I awoke about 2 a.m. yesterday morning when I heard something moving outside the house down at the ranch. As I pulled on my boots I heard a hog squeal. I have a feeder close to the house and the hogs had come in to do a nightime raid. I grabbed my MP5 bedside gun and slipped out on the porch. Just as I was fixin to put a burst into the wad of hogs a rattlesnake cut loose with the buzzing sound that once you hear you never forget. The snake wasn't within striking distance but was too damn close for comfort. I shifted from the hogs to the snake and fired a burst striking him in the head. It sure is hard to go back to sleep after a little excitement. Here is a pic. Size is distorted but he measured 5'2.

MP5 makes a heck of a nightstand gun!

Was it just a bit warm out there? Getting any rain to speak of?

That's one sound you never forget -- and a sound that quickly gets one's attention. My wife is originally from West Texas, and we've never had a visit there that wasn't interupted at least once by a rattler. Due to a medical condition, the hearing in my left ear is extremely poor, and even with a hearing aid, I sometimes have a hard time determining the direction of sound. That makes the unmistakable warning of a rattler even more eerie for me.

Rattlesnakes are few and far between in my area, but the cotton mouths and copperheads abound.

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As I pulled on my boots

Hey M16, No doubt the "Snake Boots" make good sense in your part of the world. Doesn't take long to get used to them when you know for sure you might need them.

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MP5 makes a heck of a nightstand gun!

I have had groups of individuals from our neighboring country to the south pay a nightime visit. Usually they just want food, water, or directions. But I keep hearing of them becoming more aggressive. The MP5 is quite comforting at times like this.

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Was it just a bit warm out there? Getting any rain to speak of?

Not real bad. The high Saturday was only 98. It is very dry. No measurable rain in five or six months.

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Rattlesnakes are few and far between in my area, but the cotton mouths and copperheads abound.

I live just down the road from you and have quite a few timber rattlesnakes on my place. But since they are endangered species you can't shoot them. Are the rattlers around Shiner timber or diamondback?

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No doubt the "Snake Boots" make good sense in your part of the world.

Don't leave home without them! I didn't become a believer until my jeep wouldn't start when I finished hunting one afternoon. It was a two mile hike in the dark back to camp. Not a good feeling when any help is at least an hour or more away. After having a few other close calls I now wear them all the time when the weather is warm enough for snakes to be active.

I just looked outside to see if there was any rattlesnakes here.....I didn't see any thank goodness.

vapodog--there are snakes in that environment--but ya'll usually call them icicles!!!

M16--second on the boots--used to walk the senderos at night with a red light shooting hogs-in my chukka boots and shorts until one night I had an "aural revelation" and since then it is snake boots on second thing in camp. First thing is to walk around the camphouse and make sure nothing is amiss. Three weeks ago I walked up to the door to the shower/toilet area and when I opened it, there were 5-6 faces looking back at me. By the time I had checked with the rancher and walked back over to the camp, they were gone. One guy left in such a hurry that he left a shoe, and someone left his underwear too. That would be a tough run through the brush.

hope that you rolled that meat in some hush puppy mix and drop it into some hot oil for about 45 secs that is fine eating righ there !!! anywhere close to Pensacola Fl if so get a bunch and throw them in the freezer and holler at me !!!!!

The snakes really are starting to come out now. I had a very large king snake slither out from under my farm house last weekend. Haven't seen any rats, probably the reason, think I'll keep him around. I think they'll go after rattlers too altho we don't have that many, mainly copperheads and moccasins. Across the river where it is rockier, they have more.

Vapodog-Posting that photo is just plain CRUEL. It's cooling off this week, but yesterday was already 90+ here in south central Texas.

I'm JEALOUS!

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Not real bad. The high Saturday was only 98. It is very dry. No measurable rain in five or six months.

Sounds like it is time to do the rain dance again!

M16-

The few rattlers that have been found here in Lavaca County recently have been diamondbacks. Supposedly, many years ago, there were others, but I am not certain if timber rattlers were among them.

No snakes here.

Just snow about 5 inchs in the last 3 hrs they have pulled the plows off the roads. Wind gusts up to 30 mph. Yep just a good old fastion snow storm.

Yeah, snakes galore already down here.

Snow...what's that? It's gonna be a blustry 79 degrees today for my lunchtime jog! My tomatoes are already 2' tall and have green ones the size of a golf ball, and my citrus trees are finishing their spring bloom. South Texas!

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Originally posted by CDH:


Snow...what's that?

I used to think I liked the 4 seasons when I lived in the Midwest. Now I can go out shooting every day that I am and not worry about not seeing the target in a snowstorm, too cold, can't get to the shooting area because nobody plows the road, etc. etc.

M16 - I guess everything is bigger in TX. That is one huge snake.

I've seen them around here stretched completely across a road. Like hitting a speed bump. Rattlers are a definate part of life here. About as bad as the mosquitoes!

Jeez that's a whopper! We shot two last year that were 5 footers. One had 17 rattles and a button, the longest set of rattles I've ever seen.
Well, we're heading down south for some turkey hunting again this spring (and I've had this on my mind for awhile...sooner or later my luck's gonna run out) and I've seriously considered getting some snake boots. I have some snake leggings but they always seem to be left in the truck.


"I just looked outside to see if there was any rattlesnakes here.....I didn't see any thank goodness."

Vap, you lucky devil!!! LOL

Got three this weekend while doing the liming/fertilizing thing on one of my bowstands. These three were directly underneath my bowstand. Also found a grey rat snake about 5' long next to the rattlers...messed with him for a few minutes and let him go. I found a few sheds and a dead yearling 10 pointer that had the right stuff as you can see in the pic....I watched him all season. He was in good health the last time I saw him...could not tell how he died. The three rattlers were 5', 5+' and 3'. Attached is a pic of our son I posted before with an Honest seven footer we took off land we hunt on. I usually let em go, but not when they are taking up residence so dang close to my bowhunting spots!

Take care

Holy crap!!! The only good snake is a dead snake. The only thing worse would be one of our Montana grizzlies with rattles on his tail and venom in his teeth,
or a pissed off redhead from anywhere.

I was born in Flagstaff. Grandmother lived in Bisbee where they had lots of snakes. Kids in that neck of the weeds are taught to be very careful of snakes.

I am not afraid of them ... but agree that the good one is a dead one! I really like the idea of an MP5 or a 9mm M16 as a snake tool ;> Maybe not quite as effective as a shotgun, but a LOT more fun!!!!

A 22 loaded with Expeditors or other high velocity hollow points will perform wonders on snakes too, including the big ones.

Snakes are easy to kill. My Crossman 760 pellet gun accounted for hundreds of water (and a few terrestrial) snakes growing up. Head shots turn them into a writhing ball. All of 'em.

Truth be known, there is NO better ridder of rodents than snakes. Not cats. Not terriers. None. Owls might give snakes a run for their money, but I'll still put my money on a healthy snake population over a healthy owl. For example, one local animal shelter had a worker who took it on himself to rid the property of all snakes. he spent several days turning over every rock, wood pile, tall grass, etc. until every snake he could find was dead. For the next 6 months they had a huge rat/mouse problem. Eventyally they went a bought a half dozen rat snakes, turned them loose on the grounds, and the problem was gone in a month or so.

I'd rather have (non-venomous) snakes than mice/rats (and possums) around, so I let 'em go for the most part now... If it isn't positively venomous and near my house, it lives.