Model 67 saves 3 year old boy from fearsome rattler!

I have been struck by the bloody stump on ol rattlers I was skinnin' many times. You don't never git use to that. I jump every time.
 
When a human is in danger or a pet, kill the snake. When it's just
crawling along not hurting anything, leave it alone. I am glad your
son is OK. Goose
 
Somone should post about coral snakes, of which we have two genera in N. America. Others occupy tropical America, and do not have the same color patterns as do ours.

The usual phrase about the colored rings touching (in USA examples) is red and black, friend of Jack. (King Snake) Red and yellow, kill a fellow. (Coral)

I think of them as sort of New Word kraits, and both are indeed elapids. Fortunately, our corals have small mouths and short fangs. But if they get you, you have been seriously gotten!

I almost stepped on one in East Texas. Fortunately, looked down and saw its vivid colors in time. I had a .22 pistol, but this was out in the woods, so I just watched the colorful little snake for awhile and left. It was about a foot long.
 
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Great post - another clear example of the uncertainties of life. Because you never know what the next moment has in store for you, it's good to ALWAYS be armed. I'm happy for your sake and that of your son that your Model 67 was readily available. Great shooting!
 
Couldn't you have just use a ball point pen to protect your self.:D

Did your son spot it first and know what to do?

Glad you were prepared and handled the situation like you did. Not a good thing to have a little one bitten by any snake.
 
Great shot!! No sympathy for rattlers here. I hate them things! We live in the country and over the years rattlers have bit my horse, several cows, killing one cow, dogs and my Dad spent 3 days in the hospital and was very sick because of a bite. As was mentioned above: the little ones are very dangerous. My Dad was bitten by one less than a foot long, only one fang got him on the finger, they have no rattles to warn you. His arm swelled up 3 to 4 times normal and turned black.
As the nurse mentioned above, dispose of the head by smashing and burning as a neighbor was bitten by a dead snake after he had killed it and spent a couple days in the hospital.
I got this one the day before yesterday with my 9mm while mowing, 42 inches long with 14 rattles.
Take care!
Rod



Judging by the pictures you lawn doesn't need too much mowing! Maybe a little water would help? :-)
 
I'd kill the last one, if I could.

When a human is in danger or a pet, kill the snake. When it's just
crawling along not hurting anything, leave it alone. I am glad your
son is OK. Goose

Well, you don't know where the snake might be an hour from now, tomorrow, next week or who might have contact with it. Will it be a small unsuspecting child, someone's pet or an elderly person? If you have ever seen what a dog, horse, cow or a person goes through after being bitten by a rattler, you'll look at this differently and wish you could kill the last one. I have experienced all of the above, the death of two of my dogs, one cow, including seeing my Dad get very sick and spending 3 days in the hospital. The snake that bit him was a baby only around 10 inches long, too young to warn with a rattle, and only got Dad with one fang on his finger. His arm swelled 3 times normal size and turned black. It wasn't what any of us want to see any 75 yr. old go through. It's true rattlers kill very few people but those that are bitten generally get very sick and some have permanent nerve/muscle damage. I only wished I or someone else would have had a chance to kill the snake that bit Dad prior to his getting bit.
I hope you rethink just letting a very dangerous creature go to endanger someone. There are other non-poisonous snakes and other predators that control mice, rats and other vermin, I'm sure you would not want in your house.
Just my 2 cents and you can keep the change.
Rod
 
Judging by the pictures you lawn doesn't need too much mowing! Maybe a little water would help? :-)

Well, I put him on our gravel drive way so he would show up nice for the pic. You probably would have been bitten as they are hard to see in the weeds. I think I mentioned he was in weeds not lawn. I've had 2 hips replaced this summer and the weeds around the yard have done pretty well, some were knee high.
 
That snake was doing just what comes natural to him, did you have to kill it? Couldn't you have shooed it away with a stick or stamp you foot or thrown a rock in its direction to get its attention away from your son? Seems people needlessly kill snakes without question because they fear them out of ignorance and cultural malice. They are, after all, one of God's creatures just trying to make their way in a dangerous world.

Okay, I nearly gagged after writing the paragraph above, good shooting! I'm impressed you got it with one shot, it would have been in four or five pieces had I been there.

Had me going for a few seconds. Out in the wild I let them go, around the house, well they don't get a last minute call from the governor.....
 
Had me going for a few seconds. Out in the wild I let them go, around the house, well they don't get a last minute call from the governor.....

The Rattle snake you let go "out in the wild" one day could be on your, or someone's, door step a day or two later. They travel miles from their dens in the spring returning in the fall, going through many inhabited areas. I don't give them a second chance. They're worse than a rabid skunk. Would you let one of them go out in the wild?
Rod
 
Earlier this year my wife and I was driving out in the boonies. We seen a eagle swoop down in the brush, never stopped and when it raised up we could see it had a large probley rattelsnake! It gained a lot of altitude and then dropped the snake and flew down to it! Later I was telling the story to a local and they said they drop the snake from altitude to kill it! It was neat to see.
 
In the south, There is an old wives tale about there being a poisonous powder in the rattles of a rattlesnake.... A bit of investigation turned up that the slave kids mammas told the kids that tale so when they "killed" a rattlesnake, they wouldn't try and cut the rattles off.....If you try to grab a "dead " snakes tail...He will inflict a nasty bite I forgot that once, but being rather young at the time & rather quick...I got away with out a bite...
Be careful out there!!!
JIM.................
 
Somone should post about coral snakes, of which we have two genera in N. America. Others occupy tropical America, and do not have the same color patterns as do ours.

The usual phrase about the colored rings touching (in USA examples) is red and black, friend of Jack. (King Snake) Red and yellow, kill a fellow. (Coral)

I think of them as sort of New Word kraits, and both are indeed elapids. Fortunately, our corals have small mouths and short fangs. But if they get you, you have been seriously gotten!

I almost stepped on one in East Texas. Fortunately, looked down and saw its vivid colors in time. I had a .22 pistol, but this was out in the woods, so I just watched the colorful little snake for awhile and left. It was about a foot long.

Yup killed a 2 foot coral down here at the RV park just two weeks ago.... I hate to kill them because they are so shy and will typically try to run from you when they see you but I have a snake policy, If I know you ain't poisonous you can be on your way, If I think you are you will be my way... I grew up around too many cottonmouths to let a poisonous one walk...

I do like critters though, and other than accidentally hitting my grass snakes and racers with the lawnmower, never hurt a non venomous one.
 
I had a buddy who was a Border Patrol Agent. He worked his whole life around rattlesnakes on the SW border. He retired in Montana. Less than a year after retirement he got bit by a rattlesnake and died 3 days later. The universe loves irony.
 
I had a buddy who was a Border Patrol Agent. He worked his whole life around rattlesnakes on the SW border. He retired in Montana. Less than a year after retirement he got bit by a rattlesnake and died 3 days later. The universe loves irony.

What a pity! You have to wonder if anyone gave the snake a "pass" because it was out in the "wild" and didn't kill it.
I hope stories like yours gets more people to understand how dangerous rattlers or any poisonous snakes are.
Thanks for sharing.
Rod
 
I think of them as sort of New Word kraits, and both are indeed elapids.

Texas Star's big brain is showing, and I believe his point needs a bit of explanation - specifically, the term: elapid. What TS was saying is that the Coral snake is in the same family of snakes as the Kraits, the Cobras (King and Egyptian), the Taipan, and the Black Mamba. I learned this fact when watching a documentary about dangerous snakes on the Animal Planet. The snake expert was handling a Coral snake while giving his lecture, and I was surprised at how fast that snake could move. Also, the members of the elapids have venom that is neurotoxic (literally, deadly to nerves), and/or cardiotoxic (literally, deadly to the heart). With regards to the Coral snake, that's a lot of death in a small package. Proceed with caution.

Regards,

Dave
 
My daughter lived in Midland/Odessa, TX for a couple of years. Her apartment was across the street from a rather large vacant lot. I have no doubt there were a number of good sized rattlers over there. When I visited her, I would always be on 'snake alert' walking from the parking lot to her front door. Luckily they never made it across the street alive.

She has since moved to the Houston area. First living in North Houston/Spring, then moving out to the 'burbs' of Cypress. Still, I don't go walking around in my bare feet. Or get complacent about stepping out of my car.

From the last couple of posts with snake kill pics, I need to go do some practice shooting at cans on the ground. My model 60 doesn't have the ammo capacity for my marksmanship skills. Probably need to carry my Mini-14 with the 100 round drum magazine...
 

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