ive had to many encounters with these cant stand them either. and if a snake suprises me i can honest say i can identify them in a instant! they are all Rattleheadedcoppermocassins and they will be delt a swift and sudden death, afterwards the shall be skinned cleaned and cooked.
I don't think i would have shot it with the 12 ga....I wouldve used my 22 mag my wife bought me for christmas.I carry a pistol in the woods for a few reasons and he killed one of them.The other is also a snake,,, of a two legged variety.By the way,that IS a great lookin mod. 12.
I would have killed it too and never looked back.
And flies. I have no use for a critter that feeds on feces then copulates in my potato salad.Originally Posted by proud dad
~ Jack
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
John Adams
I'm a snake fan & used to have a few as pets when I was a kid (milk, garter & rat-snakes). However cottonmouths/water moccasins are one of the most nasty foul-tempered aggressive critters that slithers & I would have shot 'em too!
I remember when I was growing up, ANY snake that was in or near water was for sure a 'cottonmouth' according to all the 'old timers'.
I use to catch water snakes and scare the heck out of them
Being in Louisiana, I can tell ya IF it was a watersnake, we have more than enough to keep the world populated. Last year I went to a favorite fishin spot and every fish I dragged in had a damn snake attached by the time it got to me. I caught 23 fish and killed 35+ snakes. When I left there were still more watersnakes than I could count on the bank, on logs, in trees.... I just hate them now. Good job Paul, I'd have got him too. My guage ain't as cool as your's, but works as good
Good on you, I'm not all a fan of snakes, poisonous or not. I would have shot the bugger, and left him - dead or not, I'm not touching it. Haha.
About a year back, we came upon a dead snake on the trail, and my buddy picked it up and was checking it out. Suffice to say, I got it in my head that he was going to throw it at me, so I threatened to shoot him. I was deadly serious!
Then just this last summer, while out doing an overnight kayak trip, a snake swam right towards my kayak and disappeared under me. I don't think I've ever paddled to land quicker.
Spiders, and all those critters don't bother me, but snakes are way beyond a no go for me.
Jelly fish, now there is a beast of little value. Don't be too hard on the tick and the mosquito. Ticks keep lots of people from going into the woods and that helps to keep things quiet. Malaria cleans up 1.2 million people a year so its not all bad either.
It is so interesting to me that some folks would be bothered by the killing of a snake. It is a neutral act.
People that kill snakes of any kind do not bother me, people that will never kill any snake do not bother me. The number of people that can not indentify a snake correctly bothers me a little, even though it should'nt.
Last edited by GKiT; 03-05-2013 at 08:01 AM.
Respectfully, I don't know where in NJ you live, but i see from your profile you grew up doing outdoor stuff, but you kinda have to live down here with this kind of snake to really understand. Kinda like killing house flies I guess. A pest, but poisonous... I don't know you, so I don't know your comfort level in the woods, experience level, or where you go to get outdoors. I'm assuming it's not "out in the country". Imagine a poisonous, agressive snake the color of concrete, that liked to hang out on sidewalks, that you couldn't see until it moved, and when you did finally rouse it, it didn't have the sense to leave, but moved toward you, rather than fleeing like any normal snake. If you are fortunate enough to live in the country, let's say it was a green snake, grass colored, with stripes, looking exactly like astro-turf... Any snake that looks like it is not going to get the benefit of the doubt. Hope that explains it's situation a little better.
Let me put it another way... I went squirrel hunting last wednesday after work... 2nd to last day of the season. I shot a little guy up a tree, watched the bullet hit him and move him backwards... watched him shake a little as he lost his grip, watched him fall, and heard him hit the ground. Lost sight of him as I moved through the brush to get him... when i got there, he was gone. There was a hole in the base of tree that I think he crawled into. i was sick. i stayed a half hour, looking for a blood trail, anything, to recover my kill. i was screwed up spiritually for 2 days afterward... went back out sunday to see if i could find anything there, and to make my peace with him. I still feel bad. I wouldn't even eat a moccasin. Might skin it and wear it as a hat band out of spite.
I don't shoot them if they're traveling away from me... but moccasins are not docile (related to the copperhead), and my comment about the anal plates was designed to show the futility of trying to sort out first and shoot later... In the case of a slow moving coral snake, yeah, i'll figure out if it's a "friend of jack" or a "deadly fellow"... mocs and their copycats don't get the benefit of the doubt. Also, life eventually teaches you to be cautious and you lose your idealism.
And if after that, you still don't understand (though you may still not do it yourself), then we will have to agree to disagree.
Respectfully,
Seeker
Last edited by Seeker; 03-05-2013 at 07:56 AM.
Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you. John Muir
"I may just be a hillbilly, but I know the difference between a show dog and a working dog. Working dogs know when to be quiet and they have mud on them." 87Burban
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