foot nearly rotted away. THAT is NOT going to happen to my grandbabies if I can prevent it.
Mitch from LA
Member
I made no reference to karma, I merely stated that snakes are unjustly feared and poorly understood. I am truly sorry for the gentleman in the article, but incidents like that one are few and far between. I don't see any harm in offering alternative solutions to shooting snakes.
The poor old guy screwed up and was not being 'situationally aware'.
If he'd stuck his Hand into the running, rotating Blade of the Lawn Mower, instead, would people 'kill' the Lawnmower, and, be saying "Bad Lawnmower! BAD BAD Lawnmower!!" as they stomp it into the Ground?
Probably they would!!!
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, whatchagunnado...
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Lets take a guess, based on what the Article says.
Old Guy mowing his Lawn in some Area of the Country where Rattle Snakes are known to exist.
Belt Breaks, he shuts the Mower down, and, goes off to get a new Belt.
Early evening now, and cooler out, or was a coolish day anyway...Lawnmower has a thermal mass, retaining the Heat of running earlier.
Rattle Snake comes by, senses the thermal source, homes in, smells it and so on, and, decides it looks like a nice place to hang out and enjoy the warmth.
Snakes are not endothermic, if ambient temps are coolish, they really like to find a "warm" something or other to curl up under or on or against.
So, Snake, being discrete and wishing to have some comfort and privacy, curls up under the warm Mower, and, we may presume, is quite content, relaxed, and serene.
Old guy gets back, crouches down, lifts up the Mower to get on with changing the Belt, and, the Snake thinks the old guy is attacking HIM...so, the Snake counter-attacks, fights "back", and, bites the old guy a few times.
Who is to blame?
No one.
Snakes do not understand people orders of symbol literacy...they do not recognise abstractions such as someone's "yard".
People, lack literacy in Snake sensibility issues, and, forget that in coolish days or times of day, a Snake will seek out "warm" places to feel comfortable.
Person 'attacks' Snake by accident or amentia...Snake responds to the 'attack' with it's own wiles or means.
My advice?
Be situationally aware, and know your 'territory' with respect to the Creatures who may innocently happen to wander onto it, and be understanding for your own sake and theirs.
As it was, everyone was a loser in that deal, when, no one had to lose or 'win' at all.
A sad tale...
Old Guy mowing his Lawn in some Area of the Country where Rattle Snakes are known to exist.
Belt Breaks, he shuts the Mower down, and, goes off to get a new Belt.
Early evening now, and cooler out, or was a coolish day anyway...Lawnmower has a thermal mass, retaining the Heat of running earlier.
Rattle Snake comes by, senses the thermal source, homes in, smells it and so on, and, decides it looks like a nice place to hang out and enjoy the warmth.
Snakes are not endothermic, if ambient temps are coolish, they really like to find a "warm" something or other to curl up under or on or against.
So, Snake, being discrete and wishing to have some comfort and privacy, curls up under the warm Mower, and, we may presume, is quite content, relaxed, and serene.
Old guy gets back, crouches down, lifts up the Mower to get on with changing the Belt, and, the Snake thinks the old guy is attacking HIM...so, the Snake counter-attacks, fights "back", and, bites the old guy a few times.
Who is to blame?
No one.
Snakes do not understand people orders of symbol literacy...they do not recognise abstractions such as someone's "yard".
People, lack literacy in Snake sensibility issues, and, forget that in coolish days or times of day, a Snake will seek out "warm" places to feel comfortable.
Person 'attacks' Snake by accident or amentia...Snake responds to the 'attack' with it's own wiles or means.
My advice?
Be situationally aware, and know your 'territory' with respect to the Creatures who may innocently happen to wander onto it, and be understanding for your own sake and theirs.
As it was, everyone was a loser in that deal, when, no one had to lose or 'win' at all.
A sad tale...
ShooterMcGavin
Member
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For snakes? Definitely .30-06!
Nothing wrong with it, its just that you answered a question that was not asked.
The OP asked what gun to use to kill snakes. Not should snakes be killed.
Right. But why when someone asks what gun to use for ccw, they get an answer about guns. When they ask about what to kill a snake with, they get told to be situationally aware and you won't have to kill a snake. It seems as if some people are more concerned with the morality of killing a snake as opposed to the morality of killing a person.
Mitch from LA
Member
Jimmyray, we'll probably never agree on this subject but I respect and understand where you're coming from.
Balrog, I would be doing a disservice to the OP by not giving the best answer I can. That said, a firearm is a poor choice to kill a snake to begin with and the OP may not need to kill said snakes.
Balrog, I would be doing a disservice to the OP by not giving the best answer I can. That said, a firearm is a poor choice to kill a snake to begin with and the OP may not need to kill said snakes.
Deltaboy1984
Member
410 with #6 works all the time.
jimmyraythomason
Member
Venomous snakes,wasps and hornets,black widow and brown recluse spiders,scorpions and pack saddles ALL are treated equally on my property. I have a large grey rat snake living under my house and an even larger king snake under my front step. They are safe and we even let the girls get close to them while playing. Photo is of the king snake moving from my house to the rocky outcroppings just beyond my grand daughter's swing set. As for the original question,I use which ever gun I have with me at the time. It often is a Taurus M44 or S&W M29 .44 with speer shot shells. I have killed more copperheads with my Ruger P90 than any other.
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Carl N. Brown
Member
Outdoors, I try to practice snake avoidance. Just in case that fails, the first round to index in my .38 or .455 revolvers is a shotshell. Snake encounters are close range, and shot is less likely to ricochet or fragment than solid bullets.
three encounters of the close snake kind
I removed a black snake from my MIL's kitchen using a broom to immobilise its head so I could grab it behind the head. I carried it a quarter mile into the woods and released it live. The field mice that it would eat would not try to shelter in her house that winter.
When she had what appeared to be a copperhead curled up under her clothes hamper in the bathroom, I used a Ruger Mark II with CCI .22 Shotshell #12 dustshot. Left an outline of the snakes head on the floor (which would be covered by the clothes hamper anyway). I was not going to try to live capture a copperhead.
I did shoot a copperhead at my uncle Ed's farm with a .22 rifle and hollowpoint bullets at about six feet. I began to believe afterwards that bullet fragments or rock fragments might have been a bigger danger than the snake.
three encounters of the close snake kind
I removed a black snake from my MIL's kitchen using a broom to immobilise its head so I could grab it behind the head. I carried it a quarter mile into the woods and released it live. The field mice that it would eat would not try to shelter in her house that winter.
When she had what appeared to be a copperhead curled up under her clothes hamper in the bathroom, I used a Ruger Mark II with CCI .22 Shotshell #12 dustshot. Left an outline of the snakes head on the floor (which would be covered by the clothes hamper anyway). I was not going to try to live capture a copperhead.
I did shoot a copperhead at my uncle Ed's farm with a .22 rifle and hollowpoint bullets at about six feet. I began to believe afterwards that bullet fragments or rock fragments might have been a bigger danger than the snake.
Carl N. Brown
Member
Maybe we can create laws/legislation that makes the snakes to go away?
Anyone wanna do an Assault Snake Ban parody with detailed definitions ("No more than two of the following creature features shall be allowed....")
Anyone wanna do an Assault Snake Ban parody with detailed definitions ("No more than two of the following creature features shall be allowed....")
I really dislike killing anything that I'm not going to eat, however, I have heard from my elders that once they get to close to the house, you really don't have a choice. Especially when you live out in the sticks and animal control will not respond.
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