Bragging rights

[Brute 23]

When we were a young, newlywed couple, living at the base of the hills in Alamogordo, NM, rattlesnakes were quite a regular occurrence. One particular morning, the wife left our trailer headed for work. She found a good sized rattler coiled right beside her truck. Being a native Texan, she did what many Texans would do I suppose. She hollered at the snake, who immediately went limp with fear, reached down and grabbed it with her bare hand, brought it back into the trailer, skinned it in the bathtub with her buck knife, and made a nice headband for her cowboy hat; fangs and rattle included. :cowboy:
Me, hailing from Arkansas, was so impressed that I'm certain our first child was conceived because of that event.

edit to add: it was an apartment, her car, and she ran back into the house to get me so I could kill it, she didn't own a buck knife and all we had was a stand up shower. My oldest may have that snake to thank though.

Did she tell you any thing less than 6' in Texas is a baby? :cowboy:

 

[Dave]

A 4 footer is pretty rare here with our brand of rattle snakes. When I was in Texas in the early 70's I remember seeing some that were a lot bigger than that. I prefer these smaller ones. The one last night was a little over 3 foot which is considered a mature snake here. He had 8 rattles with the end broken off.
Here is a picture of last nights snakes at the location where he passed from this life.

 

[Bestoutwest]

I have gone down stairs in my undies, with a loaded shotgun, half-asleep and no glasses, to fend off some imaginary robbers before. I go outside like that, too, if I have to. Sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do. I don't make a habit out of it, but I've been known to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtzoUu7w-YM


On snakes....a few years ago my wife sends me an email at work that says "How do you get me to clean the whole house while I'm supposed to be working?" with a picture of a snake in a clear Tupperware container. She had been working and the cat was dinking with something in the corner. She looks over in time to see a small snake slither behind some bookshelves. To get back there, she had to unscrew them (her idea to screw them to the wall, not mine) and move a whole bunch of stuff. It was a baby bull/gopher snake, but I wouldn't have been so nice. The thought of it makes my skin crawl. A couple years ago I saw a really lethargic garter snake and forced myself to not go inside "because I am adult and I can deal with it." Man, I really hate snakes. Spiders I'm OK with. I think I'd be ok with scorpions. But snakes can go back to he// where they were created.

 

[herofan]

So tonight after taking a shower I went to let the dog into the back porch. I called her and as she came down the sidewalk she swung out into the yard looking toward the flower bed. I flipped on the light switch and there coiled up was a pretty good size rattler. There is a 22 pistol loaded with snake shot just a step or two from where I stood. I grabbed the gun and went out and blew the snakes head to kingdom come. So how many of the he men on here have killed a rattler while barefoot and dressed only in their BVD's? I think that gives me bragging rights.

I’m not sure I’d call that bragging rights. Isn’t that more like being a candidate for a straight jacket?

Anyway, there are not many dangerous snakes on my farm. Snakes seem to stick to certain territories here. About two miles from my house, my friend mows hay on a farm where he sees a lot of copper heads. I never see any on my farm. A few black snakes and garter snakes are all I ever see.

Where I grew up, there was a large section of woods by a fire tower know for rattle snakes, however, I lived about a mile from that area and never saw any at our house, nor did any of our neighbors. I’m absolutely fine with that.

 

[greybeard]

A 4 footer is pretty rare here with our brand of rattle snakes. When I was in Texas in the early 70's I remember seeing some that were a lot bigger than that. I prefer these smaller ones. The one last night was a little over 3 foot which is considered a mature snake here. He had 8 rattles with the end broken off.
Here is a picture of last nights snakes at the location where he passed from this life.

another good snake.

 

[cowgirl8]

My first house was an old farm house that had established varmints living in and around it when we moved in.. It had a simple kitchen with a few cabinets. The end cabinet went floor to ceiling and had 2 doors. The bottom portion I used for boxed things and grocery bags. One day I pulled out a bag and it had a 4ft snake on it..lol. It was just a rat snake, but let me tell you it didn't matter what kind it was, I don't care who you are, that would have startled the heck out of anyone...I'm not afraid of snakes, I though, do not like to be surprised by one in my house. Never used that cabinet again unless I was ready when I opened it....

 

[callmefence]

My uncle Lyndell got bit coming through the front gate. Apparently ran over the Snake coming through got bit when he got out to close the gate. I was very small child but I remember him coming barreling up and jumping out of his truck with jumper cables tied round his leg as a tourniquet. Got him good , he spent a week at Scott and White.
Next weekend all his brothers.(7) got together and went up into the pasture the front gate splits. There's a couple of caves and a cavern that runs a couple hundred yards under ground. There's a old Indian camp with several burnt rock midins or mounds. Sometimes I'm gonna have to post some pics. Pretty interesting spot up there. Anyways using gasoline to pour down in the cracks they killed over a hundred snakes in a few days. Absolutely 100percent true story.
We still do a little hunt every few years.
I've got a picture of me and red with a dozen or so.......
Maybe Farm can remember where I put it.
I'm sure I showed it to him last

 

[Brute 23]

We had a den one time also. My dad and uncles shoved a hose of in there and started pumping diesel. I forgot the exact number but the snakes started barreling out. They were shooting them with shotguns as they came out.

I remember when we would kill rattle snakes that would make a full wrap in the bed of the truck. They would go across the road and it would feel like you ran over a piece of pipe.

We call them pirate ships at work because the way their head and tail looks when they go across the road. They love to get under our warm equipment when it starts getting cool. We have lifted compressor up and there be a dozen or more.

My uncle had a terrarium with one in it when I was a kid. They held me against it one time and let the snake strike the glass. You could see the venom run down the glass. It still gives me nightmares.

 

[bball]

When we were a young, newlywed couple, living at the base of the hills in Alamogordo, NM, rattlesnakes were quite a regular occurrence. One particular morning, the wife left our trailer headed for work. She found a good sized rattler coiled right beside her truck. Being a native Texan, she did what many Texans would do I suppose. She hollered at the snake, who immediately went limp with fear, reached down and grabbed it with her bare hand, brought it back into the trailer, skinned it in the bathtub with her buck knife, and made a nice headband for her cowboy hat; fangs and rattle included. :cowboy:
Me, hailing from Arkansas, was so impressed that I'm certain our first child was conceived because of that event.

edit to add: it was an apartment, her car, and she ran back into the house to get me so I could kill it, she didn't own a buck knife and all we had was a stand up shower. My oldest may have that snake to thank though.

:clap: :lol: :clap: :clap:

To the tune of Gene Wilder, portraying Willy Wonka, "a little nonsense, now and then, is relished by the wisest men." :lol2:

 

[JMJ Farms]

Used to jump on the atv and patrol in my drawers all the time. Till farm fence got that drone... :|

Got a neighbor that went to turn off a pivot one night on a farm about 15 miles away. Said it was about 12:00 and he got out of the bed and figured he’d just jump in the truck with his drawers and slip on boots. Turned pivot off and headed home. Ran up on a Road block. They gave him a really hard time. Didn’t believe his story. He’s 65 so I really don’t know why but anyway. They finally let him go home. It got off with him pretty bad though.

 

[kenny thomas]

When we were a young, newlywed couple, living at the base of the hills in Alamogordo, NM, rattlesnakes were quite a regular occurrence. One particular morning, the wife left our trailer headed for work. She found a good sized rattler coiled right beside her truck. Being a native Texan, she did what many Texans would do I suppose. She hollered at the snake, who immediately went limp with fear, reached down and grabbed it with her bare hand, brought it back into the trailer, skinned it in the bathtub with her buck knife, and made a nice headband for her cowboy hat; fangs and rattle included. :cowboy:
Me, hailing from Arkansas, was so impressed that I'm certain our first child was conceived because of that event.

edit to add: it was an apartment, her car, and she ran back into the house to get me so I could kill it, she didn't own a buck knife and all we had was a stand up shower. My oldest may have that snake to thank though.

That's truly bragging rights.

 

[greybeard]

My uncle Lyndell got bit coming through the front gate. Apparently ran over the Snake coming through got bit when he got out to close the gate.

opening & closing gates is where I look above everything else..

 

[sstterry]

When we were a young, newlywed couple, living at the base of the hills in Alamogordo, NM, rattlesnakes were quite a regular occurrence. One particular morning, the wife left our trailer headed for work. She found a good sized rattler coiled right beside her truck. Being a native Texan, she did what many Texans would do I suppose. She hollered at the snake, who immediately went limp with fear, reached down and grabbed it with her bare hand, brought it back into the trailer, skinned it in the bathtub with her buck knife, and made a nice headband for her cowboy hat; fangs and rattle included. :cowboy:
Me, hailing from Arkansas, was so impressed that I'm certain our first child was conceived because of that event.

edit to add: it was an apartment, her car, and she ran back into the house to get me so I could kill it, she didn't own a buck knife and all we had was a stand up shower. My oldest may have that snake to thank though.

No offense bball, I would be afraid to be married to a woman like that. If my wife had those skills, I don't think I would have made it through the first year of marriage! :hide: :shock:

 

[herofan]

Wow! Reading things like this helps me be thankful for where I live. I can’t say that we have any creatures that we have to keep a particular eye out for. There’s no abundance of poisonous snakes; I’ve never seen a rattler in real life, and one copperhead in my life. There are no bears or mountain lions, and I’ve never heard of a local incident where coyotes endangered humans.

 

[farmerjan]

We have a few rattlers here. Killed one about 6-8 years ago that was coiled around the transmission that was laying on the ground after dropping it out of the truck. I had walked out, shorts and sneakers, sat in the chair when the cats started hissing and raising hell. Heard the rattle, FROZE and looked around. About 6 ft away. Got up and grabbed the "shovel" and went back over and sliced through it near it's head a few inches. Picked it up with the shovel and flung it into a tub so the cat's and the dog wouldn't get into it. Next day it was totally dead, not moving, and put it in the freezer in a bag so I could show people who thought I was crazy.... Copper heads are more common. Have lots of black snakes and garter snakes and some milk snakes that look like copperheads but are non-poisonous. Don't mind the snakes as much as spiders....

Watched a black bear go across the pasture a few weeks ago while we were putting a new wheel on the bushhog. Cows just looked at it and there were several calves that went chasing after it to play, just bucking and jumping. Last year there was a young one there, pushing the hay bales all over and figure it is the same one only older. Coyotes around alot, they go after the cats and the chickens. Have seen them run the calves but the cows have always been able to defend them. Don't seem to bother the calves after they get a few weeks. Lost a couple of day old calves a few years ago and we figure it was coyotes at a different place. Couple of guys killed a few there and the problem stopped.

 

[bball]

When we were a young, newlywed couple, living at the base of the hills in Alamogordo, NM, rattlesnakes were quite a regular occurrence. One particular morning, the wife left our trailer headed for work. She found a good sized rattler coiled right beside her truck. Being a native Texan, she did what many Texans would do I suppose. She hollered at the snake, who immediately went limp with fear, reached down and grabbed it with her bare hand, brought it back into the trailer, skinned it in the bathtub with her buck knife, and made a nice headband for her cowboy hat; fangs and rattle included. :cowboy:
Me, hailing from Arkansas, was so impressed that I'm certain our first child was conceived because of that event.

edit to add: it was an apartment, her car, and she ran back into the house to get me so I could kill it, she didn't own a buck knife and all we had was a stand up shower. My oldest may have that snake to thank though.

No offense bball, I would be afraid to be married to a woman like that. If my wife had those skills, I don't think I would have made it through the first year of marriage! :hide: :shock:

No offense taken!
In all seriousness, I have yet to meet a more stubborn, hard headed person in my life; which is just what this foolish, immature boy needed back then. ;-)

 

[cowgirl8]

There are 2 road crossings I know timber rattlers cross. We'll see them crossing, or when they tried crossing. One time there was a huge one someone ran over and just left the rattles on it.. Who does that, right....Anywho, my husband got out and took out his pocket knife and grabbed the snakes rattles and cut. He hit some sort of gland, maybe a scent gland and it shot juice all over him....lol..God he stunk. We had to go back home so he could change his clothes and wash whatever the heck it was off of him..
We have a jar full of rattles. He accidently kills them sometimes when he's clearing the woods.. He'll always take the rattle.

 

[southernultrablack]

There are 2 road crossings I know timber rattlers cross. We'll see them crossing, or when they tried crossing. One time there was a huge one someone ran over and just left the rattles on it.. Who does that, right....Anywho, my husband got out and took out his pocket knife and grabbed the snakes rattles and cut. He hit some sort of gland, maybe a scent gland and it shot juice all over him....lol..God he stunk. We had to go back home so he could change his clothes and wash whatever the heck it was off of him..
We have a jar full of rattles. He accidently kills them sometimes when he's clearing the woods.. He'll always take the rattle.

I just run up and grab em by the head and then crack em like a whip! Rattles pop right off and then you just let em go, Kinda like catch and release I guess. Just the way we roll in Alabama! :cowboy:

 

[TexasBred]

There are 2 road crossings I know timber rattlers cross. We'll see them crossing, or when they tried crossing. One time there was a huge one someone ran over and just left the rattles on it.. Who does that, right....Anywho, my husband got out and took out his pocket knife and grabbed the snakes rattles and cut. He hit some sort of gland, maybe a scent gland and it shot juice all over him....lol..God he stunk. We had to go back home so he could change his clothes and wash whatever the heck it was off of him..
We have a jar full of rattles. He accidently kills them sometimes when he's clearing the woods.. He'll always take the rattle.

I just run up and grab em by the head and then crack em like a whip! Rattles pop right off and then you just let em go, Kinda like catch and release I guess. Just the way we roll in Alabama! :cowboy:

Head??? Over here they "say" they grab them by the tail and pop the head off.

 

[haase]

Were missing out up here on all the cool things.