Be warned - it may be a bad year for snakes.

[Gare]

Roughly 40 years ago a buddy and I were out hunting coyotes in
the So. Cal. desert area, near Barstow. This was legal night hunting,
and it was a warm Fall night.

We had called in a coyote, and after dropping it about 150 yds. out
I headed out with just a flashlight to retrieve it. Didn't bring the
pistol as I knew this critter was 100% deceased..bad mistake.

When heading across the desert with just a flashlight and you're mind
and eyes are focused on where you saw the critter drop, sometimes
you don't see things right in front of you.

When I did notice what was in front of me, I came to an immediate stop.
There were three Mojave Green's sitting in a curved line about 5' in front
of me, and when I turned around to back way I realized I'd stepped right
over the top of two more. They had me surrounded..or more accurately,
I'd stepped right in the middle of them, and they weren't pleased with
how I'd invaded their space.

Looked back towards the truck a hundred yards away, and hollered "Rick,
bring me the shotgun!!" While he was walking out to me, I hatched an
escape plan while calculating the time it would take to get me to the nearest
hospital.

Rick showed up with what we called our "Snakebuster", which was a
single shot Sears 12 ga., sawed off down to about a 8" barrel. Rick
had machined a pistol grip for it, and with a 3" mag. load of #9 shot
it terminates snakes in a hurry. And no, it wasn't anywhere near legal. View attachment 1918304

Had to shoot the two behind me to get out of there, and then took a
wide berth around them to finally get that coyote picked up.

I hate to have to kill snakes, but prefer, whenever possible, to simply
move them out of my way..those two behind me left me no options.
They were less than 5' away, pissed off and coiled up..just waiting for me
to enter their striking range.

GREAT STORY Thanks for Sharing and glad your safe !! I used to love to hunt coyotes !!! EVER hear of A GUY FROM Nebraska Randy Anderson ?

 

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[Gare]

I hunt in Texas and Louisiana and we have snakes year round

Our Jack Russell Terrier was bitten by a now dead Copperhead in our backyard, curled up in a patch of chives. We saw a 5-6' King Snake sunning himself on a dirt road a couple of days ago. I know King Snakes aren't venomous but the things that you'll do when one slithers under your feet can cause you to hurt yourself

UPDATE on ur dog please ?

 

[ticndig]

What kind of snake is that ?

That's a black snake , the risk of infection is real due to the mice in their diet .

 

[DizzyDigger]

GREAT STORY Thanks for Sharing and glad your safe !! I used to love to hunt coyotes !!! EVER hear of A GUY FROM Nebraska Randy Anderson ?

Gare..that was back about 1985, and hunting coyotes at night with a
call and spotlight was about as much fun as you could have with your
pants on.

Don't recall a Randy Anderson, but then I was living in So. Cal. I did
get to meet/hunt with a few of the greats...Jim Dougherty, Murry Burnham, Herb Brussman and a pile of others over the years.

Don't hunt any more..or I should say I don't kill anymore. I do miss
the excitement of calling critters in, but going out calling in the woods,
alone, is a bad idea here. We've got coyotes..yes, but also plenty of
bear and cougars. Coyote, bobcat or fox I can just chase off after
taking a few pics, but bears and cougars can be a bit cantankerous.

 

[Gare]

Thanks for your reply DD I have a video here of Randy Anderson calling coyotes in the daytime. It is AMAZING Let me know if you would like to see it. I ONE HAD A gOLDEN EAGLE HIT ME IN THE BACK WHILE I WAS LAYING AND CALLING COYOTES

 

[Blackfoot58]

I hadn’t heard of Mojave Greens before. But this is Iowa.