Snake Shot: Do you use it for your trail/camp gun when overlanding?

[Desert Runner]

Since I first posted this question, I had never seen one around my Sister & BIL's place in the mountains (25 years), but I was aware they might be around. Also this was most peoples experience up there in the mountains (Southern UT). Well it seems that 2 weeks ago, my sister while ATV riding just a little bit past their property, spotted a snake. Upon inspection by others, they determined it was a MOJAVE GREEN. Now I'm no expert, but Southern UT seems a little bit out of their range. They are now around Southern NV, and are known to be more aggressive than your standard rattler.

What makes this concerning is the amount of kids and dogs that roam around when family's go up into the area. It seems the next day, a second one was spotted on the same section of road nearby. I usually bring a pistol, as 2 legged are more of a concern, than 4 legged critters. But I think I will move into the revolver camp, so I have the 'snake-shot' option available.

To go from not seeing any, to 2 in 2 days' and both in close approximation makes me think a nest might now be in the area. The odds just seem high. And of course not being something seen, if ever, no one wears chaps or specialty footwear like you have to in certain areas of the country if your being prudent. On the mountain, it;s jeans or most likely just shorts and sneakers. We have another 2.5 months of warm weather to see if indeed this has become a problem. STAY SAFE.

PS. My 'snake-shot' will be in the 38 cal. variety. A little more lead than the 22 LR version

 

[Sasquatch SC]

Since I first posted this, I had never seen one around my Sister & BIL's place in the mountains (25 years), but I was aware they might be around. Also this was most peoples experience up there in the mountains (Southern UT). Well it seems that 2 weeks ago, my sister while ATV riding just a little bit past their property, spotted a snake. Upon inspection by others, they determined it was a MOJAVE GREEN. Now I'm no expert, but Southern UT seems a little bit out of their range. They are now around Southern NV, and are known to be more aggressive than your standard rattler.

What makes this concerning is the amount of kids and dogs that roam around when family's go up into the area. It seems the next day, a second one was spotted on the same section of road nearby. I usually bring a pistol, as 2 legged are more of a concern, than 4 legged critters. But I think I will move into the revolver camp, so I have the 'snake-shot' option available.

To go from not seeing any, to 2 in 2 days' and both in close approximation makes me think a nest might now be in the area. The odds just seem high. And of course not being something seen, if ever, no one wears chaps or specialty footwear like you have to in certain areas of the country if your being prudent. On the mountain, it;s jeans or most likely just shorts and sneakers. We have another 2.5 months of warm weather to see if indeed this has become a problem. STAY SAFE.

I usually carry most of the time with a semi-auto (either a baby Glock 26 or a fullsize Colt 1911) but when I'm going into the wild I keep my little Charter Arms .38 special with snake shot handy. I don't know about out west, but here in the southeast I've heard a lot lately about rattlesnakes no longer rattling. The theory is that they have adapted to not make the sound anymore for self-preservation against wild hogs and other animals that prey on them. I haven't witnessed it myself, because I am terrified of snakes and I shoot before I'd be close enough for it to rattle at me anyways. I self-confess of having ophidiophobia. I know it's an unpopular tactic because snakes are part of the ecosystem and biodiversity and all of that. I am well aware of all of the very rational arguments to just let them be, but a phobia by definition is irrational fear. I once blew out my eardrum by letting loose a pair of 12 gauge rounds inside the shed at a rental property before I was of age to own a handgun.

 

[Desert Runner]

I usually carry most of the time with a semi-auto (either a baby Glock 26 or a fullsize Colt 1911) but when I'm going into the wild I keep my little Charter Arms .38 special with snake shot handy. I don't know about out west, but here in the southeast I've heard a lot lately about rattlesnakes no longer rattling. The theory is that they have adapted to not make the sound anymore for self-preservation against wild hogs and other animals that prey on them. I haven't witnessed it myself, because I am terrified of snakes and I shoot before I'd be close enough for it to rattle at me anyways. I self-confess of having ophidiophobia. I know it's an unpopular tactic because snakes are part of the ecosystem and biodiversity and all of that. I am well aware of all of the very rational arguments to just let them be, but a phobia by definition is irrational fear. I once blew out my eardrum by letting loose a pair of 12 gauge rounds inside the shed at a rental property before I was of age to own a handgun.

Like you, and Indiana Jones, I do not like snakes. Benign or poisonous, they are not my cup of tea. While not popular in some circles, I too would be in the shoot first, identify later crowd on this subject.......key in the shotgun shucking sound. They avoid me, I avoid them. I once almost stepped on one. Lucky it moved, or my next stride would have had me stepping on it. YES, it's possible to go thru a new pack of gum in less than a 1/4 mile hike to the road, when something like that happens.

 

[Flipper]

CCI Has a new round out in 38SPL/357MAG called Big 4 shotshell for “pest control” 10 rounds per box. Just like snake shot but 9 pellets of 4 shot. Watch the YouTube test results where they test it on 3/4” plywood. I step my rounds up. First two are CCI BIG4, one round Hornady 38SPL. Personal Protection, next 2 are BuffaloBoar 357Mag. Cotton Mouths and huge hogs are becoming a real problem. 3 hog encounters so far this year. Pretty unnerving when they are in thick brush a few yards away. That’s the end of the day for the Wife. Bear Spray is our first option.

 

[Flipper]

Look what we came across yesterday in Seminole State Forest. “Red touches Yellow your a dead Fellow” !

 

[Oregon_trail]

Nope just a suppressed AR

 

[Desert Runner]

Look what we came across yesterday in Seminole State Forest. “Red touches Yellow your a dead Fellow” !View attachment 169311

I think I got this poster from another OB member.......Scary, and being I do not like snakes, I would be thinking the whole time,....trying to remember................RED-BLACK?,.....RED/YELLOW?.........while the thought of,..................I should have had my snake shot loaded pistol , or my 12 ga with me. Indiana Jones had it right, and just to say it, I would already have put 3x times the distance between me and it 1 second after our paths met.

 

[Flipper]

I think I got this poster from another OB member.......Scary, and being I do not like snakes, I would be thinking the whole time,....trying to remember................RED-BLACK?,.....RED/YELLOW?.........while the thought of,..................I should have had my snake shot loaded pistol , or my 12 ga with me. Indiana Jones had it right, and just to say it, I would already have put 3x times the distance between me and it 1 second after our paths met.

I did the same thing, but I was pretty sure it was red and yellow that was in the saying. Had my pistol but I went for the camera, he wasnt bothering anybody. Tropical forest/jungles danger in every step. Over 100 degrees, 90% humidity. You have to watch every step. Grass up to your knees, swamp. You don’t know what you are going to come across. Stepping on a 10’ gator could ruin your day. The one thing that puts me on full alert more than anything else are the hogs in dense brush, and now the pythons working their way north, we have probably walked right by them and didn’t even know it. Check out this spider from exploring the week before. Its legs from tip to tip had to be 4” with a huge fire ant mound directly beneath it , guess they get the scraps that fall to the ground.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I did the same thing, but I was pretty sure it was red and yellow that was in the saying. Had my pistol but I went for the camera, he wasnt bothering anybody. Tropical forest/jungles danger in every step. Over 100 degrees, 90% humidity. You have to watch every step. Grass up to your knees, swamp. You don’t know what you are going to come across. Stepping on a 10’ gator could ruin your day. The one thing that puts me on full alert more than anything else are the hogs in dense brush, and now the pythons working their way north, we have probably walked right by them and didn’t even know it. Check out this spider from exploring the week before. Its legs from tip to tip had to be 4” with a huge fire ant mound directly beneath it , guess they get the scraps that fall to the ground.View attachment 169331View attachment 169332View attachment 169334View attachment 169335View attachment 169336View attachment 169337View attachment 169338View attachment 169368

Yipes, that white thing with the bra is vicious looking lurking in the grass.

 

[Get Out GO]

Not a snake fan and I've had many close encounters with them in camp but I've never needed to kill one. Statistically you have a better chance of being struck by lightning that dying from a snake bite. If you're still worried maybe consider a snake awareness, first aid and handling course as an alternative.

 

[Sasquatch SC]

Not a snake fan and I've had many close encounters with them in camp but I've never needed to kill one. Statistically you have a better change of being struck by lightning that dying from a snake bite. If you're still worried maybe consider a snake awareness, first aid and handling course as an alternative.

I'd rather be fishing on a leaky metal boat barefoot during an electrical storm than find a snake has slithered it's way into my camp.

 

[old_man]

Things were different in the 50's. It was a single room rental on the side of an old converted service station on a commercial street.
Those damn cockroaches were 3" long and all over the place @ night. I had to fill coffee cans with soapy water and set the legs of my bed in them to keep the monster roaches from sleeping with me. The building was made from quarry rock and mortar, so the roaches would home in the falling out mortar, impossible to get rid of. $35 a month was all I could afford, just out of the Air Force, married with pregnant wife, and bottom of the pole on a go no where job. WE only stayed there until I could afford a $50 a month place that wasn't much better but didn't have the oriental black cockroaches, instead had small brown house cockroaches that insect spray would control (almost)..
Anyway I think I hocked the 22 rifle for some diapers or something like that, it was a looooooooooooooog time ago. I do remember my wife getting me another single shot rifle with 3 green stamp books worth about $2.75 each a few years later. I still have it in like new condition. Being a single shot it's not likely to burn the barrel out with so much rapid fire going on.

Haven't heard of green stamps in a few years.

 

[udbknight]

Snake boots might be a good alternative (except in the case of kayaking ) or secondary precaution.

 

[M Rose]

I have a box of snake shot in .357 that has been riding around with me for the past 2 years. One of these days I’ll bring myself to fire off a round or two to see what she does...

 

[Flipper]

I just bought snake gaiters for my Better Half and me. We both agreed that with all the backcountry exploring we do it was a good idea. The ones we got only came in Camo and she was even good with that! lol That will be a first, her in Camo, will be quite the fashion statement.

 

[Charles M]

Since I first posted this question, I had never seen one around my Sister & BIL's place in the mountains (25 years), but I was aware they might be around. Also this was most peoples experience up there in the mountains (Southern UT). Well it seems that 2 weeks ago, my sister while ATV riding just a little bit past their property, spotted a snake. Upon inspection by others, they determined it was a MOJAVE GREEN. Now I'm no expert, but Southern UT seems a little bit out of their range. They are now around Southern NV, and are known to be more aggressive than your standard rattler.

What makes this concerning is the amount of kids and dogs that roam around when family's go up into the area. It seems the next day, a second one was spotted on the same section of road nearby. I usually bring a pistol, as 2 legged are more of a concern, than 4 legged critters. But I think I will move into the revolver camp, so I have the 'snake-shot' option available.

To go from not seeing any, to 2 in 2 days' and both in close approximation makes me think a nest might now be in the area. The odds just seem high. And of course not being something seen, if ever, no one wears chaps or specialty footwear like you have to in certain areas of the country if your being prudent. On the mountain, it;s jeans or most likely just shorts and sneakers. We have another 2.5 months of warm weather to see if indeed this has become a problem. STAY SAFE.

PS. My 'snake-shot' will be in the 38 cal. variety. A little more lead than the 22 LR version

I would be surprised to see a Mojave up that far but, I guess anything is possible... So, far as seeing another one the next day that would be no surprise in my experience the majority of the time buzzworms often travel in pairs... It is pretty seldom that I only see one of them... I killed two Mojaves in my barn a few weeks ago... Now one of them is a hat band... For the record though I very seldom kill any snakes... Normally only if they are inside or right outside a building.

 

[MidOH]

Careful what you wish for. I'd gladly take any east coast snake that you can give me.

This is 1000 times worse:

Mice 'breeding machines' set to plague Australian farmers

Forget breeding like rabbits, it's mice that are breeding in plague proportions and set to cause havoc for farmers.

www.abc.net.au

 

[TOMB]

I grew up

 

[TOMB]

Let’s start this again. I grew up in the Mojave Desert and spend a lot of time there for work and play. Most of the snakes I find are under my vehicle in the morning during fall and spring. Most all have been rattle snakes and many were Mojave Greens. I don’t kill them I chase them away. I had a Mojave Green strike the stick I was using and you could see the venom dripping were it bit. Most weren’t aggressive, but once in a while I would find one in a bad mood.

 

[Desert Runner]

Careful what you wish for. I'd gladly take any east coast snake that you can give me.

This is 1000 times worse:

Mice 'breeding machines' set to plague Australian farmers

Forget breeding like rabbits, it's mice that are breeding in plague proportions and set to cause havoc for farmers.

www.abc.net.au

I have seen these Austrailian plagues in the past. 'BIBLICAL' comes to mind. Mice, Rabbits, it is scary to be seen in their multitudes. So to answer your warning, I get it, and your right. The only thing else I can think of is a biblical plague of locusts. Too those caught up in such a problem, my dearest sympathy.