Thanks that the snake was in green green grass

[gotrocks]

Well folks, we've been here since '68 and just saw our first copperhead.
Thanks to the green green grass, my wife saw it just before stepping next to it on the way to the corn/pea patch.
Thank you Lord she did not get bitten, that along with chemo every 4 weeks would not have been good.
Those critters are almost invisible when among brown leaves and such.
I let water snakes and rat snakes and king snakes and the like go on about their business, but this little thing had his head up and ready to bite.
Just happen to have the 22 along.

 

[plowking]

Copperhead? Reminds me of a song. The Ballard of Copperhead Road. It's a moonshine song. I live in NH,years ago.I was in Fla. at my father's house he had me stompin' the compost pile. Neighbor yelled at me to get out,guess snakes like the compost pile. My father failed to mention that. Hope your wife turns out well. plowking

 

[SPIKER]

might want to be careful mentioning that you eliminated it as there may be people watching! it is not wise to say you did away with something on endangered species act! (not sure if they are there or not but they are here... lots of fines (all they want probably is the $) but can do jail time too!

mark

 

[Lasgambler]

GOOD SHOT!!!!! I was hoping to see his head, but you eliminated that possibilty.

 

[LMTC]

might want to be careful mentioning that you eliminated it as there may be people watching! it is not wise to say you did away with something on endangered species act! (not sure if they are there or not but they are here... lots of fines (all they want probably is the $) but can do jail time too!

mark

HERE is the Ohio 2008 DNR endangered species list. I don't see copperheads on it.

Usually the best policy is to what you must to protect you and yours and abide by the three Ss....shoot, shovel, shutup.

 

[Shantycoke]

While I was in high school, my mother had some flowers in pots down in the window wells at home, she reached in to get one out, and there he was. A nice fat copperhead. I actually caught it and kept it in a tightly woven wire cage my buddys grandpa made for me. After a few days I ended up wrapping the cage in a tarp and put it behind the exhaust of my moms old Volare station wagon and let it idle for about a half hour. Mr snake died, and I put a part of a toothpick in its mouth to prop it open and show the fangs. I put it in a big pickle jar and my bio. teacher put some formaldahyde in with it. She kept it for years after I graduated.
They are wicked little critters.
Pat

 

[cityfarma]

I am impressed that you stayed calm and relaxed enough to clean your rifle. You should however make sure it is unloaded as you may accidently kill something if it accidently goes off!!

Cityfarma

 

[EddieWalker]

I seem to see a copperhead about once a year. If possible, I kill every one of them. A few years ago, my Mother In Law was driving down our driveway and saw one crossing the driveway. She sped up and ran it over with her car, then put it in reverse and did it again and again. She doesn't know how many times she ran it over, she just wanted to make sure that it never made it to her grandkids.

From what I've been told, they are either the dumbest snakes out there, or the meanest. Either way, they have a reputation of holding their ground when people and animals come close to them. Then they will attack if you get too close.

Never heard of them being protected or endangered. Must be in places where they are not so common like here in the south.

Eddie

 

[gotrocks]

I am impressed that you stayed calm and relaxed enough to clean your rifle. You should however make sure it is unloaded as you may accidently kill something if it accidently goes off!!

Cityfarma

Good Day Mate,
(Is that proper greeting? )
Thanks for the warning/concern.
Actually I don't even carry the rifle with a round in the chamber.
In fact none of my weapons have rounds in the chamber until I put one there.

 

[scgargoyle]

When my uncle was a little kid, he came out of the woods with a shoe box with 2 live copperheads in it! They never could figure out how he caught them without getting bit.

 

[Podunkadunk]

might want to be careful mentioning that you eliminated it as there may be people watching! it is not wise to say you did away with something on endangered species act! (not sure if they are there or not but they are here... lots of fines (all they want probably is the $) but can do jail time too!

mark

Nothing endangered regarding the Copperhead around these parts of lower Alabama...I've whacked 6-8 of them since being here (1.6 years). I see them all the time in the creek behind my house.

From Snakes in Alabama

Pit Vipers - Family Viperidae

Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix ssp. Common statewide. Most frequently encountered venomous snake in Alabama. Inhabits a wide variety of upland habitats. May be increasing in parts of Coastal Plain, especially where fire is suppressed. Includes subspecies A. c. contortrix (southern copperhead) and A. c. mokeson (northern copper-head). Lowest Conservation Concern. (Fig. 105, p. 116)


Podunk

 

[wushaw]

When my uncle was a little kid, he came out of the woods with a shoe box with 2 live copperheads in it! They never could figure out how he caught them without getting bit.

Catching them are not hard, you just need a stick to hold their head down so you can get your hand behind it.

 

[cityfarma]

Good Day Mate,
(Is that proper greeting? )
Thanks for the warning/concern.
Actually I don't even carry the rifle with a round in the chamber.
In fact none of my weapons have rounds in the chamber until I put one there.

G'day Gotrocks. My concern was more a suggestion of what happened if someone claimed the snake was protected "I was cleaning my gun and it went off!"

Likewise I am very careful with my rifle. In fact even when my daughter (army nurse and higher qualified for firearms than me) comes to practice, I hold the rifle when she checks the targets. In Australia we have very strict laws on firearms (and I agree with them!). Your license must have the serial number of the firearm on it. You are not allowed to borrow someone elses firearm unless it is noted on your license (slightly different for primary producers). It is also (theoretically) only possible to get a license if you have a need and place to use the firearm.

I find it very scary that your country lets just about anyone have a firearm and even I read require it in some cases.

Cityfarma

 

[tallyho8]

I find it very scary that your country lets just about anyone have a firearm and even I read require it in some cases.
Cityfarma

Be prepared to hear a lot of responses to this statement. The "right to bear arms" is a highly controversial topic in our country provoking many comments from highly enraged citizens with views on both sides of this topic.

 

[Podunkadunk]

I find it very scary that your country lets just about anyone have a firearm and even I read require it in some cases.Cityfarma

Not quite anyone. Take a look at the form we have to fill out, you can see the form here: http://www.ocshooters.com/Gen/Form-4473/ATF-FORM-4473-pg1bg.gif

No state REQUIRES anyone to have a firearm. It's up to the individual and guaranteed by our 2nd Amendment.

Gooday

Podunk

 

[Podunkadunk]

Oh my! I give this thread 1 maybe 2 more posts....before the padlock police shut her down.

Anyhow, my property is wrapped up with copperheads and cottonmouths. When I'm in or around the creek area, I'm always totin'.

Podunk

 

[JRobyn]

Actually, near me in Kennesaw, GA, they have a law on the books that all residents are required to own a firearm. It's a bit tongue-in-cheek and of course, it's not enforced in any way, but a law nonetheless!

 

[RollTideRam]

Before I enlarged the picture I thought it was a copperhead. Then I realized it was a copper body snake. Good shot. I have never seen one at home, but my neighbor's kid spent a week in the hospital a few years ago from a copperhead bite. My Grandmother (next door) is the only one that has killed a poisonous snake (rattlers) on our land in 25 years. She always told me if you kill a snake today, tomorrow you can kill a second one near the same place. She got 4 diamond back rattlesnakes that way. JC

 

[billbill1]

Who would care if Copperheads became extinct? I think any poison toting snake on your own property should be eliminated to protect your loved ones and animals. We have a bypass that has been held up for years in Lawrence, Ks. over some kind of frog that lives in the man-made wetlands to the south of town. Very liberal area, it's nuts (IMHO)

 

[cityfarma]

Yeah, we should have all been disarmed years ago...and the Land of OZ would be speaking Japanese. The country whose firearms policies you find scarey was all that stood between Australia and Japan in WWII. Virtually all historians agree there were two primary factors that made the US rifleman, whether Marine or Army, superior to all others in WWII. The first is the Garand, certainly the finest battle rifle made to that point in time, and the second is the incredibly high number of US males who had been shooting rifles since their childhood.

I find it incredibly scarey that you think people should be disarmed so that they have no defense against those elements of society who would prey on them. Your general distrust of people to adequately handle firearms, while you yourself acknowledge owning a rifle, comes across as a bit arrogant IMO.

Firstly, my apologies for partially hijacking this thread. This is my last comment on the subject as a response to LMTC.

Australia has far fewer firearm deaths proportional to population. I have no problems with people who have a need to use a firearm, eg, farmers. I do not distrust my daughter (or other legal owners). I would loose my license if something goes wrong, ie, very (over?) cautious.

I could also comment on your first point re how long it took to join the rest of the world but won't as it further hijack the thread.

Now back to snakes....

City farmer