Snake vs Kabar Mk2

zzyzzogeton

zzyzzogeton

Joined
Feb 17, 2013
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Reason #1 to always wear boots and wear gloves when working outside. I was picking up pecan limbs out back and nearly grabbed this 15 inch 1 button Eastern Diamondback by accident. :eek:

It was stretched out under the leaves and looked just like another stick. Something in the back of my brain registered "snake" at the last second and I stopped. Since I ALWAYS carry a Kabar Mk2 when working anywhere outside, one quick slash and it was a "good" rattlesnake. Rat snakes, chicken snakes, grass snakes, king snakes... they are always welcome. Non-venomous and they eat rats and mice. Rattlers and copperheads get only one verdict - death with no appeals process. :D

Mk2 vs Rattler.jpg
 
Came in to work today, rounded the corner of a building and almost stepped on a two-foot bull snake stretched out on the blacktop. Probably would have killed it if it wasn't on federal property. As it was I had to settle for convincing it to slither off towards a less trafficked area.
 
And thats how its done.

Good work, Z.

Moose
 
zzyzzogeton said:
Reason #1 to always wear boots and wear gloves when working outside. I was picking up pecan limbs out back and nearly grabbed this 15 inch 1 button Eastern Diamondback by accident. :eek:

It was stretched out under the leaves and looked just like another stick. Something in the back of my brain registered "snake" at the last second and I stopped. Since I ALWAYS carry a Kabar Mk2 when working anywhere outside, one quick slash and it was a "good" rattlesnake. Rat snakes, chicken snakes, grass snakes, king snakes... they are always welcome. Non-venomous and they eat rats and mice. Rattlers and copperheads get only one verdict - death with no appeals process. :D

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Nice work. We don't have critters like that in these parts. But we are ready for them regardless...

-OKB
 
I don't mind rattlers, unless they're on my property; if it's in the neighborhood here, they die, no question asked. Out in the wild, I'd leave it alone.

~Chris
 
orca8589 said:
I don't mind rattlers, unless they're on my property; if it's in the neighborhood here, they die, no question asked. Out in the wild, I'd leave it alone.

~Chris
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In general. I'm with you on leaving them alone "in the wild". However, "in the wild" means different things to different people. I kill them anywhere on the 350 acres I live on. A rattlesnake/copperhead bite will kill cattle, goats and other livestock. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, your out the 1-3 years you've been raising that critter.

One of the problems we are developing is non-rattling rattlesnakes, due to our increasing feral hog problem. Many times, the rattlers don't rattle; they act like copperheads and just strike when you get too close. Feral hogs attack and eat rattlesnakes. The snakes either are learning to be quiet or the hogs are "genetically modifying" the snake population by thinning out the ones that do rattle on the drop of a hat.
 
I've not heard of the non-rattling variety, that's kind of scary.

A bigger problem around here is Black Widows. I love most spiders, but I hunt down and kill BW's with a vengeance. I won't risk having a child bitten by one.

~Chris
 
And this explains the high number of snake bites in males being on the hands :D

I'm not one to talk, in my boyhood years ida been catching him..
 
orca8589 said:
I've not heard of the non-rattling variety, that's kind of scary.

A bigger problem around here is Black Widows. I love most spiders, but I hunt down and kill BW's with a vengeance. I won't risk having a child bitten by one.

~Chris
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I think brown recluse are even worse.
 
Ditto ~~ stvpourciau .! Here in Tn. you are not allowed to kill any Snake be it Rattlesnake or Water snake as you face a good fine and your Hunting & Fishing License ! TWRA has a saying ~~ you kill you pay.**
 
wolf-man-12 said:
Ditto ~~ stvpourciau .! Here in Tn. you are not allowed to kill any Snake be it Rattlesnake or Water snake as you face a good fine and your Hunting & Fishing License ! TWRA has a saying ~~ you kill you pay.**
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As long as they Give no BS, no hassle removal that's a good a good thing.

Where I live, there is no animal control though. Still wouldn't kill it. We have TONS of cotton mouths here in Louisiana.

I frequently say that whenever you go in the woods here, there's at least one within 13 feet of you whether you see it or not; so I know the threat that vipers present.

I don't bother them and they don't bother me.

When I encounter one around the water I just walk up near them and they take a dive into the pond, problem solved. They're actually very non-agrressive. You just gotta keep your eyes peeled for em'.
 
Had an encounter with a cotton mouth when I was around ten. Was at a 3D archery range (animal-like targets set up in the woods) and I missed the target so I started looking for my arrow. I got thistle and vines wrapped around my legs and ankles and ended up being a six feet from a water moccasin with its mouth wide open. I've seen and never had issues with copper heads or rattlesnakes but I still don't like cotton mouths.
 
Thanks for sharing your story :) but a cotton mouth holding its mouth open both is and isn't really dangerous.

Usually they run away but when they feel its too late as they coil and get ready to strike but they hold their mouth open as a last defense to try to scare you off, they're also known as gapers lol.

So I guess my point is that yes, it was ready to strike but at that point its not moving any more and as long as you're out of striking distance, you should be OK. So, you shouldn't be afraid of em :)

Just deadly aware as theyre everywhere lol.

I'm sure between being young though and getting tied up in thistle it was a really scary scenario. Thanks for Sharing
 
i hope this snake was eaten with sriracha :}

poor snake otherwise
 
No sriracha (had to look that one up).

There wasn't enough on this one to have more than a bite and a half cooked in any manner if I'd a skinned him/her out.

"Poor Snake" and rattler/copperhead :thumbdn: :thumbdn: :thumbdn: don't belong in the same sentence around here.

Had a cousin who damn near died from a copperhead bite. My blue heeler had a $1000 stay at the vet due to a rattler.

Had a close encounter of the 'poopy pants' kind when I was moving bales of hay up in the hay loft 3 years ago and found myself 3 feet away from a 5 foot rattler that decided he/she didn't like his/her nap being disturbed . Now all work in the hay loft includes that special accessory - a .357 magnum loaded with 4 rounds of rat shot and 2 of hollow point.

I've been struck in the leg by a 4 foot rattler and got lucky because his/her fangs were stopped by the leather boot AND got hung up in the laces. A 40+ y.o (at the time) fat man dancing around with a 4 foot rattler wrapped around his leg is a sight to see...if you're not the fat man.

Garter snakes, grass snakes, rat snakes, king snakes, cotton snakes, hog-nose snakes, blacksnakes, chicken snakes... they all get a pass. :) Even the one's found in my mother's commode, bathroom or bedroom. :D

But rattlers and copperheads, regardless of their size, get nothing but cold steel or hot lead.

edit: may have to add that one to the signature line
 
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Good job Z. As a fellow Texan, I agree that rattlers and copperheads get the business end of whatever knife or gun I happen to have on me. We have undeveloped property around the Bandera area, and while I haven't had any close calls, I have had to blast a few with rat shot. My two-year-old son loves to run around out there, and I won't take any chances. I've also heard the baby ones are the most dangerous, since they're not old enough to really control their venom yet, they just pump it all in every time they bite:eek:
 
mlanghornes said:
Good job Z. As a fellow Texan, I agree that rattlers and copperheads get the business end of whatever knife or gun I happen to have on me. We have undeveloped property around the Bandera area, and while I haven't had any close calls, I have had to blast a few with rat shot. My two-year-old son loves to run around out there, and I won't take any chances. I've also heard the baby ones are the most dangerous, since they're not old enough to really control their venom yet, they just pump it all in every time they bite:eek:
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That, and the fact that being smaller they can recoil and strike again just a tad faster. Also, their smaller size makes them "more vulnerable" to predation by eagles, hawks, skunks and whatever else eats small snakes, so their best bang for the buck is an all out injection. They can also completely replenish their venom sac in a shorter period of time.
 
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