SNAKES!!!

M

Mark777

Member
Well, were having a bumper crop of snakes this year. Perhaps the worst year since I've been here (5 years). And the season is still young.

I’ve taken all the precautions I can think of….and still, here they are. We’ve mowed, cut, string trimmed, and even used snake away (last year-almost worthless and expensive) but they are here in droves. The problem is:
Coral snakes - fairly harmless but little children associate their pretty color to a toy…or jewelry and often pick them up. Seriously venomus.
King snakes - Yeah, the good guys but…they’re difficult to distinguish from the:
Diamond Back - Docile and sneaky but they are aggressive as hell if you get near them.
Cotton Mouth - My most un-favorite. The term “Meaner Then A Snake” had to have derived from these nasty dudes. While pushing back some overgrowth along the fence line yesterday, a 4’er dropped down, warped around my hoe, and struck several times at the shaft (fiberglass). They say to maintain a distance of twice the length of the snake to be safe, but I don’t think these cotton mouth’s read my ’snake book’ because they fly at you once you’ve entered “Their” territory.

Oh yeah, the book also states that it’s highly unusuall for different breeds of snakes to populate in a single area. NOT true, or at least not here.

My brothers place is 100 yards away and his Jack Russell dog (Lulu) lost the sight in her right eye two weeks ago. We were unloading his pick up, heard her scream in pain and SAW the snake take off for the bushes. The vet said the sanke venom destroyed here optic nerve and she might die. 5 days later-She lived through the horrible swelling and is alive and well…but forever blind.

Forget shovels, hoes and ’snake bashing sticks’, as I am now shopping for a decent 22 that will handle bird and snake shot. I’m not comfortable when my grand children come over, so the snakes have to go!

Anyone else have trouble like this?

Mark
 
That sounds horrible. I think I would consider getting a Thomson with a 45/410 barrel and blast emm with a 410 shell. A 22 even with snake shot doesnt' leave muchy room for error, and those critters sound very aggressive.
....or maybe I'd go with a friggin 12 gauge. :D
Good luck with em.
 
Hmmm....I wouldn't care for that! Haven't seen a cotton-mouth here in my area of Ky for years, as well as the Copperhead. Have seen em though. Now & then a rattlesnake is spotted or killed, but seldom. Mostly non-poisonous snakes here.
 
Funny, I was just going to post on this subject.

Came home after church and the lab was barking like crazy when I came to the grarage door (which wasn't like her). She was fixated on a point, had to grab the flashlight and go look.

Gun worked fine with sub sonnic ammo and red dot sight (particularly in low light), two shots and left the poor guy to bleed to death because he was in a spot where I couldn't get to. He finally ended up where I took the pic.

I don't believe in killing anything you're not going to eat, but it would of been a major pain to get him out, and after a couple of years ago finding a black snake in my basement's drop ceiling, don't feel like having any more crap your pants not expecting it surprises.

Now I just got to clear him out of the house before my wife gets home:D

black snake.JPG
 
A big un!!! :eek: What gun did you use for the job Joe.

Can any 22 shoot 22 snake shot?
 
Doc

In a rush to get it down back to get to work, but it was pretty big.

Gun was that Ruger Mark 3 with the Bushnell (sp?) red dot that I had posted about previously.

As for your question, I don't know, never used it, but considering the caliber, don't think you'd have any problems, but I'd stay away from using the shot in high end target rifles.

Mark, I hate to say it, but I'm glad I don't have the snake problems you do. One thing to get the bejesus scared out of you, another that could get you in the hospital.

Forget shovels, hoes and ’snake bashing sticks’, as I am now shopping for a decent 22 that will handle bird and snake shot.
Click to expand...

Best gun I can think of for the problems you mentioned being outside would be a youth shotgun, 20 gauge. Small, light, easy to point, no recoil, and with the right loads, you could cover a lot bigger area than .22 shotshell.
 
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Any .22 capable of shooting long rifle cartridges will handle .22 shot shells. The trouble I have found with 22 shot is that the shot scatters quickly, limiting the range. I would feel more comfortable with snakes as aggressive as Mark's using something larger, maybe .38 or .45, if not a shotgun.

OTOH, using shot instead of a solid bullet to the head ruins more meat. :) Rattlesnake is a true delicacy. Haven't tried the others he mentioned, but wouldn't mind the opportunity.
 
We're lucky not to have an issue with the poisonous kind here in New England!:eek:
If I were Mark's situation, I'd take Doc's advice on the .410. Cheap to buy, inexpensive ammo and light.
 
I've had one this year already but usually we're not plagued with them. Some years I don't see any and the next year there will be three or four.

I didn't realize that cottonmouths were so territorial until a couple of years ago when one chased my S-I-L off the dock on the lake at the farm ... twice. He didn't make it the third time. They can be pretty nasty but most that I've run across have got out of the way, thank goodness.

Favorite method of dispatch? ... pretty much anything that's handy at the time. I usually keep a straight bladed edger with a 5' handle around the house. The edge has been ground to be knife sharp. It does a pretty good job but I have used anything from a big rock to the limb cutter part of a pole saw. That worked pretty well too but the snake can't be too big around. Hooked it, pulled on the rope real fast and hey presto, two snakes. The preferred method, if I have time to run get it, is still the 20 gauge. OK, some might think that it's a little excessive but I'm not looking to make friends or influence people. I just want it dead. If I'm walking or working around the place I often/usually carry the .357 with the first two chambers up being loaded with snake shot.

I hope things clear up around the place. Nothing can detract from the joys of country living than being continuously on the lookout for snakes. It can get wearing on the nerves.
 
Luckily for me, we don't have many poisonous snakes.

On the .22 shot shells, I'd say they're a bit light. I've also found that there's feeding issues on semi-auto pistols (in my case, a Ruger MK-II). If you're expecting to need a follow-up shot, I'd test it first.

Although I don't have much of a snake issue, around the yard and in the woods I carry a Taurus Judge. It's a revolver that shoots either .410 shotgun or .45LC's. It's 100% better than the .22 for snakes or nuisance varmints.
 
snakes!

The best thing to kill a snake is a mongoose or a ferret. They are living breathing snake killing machines. Dont let the kids think its a pet. They are NOT critters you want to make pets out of. They are critters that will square off and win against a snake.:respect:
 
Birdshot will generally not operate a semi-auto, but any revolver should handle birdshot. I went through this nearly 30 years ago clearing the property we now live on. My experience is that 22 birdshot is way too little. I eventually went to .38/.357 birdshot and found it fairly effective out to 12-15'...with several shots. I preferred the 38 or 357 revolver to the Thompson for number of rounds. Also had a huge problem with feral dogs, and would generally load 3 chambers with shot, and the last three with real bullets. Always had a rifle in the truck, but it wasn't always convenient to keep it by my side. The revolver was easy, and I knew if I could kill alpha dog, a pack would generally retreat at least long enough to regroup before beta dog led the next attack. And yes, this did occur more than once. This was (still is to a great extent) a high dumping area for people wanting to get rid of animals.

Another benefit to 38 birdshot is that while at close range it will do serious damage to a snake, it is unlikely to penetrate a good leather boot (at least in my experience...YMMV). You can figure out why that might be important.
 
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