My dog is in the same club as Zues.

[Bowesmobile]

Out walking Magnolia and about a quarter of a mile from my driveway she was bit by a copperhead. Got her right on her left lip. Poor girl, jumped 4' in the air! Probably sniffed it because she thought it was a stick! Well this stick bit back! Had to run her to the vet, and she's on a anti-biotic as well as some pain meds. Poor thing looked like she went a few rounds with Mike Tyson (only she has her ears still). It was more important to get my kids and wife far enough out of harms way that they didn't get bit. Or else it would have met the wrath of my .45 that I was open carrying (hope I've satisfied all the forum rules, lol). I added a picture of her from this morning. The angle doesn't show how swollen her mouth really is.

 

[Citizen]

Sorry to her she was bitten. Hope she's OK.


I never understood shooting snakes. Except in water, swamp, or a tree, a handy stick or branch is enough. In the yard a hoe or shovel will end things swiftly. And, I don't have to explain gunshots, nor clean the gun. Seems like an excuse to just use the gun to me, but I also recognize there may be more to it than what I can think up.

 

[Marco]

Sorry to hear about your dog.. hope he recovers swiftly.
Twenty some yrs ago one of my APBT's got bite on the snot by a Mojave rattler...he swelled up and looked like a piece of cauliflower... luckily with anit botics he made a full recovery.


We were 4 miles from the car so I carried him out so he wouldn't cause more harm to himself and 20-30 miles from town and it was sunday, glad my vet was a close friend.

Locally a 6yr old girl (iirc) was bite on the ankle back in April or May by a cooperhead not once but twice, she lived.
After that incident I went out with a shovel each night over turning rocks and dead tree limbs for about a month.


Rabies is also on the rise here locally, darnnit!!!!!

 

[Bowesmobile]

Citizen,

I do not want to get within striking distance and it was a pretty big copper head. The forum rules state it has to be open carry related. Sooooo, I meantioned I was open carrying. It was a little big to kill with a stick and dang it all I forgot to carry my shovel, hoe, and rake with me on that 2 mile walk. But my nifty pistola was on my side and not concerning myself with the welfare of my wife and kids would have allowed me the opportunity to eliminate a potential repeat threat. Now I have to be mindful that there's a 5' copperhead roaming the woods by my house. So when and if I run across my new "friend" again I will make sure to give him a few new breathing holes. Something I wish I could have handled upon our first introduction. Had I greeted him before he greeted my dog I could have saved a vet visit! :banana:

 

[peter nap]

Sorry to her she was bitten. Hope she's OK.


I never understood shooting snakes. Except in water, swamp, or a tree, a handy stick or branch is enough. In the yard a hoe or shovel will end things swiftly. And, I don't have to explain gunshots, nor clean the gun. Seems like an excuse to just use the gun to me, but I also recognize there may be more to it than what I can think up.

I think the biggest reason is most people don't like to get that close to them.

I don't kill them unless they're close to the house but in that case...I don't want them to get away.
A shovel or hoe work fine unless they wiggle back in rocks or under something, then you have to root them out to get a whack at them.

I use a 22 rifle because with snake shot it's as quiet as a pellet gun and if they do get in rocks or brush, I just shoot what I can see. A snake is all backbone so a shot anywhere mid body up will keep him in place, Then I just move what they're hiding in and kill it.

 

[Citizen]

Citizen,

I do not want to get within striking distance and it was a pretty big copper head. The forum rules state it has to be open carry related. Sooooo, I meantioned I was open carrying. It was a little big to kill with a stick and dang it all I forgot to carry my shovel, hoe, and rake with me on that 2 mile walk. But my nifty pistola was on my side and not concerning myself with the welfare of my wife and kids would have allowed me the opportunity to eliminate a potential repeat threat. Now I have to be mindful that there's a 5' copperhead roaming the woods by my house. So when and if I run across my new "friend" again I will make sure to give him a few new breathing holes. Something I wish I could have handled upon our first introduction. Had I greeted him before he greeted my dog I could have saved a vet visit! :banana:

Makes sense.

(But, if you were walking along a road with fields on either side, you could have pulled up a fence post or telephone pole to whack the snake. And, a telephone pole would give you plenty of length to stay out of snakebite range. )

 

[Citizen]

I think the biggest reason is most people don't like to get that close to them.

I don't kill them unless they're close to the house but in that case...I don't want them to get away.
A shovel or hoe work fine unless they wiggle back in rocks or under something, then you have to root them out to get a whack at them.

I use a 22 rifle because with snake shot it's as quiet as a pellet gun and if they do get in rocks or brush, I just shoot what I can see. A snake is all backbone so a shot anywhere mid body up will keep him in place, Then I just move what they're hiding in and kill it.

You sound like a man with plenty of experience killing snakes.

 

[Bowesmobile]

Makes sense.

(But, if you were walking along a road with fields on either side, you could have pulled up a fence post or telephone pole to whack the snake. And, a telephone pole would give you plenty of length to stay out of snakebite range. )

I am going to have to remember the telephone pole trick! Thanks! The fence didn't start for another 50 yards. To far out of reach...thanks for the advice though!

 

[peter nap]

Rabies is also on the rise here locally, darnnit!!!!!

Yep...that's taken a BIG jump in the last month here and in the burbs.

 

[MamabearCali]

As a person who has lived where poisonous snakes were VERY common (seen everyother day) we had a rule with poisonous ones. If it is the field it may lie, it if it in the yard (area where people are common) it must die. The rational behind that is that snakes are an important part if our ecosystem, however we cannot permit a poisonous snake to remain near where our children play. We are not crocodile hunters (and able to move snakes at will) so we must deal in deadly force when deal with poisonous snakes. Now a simple grass snake would just get moved with a stick to a wooded area

 

[Bowesmobile]

Black snakes are allowed to pass in the yard. Copperheads are not... Thats the rule at our house. Also stray dogs are not allowed in because of what they do to my chickens and ducks. Deer are allowed on a seasonal and tempermental basis. Those that decide to eat my garden are eaten themselves. Those that eat in the woods are welcome year round and will only be hunted with the appropriate weapon in the appropriate season.

 

[The Wolfhound]

They make .45ACP shot shells

Some pistols (mine is one) will cycle reliably with them. The shot is #9 and does a much better job than the .22LR filled with #12. It is an option I have chosen more than once.

 

[acfreddie]

If it is the field it may lie, it if it in the yard (area where people are common) it must die. The rational behind that is that snakes are an important part if our ecosystem, however we cannot permit a poisonous snake to remain near where our children play.

Makes perfect sense to me

 

[Uber_Olafsun]

When I lived in California at my brothers t ball game a Mojave green came up to my step dad and tried to strike him. It hit the ball bag before anyone even saw it with a little kid pointing it out screaming. We backed everyone up and my step dad got in the car and ran back and forth on it about 20 times. The thing was flattened but still twitching. After the twitching stopped he used a bat to pick it up and toss it into the desert. When you don't have a shotgun a station wagon can fill in.

 

[riverrat10k]

snip

Now I have to be mindful that there's a 5' copperhead roaming the woods by my house.

snip

Should have tried to capture it.

http://www.goochlandgazette.com/index.php/news/article/woman_kills_near_record_length_copperhead/

"The reptile, which Dykers killed with a hoe, measured in at 46 inches long, about a foot longer than the average copperhead. The record length for that type of snake in Virginia is 48 inches. And the world record? Just a bit longer at 53 inches"

New world record in Powhatan!

 

[Citizen]

SNIP When you don't have a shotgun a station wagon can fill in.

Don't tell Bowesmobile! He can't carry a station wagon under one arm and telephone pole under the other.

 

[Bowesmobile]

Don't tell Bowesmobile! He can't carry a station wagon under one arm and telephone pole under the other.

Why not? I can carry both and the leash with my pistol on my hip, thank you very much! Are you making fun of me? lol

It might have been closer to 48" but I wasn't going to take my chances measuring it. "hello mister snake that bit my dog, can I please measure you so the internetz can know exactly how long you are. OUCH, now why did you go and bite me"! I do know that it was about as big around as my fist and not very friendly.

 

[Citizen]

SNIP Why not? I can carry both and the leash with my pistol on my hip, thank you very much! Are you making fun of me? lol.

I think I'm going to have be a lot more respectful to you. Sir.

 

[Bowesmobile]

Citizen,

It's all in good fun!

Peter nap,

Didn't realize this until now but I mis-spelled Zeus's name. Sorry, didn't mean to do that! He's one cool dog and I have a lot of respect for him.

A quick update on Magnolia. The swelling is almost completely gone. There's just one red spot where she was bit on the lip. She has been more cuddly lately, lol. Which is a good thing if you know her. Here's a picture from this morning.

 

[peter nap]

Glad she's getting better. Copperheads don't always release a full dose of venom. Sounds like this one gave a light load.

Zeus isn't particular how his name gets spelled.
He has to stay at the house when I'm hunting so he stood around looking snooty all day.:lol: