Snake stories

[AJ Peacock]

I've been reading the Snake ID thread and I keep thinking about the handful of times that my interaction with those slithery demons didn't go as planned.

1) We were living in Mesa Arizona (north east corner near Apache Junction). Our yard was all natural, Cholla, Prickly Pear, Saguaro, Joshua Tree ... really a nice Arizona setting. My wife was doing some light maintenance cleaning up some weeds/grass etc. She found a very long dark colored snake under some of the cactus and immediately invoked the marital pact and dealing with the snake was my job. No big deal, I trotted over to the garage and grabbed my shovel (I've dealt with snakes all my life as a farm/ranch kid). I couldn't get the the snake directly because of the cactus, so I told my wife to make some noise opposite of my position and it might move so I could get to it. So here I am leaning on the shovel (like you see the workers fixing roads). Then AT 100MPH THAT SNAKE CAME STRAIGHT TOWARD ME!!!! I leapt straight up, still holding the shovel (I swear my heels where ear high). That snake literally came off the ground and hit the shovel head HARD with it's head. It actually rang like a bell! It then zoomed on the same direction around the corner of the house. It took me a while to calm down (my heart had to have been healthy or I'd have died right there). I finally figured out that the snake saw the shovel (cold from being in the garage) and thought it was a hole it could use to escape. Just thinking of this make my heart race and this happened more than 30 years ago!.

2) I was 17 years old and had drawn a muzzleloader elk tag in Colorado (where I lived). I was going to hunt my uncles ranch near La Veta. We hadn't finished our 3rd cutting of alfalfa, so dad told me to just take mom over and she could visit with my aunt and then help us cut up the meat if I was successful. We were about an hour from my uncles and a VERY Large rattlesnake was crossing the highway. Since it was near a farmhouse, I slammed on the brakes as I drove across it (so I'd break it's back, as they can easily survive simply being run over). I then turned around and pulled up about 10 yards from the snake, the fron 18" or so of the snake was still very much alive, the back 3' or so was just dead weight. I was driving our 79 Bronco and intended to grab a shovel, cut off the head (bury it so something didn't step on it etc.). But, I had failed to put the shovel in. What I did have was a 50cal Hawkins and a HiLift jack. I decided the HiLift jack would work to dispatch the snake. My mom was Deathly afraid of snakes. So I go out front of the bronco armed with the Hi Lift jack. I proceed to get the snakes head pinned down by the jack and start cutting off the head with my hunting knife. About that time, the back half of the snake 're-connected' and it started buzzing and wrapped itself AROUND MY LEG! I finished cutting it's head off, got it unwrapped from my leg, cut off the rattles (I still have them around here someplace) put the head under a rock on the side of the road and went back to the Bronco. My mom had rolled up the windows (manual) and locked the doors! I teased her about that until the day she died. All she would say is "I DON"T LIKE SNAKES" and we'd all laugh.

I have others, but those are my 2 favorites,
AJ

 

[RichCoyle]

When I was a teenager I would catch snakes. One time I was hunting cottontails and saw a snake crawling in a cactus. I reached in and grabbed what I thought was a gopher snake. It rattled, but could not turn because it was in the cactus. I think I hold the world's record backwards broad jump!

 

[jseandsje]

Had a friend who was under his truck working on front suspension. He was lying on his back. reached behind him for a wrench and felt what he thought was a bee sting. Except there were 2 holes.

Had another friend whose grandfather had apples in burlap sacks out it a shed. My friend reached in a bag to get an apple when he felt a bee sting. Except theire were 2 wholes

Both made it to the hospital. Both have lance scars from wrist to bicep, but full use of arms.

Both copperheads. Both in September, copperhead month.

Had one strike at me whe fishing one day. In tall grass. Fortunately I had on baggy waders and it hit the baggy part.

My sister and I were young, like 8 and 5. Mom sent us upstairs to clean up. My sister reached down to pick up a "belt". But it moved. Blacksnake.

I'll stop there. Could write a book

 

[Sockeye66]

Was Antelope hunting a few years back and stopped walking to mess with the hydration tube on my pack, heard a commotion down by my right foot, looked down and realized that I was standing on a rattlesnake's tail and he/she was not happy, fortunately I wasn't bitten and backed away enough to snap a picture. Not sure the total number of curse words that came out of my mouth but I'd guess more than twenty and less than 100.

 

[dmj]

First of all I'll admit that I don't like snakes of any kind. My son and I were coming out of a canyon one afternoon where we had been trying to call a bull in. My son was probably about 12. We were about half way up this open hill side and I hear behind me very quiet "pst dad". I freeze thinking that the bull had snuck in on us. Not sure what we were going to do with us being right out in the open. There was a pause without my son saying anything for a couple seconds. Then my son says "I don't know how to tell you this but you are standing on a snake. " Well that was enough information for me, we never figured out what type of snake it was as I proceeded to get out of there and we are sure that as much debris that came raining down on that snake from my boots that it was buried alive. He later told me that he seen the snake and figured that I would go around it as it was no secret that I didn't care for them. By the time he figured out that I hadn't noticed the snake he tried to warn me. But by the time he decided to do this all he accomplished was stop me right on the critter. Then he didn't know what to do. Oh well my heart didn't stop so all was well.

 

[SBAus]

Sneaking around a swampy big bass pond trying to make cast that wouldn't spook the fish. I think it was an early April morning. I squatted down for several minutes in one spot making low profile casts. Then I got that feeling of being watched. When I looked down there was a moccasin coiled up asleep between my feet! I was impressed with how high I could jump in a single bound. I let him have that spot.

 

[AJ Peacock]

My best friend Rick and I were riding our dirt bikes (probably 14yo or so) on BLM just above the ranch. I saw a snake zip across the creek between our bikes and I stopped and whistled to stop Rick. I herded the snake (a small midget rattler) away from the brush it was trying to hide in, but there was nothing at hand to kill it (my dad always said, kill rattlers within 1/4 mile of the house), Rick couldn't find anything either (no rocks, no sticks big enough ... Finally, without thinking I just leapt onto its head with the heal of my cowboy boot and cut it's head off with my pocket knife. This was one time that I leapt before thinking! It only had 3 little rattles on it's tail.

AJ

 

[RB II]

Frog gigging around a pond, about 1973 and our lights were poor at best. Just enough to shine a frogs eyes. Stopped right on top of a coiled up cottonmouth, once I finally saw it and realized what it was I just gigged him instinctively with that spring gig.
No idea how I didn't get bit. The Lord takes care of idiots I guess.
Funny part was getting him out of that gig. We wound up beating him about the head and shoulders with a stick!!!

 

[cajun]

After high school I worked on a survey crew for seimic work. We surveyed ,marked and cleared the line using machetes. The line ran on a compass bearing so you went where it was. We were crossing a beaver swamp waist deep in murky water when the guy in front is running back towards us. A large stumptail cotton mouth was right behind him. Now maybe it was chasing him or maybe it was just getting out of dodge. Either way what ensued was a melee of slashing machete blades splashing through water and a very agitated moccasin. Eventually the beast was dispatched and no one lost a limb in the process.

Several years later hunting in the Tunica hills which is more like Arkansas than LA. Hunting club was called Rattlers den because of the huge timber rattlers in the area. Left the camp on a early december afternoon hunt. One of the guys at the camp hollered " careful them rattlers will be out sunning" That's all I've heard since October and not seen the first snake. Left camp parked truck on an old logging road grab my gear stepped out the truck and felt something hit my lacrosse rubber boots. Looked down and I'm standing on a 6' timber. After dispatching the snake I was checking my leg in disbelief that I was not bit. It had been a cold night and warmed up but the snake was still sluggish and I was standing on him so he didn't get a good strike. I had to go back to camp and clean my pants out and thanked the guys for putting the gris gris on me.

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

AJ I too have several but my favorite is a lot like your first one
Early in life I worked for a survey company and we were running line for the local utility company. Part of that job was getting elevations on the centerline and 15' either side. In one section of this line we ran into a timber rattlesnake nest!
They were everywhere and it was very rocky with big boulders and a rock outcropping. I was holding the stadia rod plumb so the instrument man could take a reading. I looked down at my feet and i was straddling a huge one all coiled up. In less than a second I pulled down on the rod and jumped and was on top of a 6' rock! To this day I don't know how I jumped that high..lol

 

[Allen Kitts]

I have had several run ins with snakes that were quite memorable, three on the same trip, but the one that stands out the most is about a buddy of mine that I went pig hunting with in Texas. We were hunting at a small lodge and there were about 8-10 people at this place including the six of us. There was an older gentleman there that was one of those guys, been there done that, way better than yours etc etc etc. We have all ran into one or two of those in our lives. Well his attitude hit one of my buddies the wrong way and he did not like the old fella at all. We killed a couple of hogs the first day and so we went into town to get some ice for the coolers to put the meat in. My buddy see's this rubber snake, now keep in mind he himself is deathly afraid of snakes and this is not an exaggeration at all, I mean like pass out, hysteria kind of thing. He says to me I am going to buy this and put it outside that old mans door so when he steps out in the morning it will give him a scare. I said it might give him a heart attack and he just laughed and bought it anyway. We get back to the lodge in time to have dinner with everyone, a few drinks are had and of course the old man had more stories, it starts to get late and we all are getting ready to turn in, including the old man. The old man goes into his room and my buddy sets the snake down right off of his step on the porch, huge smile on his face. We were sleeping 4 guys to a room on bunk beds. We are all laying in bed laughing and cutting up when I spot a scorpion on the bed rail below my bunk. The guy in the bunk below screams like a little girl and then jumps up like a scalded rat and tries to kill it, unfortunately it got into a crack in the wall, wood cabin, and we could not get it. I said there is no way I am sleeping in here with that thing crawling around and I grabbed my stuff and started to head for the door. We had driven a small "C" class motorhome from Montana to Texas and I was sure there were no scorpions in there. Of course all of my buddies had choice words for me as I was gathering my stuff up. Before I got out of the room they were all in tow. I step out of the room and onto the porch and see the snake, my buddy who put it there, had already forgotten about it, alcohol may have had something to do with that, and when he stepped out and started to the motor home he saw the snake, screamed and tried to jump over it. His flip flop got caught on the rocking chair that was on the porch and he went down face first onto the porch. I literally thought I was going to **** myself I was laughing so hard. Luckily he was carrying all of his bedding with him to the motor home so his face didn't hit the concrete or I am certain he would have lost a few teeth. Amongst all the commotion the old man comes out of his room and says what the hell is going on out here, you young guys need to knock off all the racket and get some sleep. We were all laughing so hard we couldn't even talk to him. He slammed his door shut and we went on about our business. We still joke and laugh about it now and it has been close to twenty years ago. Funny how Karma comes back to get ya sometimes.

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

Allen that was hysterical. I would have loved to have been there