Rapid rise in rattlesnakes debated

San Diego Union Tribune Sign On San Diego.com ^ | 6-19-05 | Mike Lee

[95 Bravo]

That's cruel! The poor snakes will die rfom biting libs!
After all, is there anything more poisionous than a liberal? Hahahahaha!

[Old Professer]

Enjoy with beverage of choice. Long necks are a preference.

I thought snakes were all neck from the head down...

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

very few of the snakes he encounters live to see another day.

Are you married to Ditter?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Someone on this forum drew my attention to a Truman Capote short story called "Hand Carved Coffins", apparently based on true case in Texas where an embittered rancher arranged the deaths of several members of the local water board. He killed his first victim by leaving rattlesnakes doped up on adrenaline in the victim's car, they killed the intended target and his wife. A very creepy story.

[AD from SpringBay]

This is all fine and good. But I'm really concerned about the shark attacks this summer and how come we haven't heard anything about them? I think there's a republican cover up. I want to know what President Bush and Haliburton are trying to hide concerning this year's shark attacks.

[calex59]

You've read about people getting bitten, but how is your personal experience. I know about 5 people who have been chomped by snakes and not one of the people were playing or handling snakes! They were bitten in the wild by snakes that were in the wild. Chances of being bitten are low if you are not where the snakes live, if you are where they live chances go up exponentially.

[PoorMuttly]

I have used .38/.357 shot on rattlesnakes, and found it to be quite inadequate. Large holes in the pattern, not enough shot. .44/.45LC works perfectly though. Although I frequently advise first-handgun people to buy a .357 D.A. revolver, there are a lot of important things which they do not do well...and stopping dangerous game, including rattlers, tops the list.

The .410 is probably great though, and I am considering getting a Derringer for that load. Where I am, the chance of dangerous ricochet is high, or I would just use standard bullets on them, especially lead. This is why I favor revolvers for utility in the field. One can mix loads, and still have functional reliability.

BIG bore double action revolvers! I know several people who have and do successfully use other things, but most agree that the .44 and up d.a. is the best choice for unexpected threats.

Dangerous critter gun threads are so much fun. Thanks for your post.

[FReepaholic]

...I do NOT get close enough to them to use that...

Ok, try this:

[PaRebel]

But doesn't cutting the head off make the neck shorter, especially if you're not real careful where you cut?

[G Larry]

Mostly showing up in the DNC....

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I have never seen a rattlesnake in the wild in my life. I grew up in Queens and handled garden ("garter") snakes as a boy all the time.

Not counting the odd case of encountering a harmless snake during a walk in the woods, I've had two and a half experiences with snakes as an adult. Once a snake found it's way into my basement. My wife let out a blood curdling scream and somehow I just knew it had to be a snake. From the volume and intensity, I was sure it was a six-foot water moccasin. I was relieved to find a 15" garden snake, which I picked up and tossed over on the edge of my yard. (Never saw another snake in the house.) On another occasion, my four year old daughter who was playing on her swing set next to the wood pile came running into the front yard nearly hysterical shouting "Get Daddy, get Daddy!" I knew that there was only one problem in life that automatically required my urgent attention. I went back and found what I took to be a garden snake that had come out of the wood pile. Instead of running away, he stood his ground, hissing and spitting. I scooped him up and he began to writhe and twist, he managed to come around and bite me, the only snake bite I've ever had. Instead of gently leaving him in a corner of the garden, I tossed him about 30' and left him on his own. Further research leads me to believe that he as probably a hog snake, a feisty relative of a garden snake.

The half experience was following a real estate agent in my car when I first married. There was a 6' water moccasin writhing in pain near the center line, apparently hit by a previous car. The r.e. agent pulled right to avoid it, and as I did the same my wife yelled "Hit it, hit it." She was absolutely serious.

We did vacation in Arizona in 1999 and were warned about rattlesnakes in the trails in National Parks. My wife played good Japanese Wife and followed three steps behind me all day.

I had a friend who stationed in the AF in Texas and at lunch time they'd go over to the running track with a pole with a noose at the end and collect rattlesnakes for research @ $10/each. His very Jewish very Northeastern wife used to participate too, until one day she picked up a dead female. Unbeknownst to her rattlers are viviparous, they carry their eggs in a pouch until they hatch. Well, dozens and dozens of baby rattlers came pouring out of the dead mom.

[dljordan]

"Start at the anus, slit the scales up to where head was. Using a pair of catfish skinners peel skin from the tail to the head area, discarding viscera. (You can rub the skin with a large quantity of rock salt and preserve it if you wish.)"

Done it. Didn't eat him, just made a hatband. I tried it with a Copperhaed but the skin didn't turn out near as pretty.

[dljordan]

"My big dog is a snake killer! We were hiking in the woods and came up on a rattler. The kids were alarmed, but then the dog pushed past them. She grabbed the snake with her jaws and began to sling it back and forth rapidly. The snake just exploded into pieces all of the kids. They thought is was the coolest thing."

I had two mutts who were a team. The little one would dance in front of the Copperhead to get his attention while the big one would sneak up behind him, grab him behind the head and tear him to pieces. Then they switched to skunks.

[b9]

Thanks for the warning.
As Steven Wright says, "Even snakes are afraid of snakes."

[nuke rocketeer]

One of the most entertaining cats we had when I was a kid was a BIG orange tom who lived for killing snakes. My brothers and I sat watching him for over an hour one morning watching him torture a 6 ft rattlesnake. The only reason we noticed was that we saw him jump straight up out of the corral. We then perched up on the rails and cheered him on until Mom (who hated snakes!) came out to see what we were making so much noise about. When she saw that snake, she ran back in and got Dad's .410 and blew the snake away, to our and the cat's intense disappointment. Before that, she also did not have much use for cats, but that old tom got plenty of treats after that.

[nuke rocketeer]

"I had two mutts who were a team. The little one would dance in front of the Copperhead to get his attention while the big one would sneak up behind him, grab him behind the head and tear him to pieces. Then they switched to skunks."

Mutt 1 to Mutt 2: How come I'm the one who has to come up on his ass and grab him? Why don't you do it for a change?

[dljordan]

"Mutt 1 to Mutt 2: How come I'm the one who has to come up on his ass and grab him? Why don't you do it for a change?"

I can hear that conversation now.

[myprecious]

My big snake killer dog had a little partner for a while. Their specialty was pocket gophers. The rat terrier could locate the rodent burrowing under the ground and call in the big guy. The powerful dog would begin excavating and the little one would jump in between strokes to check the hole. It was like watching a sewing machine. Soon the terrier would come out with a surprised gopher for lunch.

Skunks were targeted after dark.