I have a 1957 Ford 641 tractor like the one in the photo, but that one is not mine. Mine is not that pretty. Mine is used weekly for mowing, bush-hogging, etc.. It is in good shape for its age. Yesterday while mowing I stirred up a decent size rattlesnake. I was not carrying at the time and he managed to slip away in the tall grass. I would like to mount a rack or scabbard to the inside of the right fender so that I can take my Maverick 88 with 18" barrel with me safely. I am looking for ideas or suggestions.

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Don't get off your tractor and the snake will leave you alone and eat rats

I have seen some full-coverage hard plastic scabbards for mounting on ATV's or snowmobiles that could probably be adapted pretty easily. Have a look at the Cabela's or Gander Outdoors websites.

Another thought is police supply companies. We always used locking racks mounted to the floorboard of the cruiser to secure a pump 12-gauge shotgun. These typically lock up at the rear of the slide to prevent anyone from inadvertently chambering a round while in the rack. Some have key-locks, some use electronic locks. Might require making a bracket to mount it to your tractor fender.

As far as safety goes, we always referred to a shotgun as "cruiser ready" when the chamber was empty, magazine full, action cocked, safety on. To make the shotgun ready requires hitting the slide release, racking the slide to chamber a round, then disengaging the safety, then the shotgun is ready to fire. For an experienced person that all requires only a few seconds, but the shotgun is always safe to transport and handle without undue concern.

Get a good one I had a friend mowing with a brushhog, he had snake charmer .410 stainless shot gun that fell off and he ran over it with cutter it totaled it. Jeff

Somehow, I knew this would be one of the first responses.

That’s all well and good unless the snake is in close proximity to a dwelling, a dog enclosure, or an area often used by humans, especially youngsters.

My King snakes and rat snakes are welcome, but the venomous snakes have to go.

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Georgia On My Mind

This was a rattler I'm almost positive. I don't let them be like I do other snakes. I have family that is out and about in these areas that it was seen in. Sorry but when it is snake or family snake loses. Thanks for the ideas I am researching them.

Any gun boot suitable for an atv should easily mount to one of your fenders. I am contemplating putting a rack of the roll bar of my John Deere to carry my AR15. I'm ALWAYS armed with a pistol of some sorts when using the tractor. MUCH FUN can be had shooting rats from the tractor seat with a 38 and shot loads when bush hogging.

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S&W Accumulator

Read somewhere a guy did the same thing with a pistol and a lawn mower.

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S&W Accumulator

You can mount these on the tractor fender. We have on our ATV’s

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Possum—The other white meat!

Why didn't you just run over it?

Looks like your gun could bounce out of that on rough terrain.

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S&W Accumulator

Id sling it over your head and one shoulder. Not real easy to draw but secure. Or you could mount a 3-4 inch diameter piece of PVC pipe capped on the lower end and mounted near vertical in an easy to reach position with some padding inside at the muzzle.



I was bush hogging a couple days ago shooting rats with my Glock. Challenging to say the least.

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Isaiah 41:10

They have straps that pull over the top and secure the gun. They are shown in the bottom right of the picture.

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Possum—The other white meat!

Hay, I thought about the pump trick on the tractor, but settled (against Rpgs warnings of a special place in hell) I went for the GOVENOR in a pancake holster with # 4s, works great, and won’t fall off, if it does I’m in big trouble, then I’m the pancake,lol.
Semper paratus

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NRA Life Member
CPO

For years guys around here mounted a piece of PVC pipe on
tractor fender. Some would cut a old soft gun case as a liner.
Most guys were using singl barrel shot guns or a beater Mil
Surp and didn't bother with lining. The gun nuts had some
rigged hard cases for scoped rifles.

My tractor has a canopy and I have an overhead gun rack but I don't see why something couldn't be mounted on the fender.
Don't trust Velcro straps to hold the gun in the rack. Use straps with a buckle (dog collar, small belt). I had the Velcro straps to fail and the gun fell off and I run over it with the bush hog. I was super lucky and the receiver only had one small scratch and now I have straps with a buckle. Larry

[QUOTE=Mike, SC Hunter;140072274 MUCH FUN can be had shooting rats from the tractor seat with a 38 and shot loads when bush hogging.[/QUOTE]

One day when I was bush hogging I decided shooting field mice was more important than mowing. I had a 9 shot HS .22 and I would follow and shoot until I killed them or shot 9 times and then stop and reload. I didn't kill too many and didn't get much mowing done but I shot several boxes of .22s. That evening when I quit my wife said she was glad that we don't have close neighbors that can see some of the things I do to amuse myself. Larry

I bought a set of the Kolphin Rhino grips and mounted on the ROP's of my Kubota. I mounted them so the rifle was vertical. They only lasted for a short time before they broke. On hindsight, they would have probably lasted longer had I mounted them so the rifle would be horizontal, but that really did not fit my application.

Tim

During WWII, there was a jeep mount for Garands. Used to see them (or repros) on surplus sites. Should fit a shotgun. Or a saddle scabbard for a lever action.

Here the skinny snakes are mostly not to worry about. The fat ones, arm size, are RATTLE MOUTH COTTON MOCCASINS ,generic term, and must die. The smaller ones I don't see that much while on the tractor.
For cutting hay fields I used a scabbard like SC_MIKE's picture and put my .223 TC Contender in it. Since the TC is so short I turn up about 6" at the bottom and set it on the floor pan then secure the top to the hand rail on the Kubota. Never has moved out of place and the scope has never jared off zero. See a coyote, stop, turn off the pto if fluffing and set the rifle on my leg that is resting on the fender. Last one I shot was about 135 yds and I missed the tip of his nose by an inch and removed teeth and the side of his skull.
Larry

Like SC Mike's scabbard, $25 or so from Sportsman Guide, pictured with a Rossi 92 lever gun:



This scabbard will hold a lever action rifle, some bolt action carbines, Ruger 10/22, probably a single shot shotgun...

The old boy I bought a Cub Lo-boy from had a leather scabbard held to the fender with a couple fender washers top and one at the bottom for a 410 28" single shot, with a couple of extra shells in his shirt pocket. If you can't hit a slow moving object like a snake with a single shot, don't plan on hitting a rabbit or bird with anything!

Ivan

SC_Mike that is exactly what I was thinking of and I have found them for sale reasonable. How is it secured to the fender?

Abbynormal by the time I got slowed and turned he was gone.

6518John I also saw that mount in my searching but wasn't sure how it would hold up to bumps and limb scrapes.

Drm50 the PVC idea in very interesting thanks.

Thanks everyone for all the input.

Don't know, not my tractor. But for me the only way I'd trust it is to through bolt it.

Let us know what you come up with.

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Isaiah 41:10

This was my first thought...

I ride 4 wheelers and the best case by far for rough duty is the Koplin two piece hard case that's easily removeble. You can leave the gun covered and its protected in rain or dust or you can remove the top part and it's faster to access. Or you can remove the whole thing and store the gun somewhere else in it. You might want to carry a scoped rifle some day for coyotes or other predators and these do a great job at protecting the rifle and they are a little pricey but should last forever.

Considered but never mounted a scabbard. I always carry my Model 66 snubnose or Glock. Shooting rats is good practice.
Last fall I needed to take on some hydraulic fluid and pulled up in fron of my shed. What was lying right in front of the container but a nice Canebreak Rattler. I didn’t bother to get off the tractor but pulled my Glock 40 S&W and took care of business. Not too bad a shot for an old fat man.
I always have fun!!

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Sorry, same photo. I will try to make a correction. I am better with a pistol than an iPad!

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My tractor has a ROPS system that is sort'a pain in the rear when bush hogging the field edges where limbs hang down, but I've made the best I could with it by adding lights and a gun rack, It holds an axe, rake, shovel or .410 pump or 30-30 as I see fit. My '53 ferguson doesn't have one of course. They started installing them in 1965 or so, and then not on all tractors. When I'm on Ferrgy I usually have a chest holster on with a Blackhawk or maybe the 1076, right there in the center of my chest, where I can still hold the wheel and draw & fire, it need be.

My ATV has one of those hard plastic gun scabbards that holds any manner of shotgun or scoped rifle. It mounts with a couple of "U-bolts" that snug it down to the rack. I'm sure it could be rigged to ride the inner fender of your tractor, but making sure it's not in the way of a lift lever, PTO switch or anything else is up to you. I liked the looks of the scabbard on the rear fender in an above post pretty well too.

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Kolpin sells a plastic rifle boots. It is weatherproof for ATV's and UTV's. Shop UTV & ATV Gun Boots, Cases, Mounts & Carriers | Kolpin | Kolpin

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Death? Smile back...

Not to mention the $30K helicopter ride to the hospital