Big Western Diamondback from Hartford, AR. Killed by the man after it bit two of his dogs. One dog died, the other lives. Snake was 5'6".

That snake looks longer than 5'6" to me. A lot longer.

66" is a big snake, but if it were as big as the use of perspective makes it look, it would be very valuable, IF it were alive.

Same photography as those who use photo to make deer or elk appear to be so much bigger than they are.

Least way that is what methinks

quote:

Originally posted by sharpsguy:
That snake looks longer than 5'6" to me. A lot longer.

Some of the original news stories had it between 8 and 10 feet long!
http://5newsonline.com/2015/10...rn-sebastian-county/

The guy who shot it measured it at 5'6". I thought it was likely 6 ft from first pictures, but knew it was not 7 ft, which would be a record. That picture with the fangs exposed makes it look almost supernaturally large.

I don't know. It looks closer to 7 or 8 feet to me. If you scale the photograph, you can see the length of the man's forearm from his elbow to about his wrist. That distance on my arm is just about 12 inches, or one foot. Assuming that the man's forearm is about the same length as mine, if you transpose the length of the man's forearm to the length of the snake, the snake is a bit over 8 times as long as the man's forearm. To me that indicates that the snake is well over 7 feet long, perhaps even a bit over 8.

That is one hell of a rattlesnake, any way you look at it.

But how do you know the man in the photo is not 5 foot 2, making the length of his arm much shorter?

I don't. But assume that the man is 5'6'' or 5'7''. That snake is at least 1 3/4 times as long as the man is tall which would make the snake 8 feet or so long. Hell, if the man is 5'0" the snake is at least seven feet.

Perspective. Which photo shows the true size of the tea glass? Half way between dog and camera:

Or slightly behind the dog?

Whatever the actual length, that's a big freakin' buzztail. No thank you!

quote:

Killed by the man after it bit two of his dogs. One dog died, the other lives

I am sorry to hear about his dog, I hate losing a dog by any means, but to a snake when they are probably trying (in their mind) to protect the owner is doubly tragic.

Hell of an ad for flip flops.

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
Perspective. Which photo shows the true size of the tea glass? Half way between dog and camera:

Or slightly behind the dog?

The dog in this pic doesn't look all that impressed with the cup being placed by his backside........

TCLouis--There was a rumor that persisted that a live rattler over 6 feet long would fetch big bucks. A guy I know caught one and he searched high and low but didn't find anyone willing to buy it. He finally put it in a freezer and closed the door.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
TCLouis--There was a rumor that persisted that a live rattler over 6 feet long would fetch big bucks. A guy I know caught one and he searched high and low but didn't find anyone willing to buy it. He finally put it in a freezer and closed the door.

"Regardless, the Reptile Gardens crew is holding out hope that there really might be some giants out there. So much so that they offer up rewards for world-record reptiles that are brought in to them alive and in good condition.

So, that “8-foot rattlesnake” that your co-worker’s cousin’s neighbor’s buddy caught – is worth a cool $25,000 if he can prove that it’s legit.

Reptile Gardens has a whole list of actual rewards that they are willing to pay for record-breaking animals. A 30-foot python or an 800-pound giant tortoise is worth $50,000. The real jackpot, though, is for an honest-to-goodness 25-foot long crocodile. That behemoth will net you $100,000!
- See more at: http://blackhillstravelblog.co...sthash.VRwa7V1f.dpuf

How 'bout a 15# Canada goose?

Nice that he stated the actual size of the snake as 5'6" The internet is full of long arms pics of 8-9 foot rattlesnakes...all bogus. Saw a reward mentioned for an eight footer in a previous post. I don't know if its the same Reptile Gardens or not but Ross Allen's Reptile institute offered a bundle for a live 8 footer decades ago. They haven't been taken up on it yet....


Got a pic in a book here of an honest 8'6" Eastern Diamondback taken in the early 1900s by George Shiras ( The Shiras moose guy) in a book for National Geographic. I say its honest cause George and NatGeo have always been sticklers for detail...

quote:

Originally posted by Nyalubwe:


Got a pic in a book here of an honest 8'6" Eastern Diamondback taken in the early 1900s by George Shiras ( The Shiras moose guy) in a book for National Geographic. I say its honest cause George and NatGeo have always been sticklers for detail...

There was a newspaper clipping from 1902 in a lumber co. office in West Palm Beach Fl. called Lainhart & Potter. It showed 6 men standing shoulder holding a Eastern Diamondback which was 13'6'. Course it was dead

3 years ago in the panhandle of Fl. I was mountain biking in a state park. Coming around a curve on a seledom used road there was a diamond back stretched out over 8' sunning himself. I stopped grabbed a large stic and pickrd him up and moved him into a large palmetto patch. Rode home & got my snake catching equipment and drove truck back.
As I was searching a Fl. Wildlife truck drove up & stopped. Asked what I was doing & I told him about the snake. He said he like to have a hat band. I told him come out & help I could make us both hat bands , belts, & a vests.
Needless to say he said "no way"
Gave me his cell phone # & told me to call him if I got bit.
I never did find him & went back several times but had no luck.
I have caught Eastern Diamond Backs before but the were from 3-6 feet & sold them.
That one was worth BIG MONEY if I had caught him.

BTW I have been in construction all my life I can tall @ a glance the size of a 2X4.
actually I think he was over 10 but???

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/...458_b31367ef41_b.jpg

Nice article on snake size:

http://www.livingalongsidewild...led-rattlesnake.html

That is one hell of a rattler!

Years ago I ran across a rattler in Georgia that was at least 7 foot without the rattle. I was driving out of waycross and notice a snake draped over a mile marker sign, If you live in Georga their mile markers are every bit of 5 feet high, this snake was equally draped with at least 3 feet or more on each side. I myself couldn't believe one would get that big and if I didn't see it I wouldn't have believed it. I told the fellow I was driving with that I wanted to take it along for a joke on someone who was deadly afraid of snakes, he wouldn't agree to it

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
Nice article on snake size:

http://www.livingalongsidewild...led-rattlesnake.html

Great article. Science can make things difficult for people who want to believe ridiculous claims.

quote:

Originally posted by TCLouis:
66" is a big snake, but if it were as big as the use of perspective makes it look, it would be very valuable, IF it were alive.

Same photography as those who use photo to make deer or elk appear to be so much bigger than they are.

Least way that is what methinks

Think the hand behind the head is pretty close to scale.

I hunt in S. Texas and Mexico so we always wear snake boots.
The biggest snake (W. Diamondback) I witnessed was actually up near Throckmorton, Texas a bit over 5 ft. A big snake!
The rattle snake is the reason the good lord allowed man to invent the shotgun!
For such a nightmare animal they are relatively easy to dispatch. A 5-10 lb. rock will make short work of them. Pretty easy targets. They do not move very fast.

Hadn't seen this before that I know of. Wow! big snake, any way that you define it!