In Case Of Snakes

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Zekest Crowe

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"In Case Of Snakes"

I have read this so many times on comment boards that it is starting to make me sick. "When mowing my lawn I always keep a few shotshells in my pistol IN CASE OF SNAKES".

In case of snakes?! Yeah, like that snake is going to make a bee line right for your neck. That snake just wants to get the heck out of there.

If you spot a snake while cutting your lawn, instead of grabbing your revolver and blasting away, why not move in the opposite direction of the snake?
 
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Somebody is gonna wake up on the wrong side of the bed lol.

Snakes = dead. Have two dogs, came across a cotton mouth, blew it away with a O/U and threw the remnants to the turtles in the lake
 
a gas powered brush cutter will sling a angry snake around your leg if you are not observant.. depending on blade rotation..

I have had it happen to someone I know..almost happened to me

as far as moving away.. sometimes not a choice.. cutting line through a swamp that is waist deep to reach a section corner.. it always bothered me going back in the next day with all the loose trimmings floating, and I was flipping water ahead of me with my machete.. yes sometimes things did move and wiggle ahead.. and cottonmouths ARE territorial..

going down a cut line or cutting a line with trees that have fallen..I have had rattlesnakes be right on the back side of the log.. it gets your attention when you step across the log for sure..

now in the yard with a lawnmower.. not much of a problem..

dad's house on the river..clearing brush or cutting line, that's another story, in the carryacolt book.
 
When hiking, hunting etc. having a specific plan to deal with snakes is simply not a concern. If I see a snake, I just detour around it, or move it out of the way with a long stick and continue.

Around the house, a copperhead or rattlesnake is shot on sight because I have grandkids playing in the yard. They can live elsewhere. The others are welcome to stay.
 
I don't pay them too much mind. I'll kill the occasional CM, but the others are ignored or moved to another location.
 
I've killed over 50 rattlesnakes on my property in 12 years. Had three dogs bitten and have children around. Cost me a bundle of $$$. Not taking any chances. In the wild I just steer clear but not around my home. Love all other snakes we have here, but the various rattlesnakes, especially the Mojave Green, I feel absolute satisfaction when I shrink the gene pool. Even though I love to shoot them with a single shot .22 mag shot shell, perfect amount of shot/power to make the snake's head go away, a shovel is much easier and quicker.
 
While I have had to kill a poisonous snakes in the past, I try my best to discourage them from staying around my property if possible. Keeping any debris cleaned up, trying to keep weeds down, etc. I have at times also put out various chemical things that are suppossed to keep them away. At times I will bring home a black snake (when I find one) and turn it loose in an effort of having friendly snakes to keep the poisonous snakes away.

There is nothing that is 100% though...

So if I do see a poisonous snake after that effort to discourage them, and they are close to the house, which is rare, it probably wont be around much longer. Too many of my neighbors over the years have been bit by the local rattle snakes and copperheads to let them stay close to a house.
 
Earth to Space, come in Space, you do not want rattlesnakes in your yard if you have pets or children. You can go into denial. Some people around here move the snakes back into more remote areas as they don't want to kill them. Most will kill any dangerous snake on sight. Yesterday a lady at Walmart said she killed all snakes up where we both live and I begged her to leave the King snakes alone but she was intent on killing all snakes. There is a line, and I draw mine, and you choose not to have a line. You may regret it someday.
 
Earth to Space, come in Space...
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I didn't say they were rattlesnakes. Most are common black snakes or garter snakes that ARE beneficial. I relocated a corn snake several years ago that was so slow I was sure it would fall victim to a neighborhood cat or to a heron. Many years ago I relocated a small rattlesnake as well. I just prefer not to kill snakes, I think they have a tough enough time as it is. Now brown recluse spiders are another matter...
 
We have cottonmouths (lots), copperheads (some) and timber rattlers (rare).

If it's poisonous and if I'm armed, I'll kill it. I'll do this until I start seeing rats. Then I'll stop.

There have been four cottonmouths killed on our place since last spring. One with a .357 revolver, one with a .380 pocket pistol, one with a Glock 23 and one with an arrow. So it should be obvious, that no one goes out looking for them (I'd have a shotgun). It just kind of happens.

The arrow was quite a shot. I'd brag about it, but it wasn't me.
 
having recently moved to the south I had my first ever run-in with a venemous snake last week. The result was .45 colt 1, cottonmouth 0. Because I have a child any dangerous creature in the yard is dealt with in a similar fashion. other than that I try to live and let live.
 
In my adulthood, I've never felt the compulsion to kill a snake. I'm able to catch the odd rattlesnake or cottonmouth or coral snake and move it to a better location.
 
My policy is if its venomous and near my house it dies. If its not venomous or I'm nowhere near my house I leave it alone.
 
The snakes in our yard are beneficial, no need to do harm to one of God's creatures.
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I was pretty much taught by example that all snakes were bad. I went thought that period without getting bit. Now I don't bother them unless they bother me. However, poisonous snakes in the yard are absolute no goes if I see one. Out in the woods, I walk around them if I see them. Have not been bitten by a poisonous snake, but I have seen plenty. The only snakes I detest are cotton mouths. I'd kill them if I can. The South would be a better place if most cotton mouths were history.
 
The last poisonous snake in our neighborhood was dispatched by a mob with shovels and hoes.

Garter snakes get picked up and place elsewhere to avoid the mower. Except for the one that managed to get tangled up in the garage door opener. Yuk.

Had to whack it dead with the shovel.
 
If you spot a snake while cutting your lawn, instead of grabbing your revolver and blasting away, why not move in the opposite direction of the snake?
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Your house and yard - your rules. My house and my yard - my rules. That is just the way it is. To paraphrase the famous John Wayne line:

"My fault, snake's fault, nobody's fault - if a poisonous snake is found in my yard, he is gonna be the first one to get shot."
 
I've seen precisely ONE (1) venomous snake, a copperhead, in all my years of hiking through Ohio, and it was already dead. All my friends have standing orders to call me if they find a snake...I've relocated perhaps fifty or so Garter snakes to my mothers garden, where they have been a great help in reducing the slug population to nothing. Rat snakes and the like get released at a friends farm.
 
Training video
http://youtu.be/KQI3TTNR6AM :D:D

Like I said in an earlier post about having dogs, one of them actually hunts snakes, will feel bad when she brings in the front half of the snake and the poor fella is still alive, always has a pitiful look on its face. Just worried she'll come across a venomous quote
 
Cottonmouths give Chase

About 30% of cottonmouths are aggressive and will give chase. So, if you're in an area with cottonmouths, a Colt Governor loaded with birdshot is a good investment. Forget the buckshot loads - I just finished shooting some for patterns - all over the $#%! place!
 
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