Big Snake Hunting

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DPris

Member Emeritus
If you were going on the hunt for a 40-foot anaconda in the Everglades, which long gun would you take?
Denis
 
I'm with Oldscot. A snake that long (40 ft.) would be pretty thick, so penetration would be important. A head shot from a 12 gauge loaded with 000 buckshot would likely be effective. Evidently gator hunters use 22 lr to put down gators.
 
IF I ever saw an anaconda in the Everglades, I would think the world has turned upside down.

Being so, 12 ga 2 3/4" full of #4 or maybe #2.
 
snakes

Pump shotgun for sure, short barrel, slug or riot type, just for ease of carry and storeage. Ranges would be close I'm thinking. Also thinking I'd go with a 12ga, and simple 1-1/4 oz shot loads. I dunno how thick the skull on a giant anaconda could be? Does one really need buckshot? Beats me.

But at 30 ft or so, a load of relatively heavy bird shot to the noggin would kill a lot of stuff. BB's or #2 lead? Don't think I'd go smaller than that, or larger than #4 buck. I dunno.........never handled a snake that big.
 
Snakes aren't bullet proof ...but the target is small ...so .....my Rem 700 in .243 win. It's accurate and with light varmint bullets would make an awesome mess of a 40' anacondas head:D
 
To date there has never been a reliably confirmed snake of any species that long (longest is the reticulated python, heaviest is anaconda). But if there was, i think everyone has the right idea with shotguns making sense. Most real world option being a 12 gauge 3.5” buck round, ideal choice being a 4 bore or something along those lines, with a lot more buckshot. Snakes are super muscular and apart from the spine/brain don’t really have any massive bone structures or joints that can be destroyed for an instant stop/anchoring effect. Shotguns increase the likelihood of striking the CNS, a very small and moving target within a misleadingly large and hard to kill creature. If not a shotgun then a powerful rifle using lightly constructed bullets going really fast so as to destroy as much soft tissue as possible as again there’s not much benefit to deep penetration and joint busting ability on a long skinny critter with no joints. The only exception is if you want to shoot it lengthways. Do you think the 600 overkill with solids could make a Texas heart shot through 30 feet of snake with straight line penetration?
 
I would ask my fishing companion Marco Rubio to have one of his body guards kill it. Then we'd all travel to South Beach for a big party and some new snake skin boots.
 
The only exception is if you want to shoot it lengthways. Do you think the 600 overkill with solids could make a Texas heart shot through 30 feet of snake with straight line penetration?
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If you can get a rifle to shoot a bullet that corkscrews through the air, :eek: then someone should be able to make a bullet up to the task of shooting through 30 feet of snake.:D
 
The longest snake of which I recall from the news was an 18-foot python. It was found beneath a house in a subdivision around (IIRC) Fort Lauderdale. I've not read of an anaconda down in the Glades.

Monitor lizards in the area around Ft. Myers, if you want a more active target. :)
 
Evidently gator hunters use 22 lr to put down gators.
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No, they use bang sticks in either 357 or 44mag

Quote:
I've not read of an anaconda down in the Glades.
Neither had I. I thought the poster must have it confused with a Burmese Python, then I googled and found this:
https://slate.com/technology/2013/11...ed-states.html
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Don't forget we have gators and crocs down there too.......and the snakes are winning; then there's the lion fish but for those you need a spear gun
 
No, they use bang sticks in either 357 or 44mag
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That depends upon who you are, and where.
I believe the reply was referring to gator hunters in general, not those in the everglades, specifically.
Florida doesn't allow the use of firearms, but other places do.
 
A good long sword and Conan the Barbarian to wield it vs. Giant snake.
Conan the talk show host would be fun to watch, but I'd put money on the snake..;)

why bother with a long gun?? Desert Eagle .44 Mag, and FMJ!!! There's no point to shooting a giant snake anywhere but in the brain (unless you're using 40mm + explosive rounds)

Ok, new choice, long gun, 90mm recoilless rifle!! With Flechette(beehive) round!

:rolleyes:
 
"...the world has turned upside down..." It has. There are Burmese pythons and anacondas in Florida. The snakes and gators are fighting over who will be the top predator.
Oh and a 10 foot pole will kill a snake. Except those pythons and anacondas grow a lot bigger than that. Might be the only time buckshot would be the best choice. Just remember that to a 40 foot anaconda, you are food.
The Slate.com page is dead. Lots of pictures(6,730,000 results) from an "anaconda in Florida" net search. Including pictures of gators and snakes eating each other. One where a snake burst after eating a big gator.
 
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