Rattler again

Tom · September 14, 2005, 09:47:35 PM

My wife ran into the house hollering .....Snake!

I got my 12 gauge and went out the back door.

He was on top of the lumber pile in the backyard.

I shot his last third from the door. About 50 feet.

I then moved some lumber and he was between some 4x4's
and none to happy.

The next shot, at 5 feet, took his head off.

He had 10 rattlers and a button.

Ernie · September 14, 2005, 11:13:19 PM

Was she calling you or informing you of an unwanted visitor ;D ;D

pigman · September 14, 2005, 11:17:37 PM

How are you going to get all the lead out of the lumber. :P :D

Tom · September 14, 2005, 11:22:48 PM

She was letting me know that she was taking orders for breakfast in the morning, Ernie. If I didn't answer, I didn't eat. :D :D

I was going to post a picture of me holding the snake on the end of a shovel but all I had on was a pair of shorts and I'd sure hate to see that picture show up on the Front of the Forum one day. :D :D

Besides, Gael took it and her hand was none too steady.

I think I'll leave that shot in there. ;D

This is cca treated syp and I don't think any of the shot penetrated it, seriously. I know the second shot didn't because I was parallel to the stack and his head was up in the air. Now it's really up in the air. ;D

I shot him with with #6 shot and it doesn't have the enertia to go into syp at that distance If I find that it did, I'll just use those boards down low so that I don't have to lift them.

isawlogs · September 15, 2005, 01:09:23 AM

Tom ..
There is one of the best reasons for me to like where I am .... none of those to deal with . The snow snakes we have , I purdy well got them under control ... most of the time anyways :D

Do you get many of those around the house . ???

When you say it has 10 ratlers and a button Is this like antlers on deer .. the more the better ???

Tom · September 15, 2005, 01:24:07 AM

Marcel.

I'm sure we have more of them around the house than I could imagine. I don't usually mess with those that are in the woods. But, those that are in the yard, around the house or barn will be dealt with. I don't need one to strike one of my loved ones whether it's his nature or not.

The poison snakes we look out for are Eastern Diamond Back Rattlers, like the one in the picture, Timber Rattlers (some call them Seminole Rattlers), Pygmy rattlers that are usually only 6 or 10 inches long, Cotton mouth moccasins which get quite large but are usually one to 3 feet long (an aggressive snake), and coral snakes which are quite poisonous with neuro toxin. We seldom see one of them and I've never seen one here.

Believe it or not, we don't see a lot of snakes. I think that all this water we are having has them looking for high ground. There is a lot of food around too, frogs, lizards and such. Snakes always seem to like wood piles because of the roaches and other insects and little animals that hang around.

isawlogs · September 15, 2005, 07:34:12 PM

Tom
Thats some list of critters to deal with ... I have enough trouble with those little black and yellow garden snkes ... let alone trying to avoid thosee that you list . .. As far as I am concerned .. a nice snake and a dead one are about the same .

Now about those ratlers ... and button .. is it different from one ratler to another . ??? ???

Tom · September 15, 2005, 07:51:23 PM

Each of those segments you see on the rattle at the end of his tail is a rattle. the very last one is a button. Some say that a Rattlesnake develops a Rattle everytime he sheds/molts. Others say that it is an indication of a year of life. I tend to favor the shedding theory. :D