Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I should have mentioned that our normal footwear are those 'Frog' footwear. Semi-closed sandal. If working, tennis shoes or work boots.

tinner666 wrote:We have copperheads and all other types near our Farmville site. Ugliest I've run across is a Hognose. They flare their head and rise up like a Cobra. Outright scary. I tend to kill the hognoses and copper heads and let the others live.
I find new skins in our cabin on a regular basis of one about 6' long, but haven't met it yet. Sometimes when i find a King or Corn, they'll bite me, but I just wait until they release so it doesn't break the skin.
I watched afriend get bit by a copperhead and he said to kill it, which I did. I asked if he wanted to got o the hospital, but he declined. Not really a biggie according to him. Take some Benedryl to fight the poison and you'll be alright in a day or two. Just makes you a bit sick feeling. I haven't tested that yet, but I know two others that said the same thing. One of those made the news some years back when she got bit in the median by Cloverleaf Mall on Midlothian.
We saw a 6'+ Black in the woodpile last week, but he was too fast to catch and measure.

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Well, I can guaran-damn-tee you that if I get bit by a copperhead I'm going as straight to a doctor as I can go. I'd have to wonder if those folks who say a copperhead bite is like a bee sting really know a copperhead when they see one.

dorminWS wrote:

tinner666 wrote:We have copperheads and all other types near our Farmville site. Ugliest I've run across is a Hognose. They flare their head and rise up like a Cobra. Outright scary. I tend to kill the hognoses and copper heads and let the others live.
I find new skins in our cabin on a regular basis of one about 6' long, but haven't met it yet. Sometimes when i find a King or Corn, they'll bite me, but I just wait until they release so it doesn't break the skin.
I watched afriend get bit by a copperhead and he said to kill it, which I did. I asked if he wanted to got o the hospital, but he declined. Not really a biggie according to him. Take some Benedryl to fight the poison and you'll be alright in a day or two. Just makes you a bit sick feeling. I haven't tested that yet, but I know two others that said the same thing. One of those made the news some years back when she got bit in the median by Cloverleaf Mall on Midlothian.
We saw a 6'+ Black in the woodpile last week, but he was too fast to catch and measure.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Well, I can guaran-damn-tee you that if I get bit by a copperhead I'm going as straight to a doctor as I can go. I'd have to wonder if those folks who say a copperhead bite is like a bee sting really know a copperhead when they see one.

Yeah, they know. I don't care to get bit by one. As long as you're healthy, according to the Docs, and weight in excess of 75 pounds, it shouldn't kill you. The woman went to the hospital and stayed in obsevation for a night and was given benedryl. The buddy's foot turned pretty red and a bit swollen around the two holes. He said it was about his 7-8th time. Hew as wearing flip-flops and still does.
Closest call I ever had was stepping on a 5' Moc that hit my leg like a baseball bat. The fangs caught the top of my boot with 1/2" to spare.

Oh, if a CH hits a small part of you like a toe or finger, you will lose that digit.

Are you talking about the two legged kind that hang out in the grass.

I would suggest getting to know the poisonous snakes in the area and get a 45/410 derringer. This is basically what I did. Once I bought my 45/410 American derringer, I never had another close encounter with a poisonous snake.

But I will warn you it will hurt when you shoot the derringer.

RWBlue01 wrote:I would suggest getting to know the poisonous snakes in the area and get a 45/410 derringer. This is basically what I did. Once I bought my 45/410 American derringer, I never had another close encounter with a poisonous snake.

But I will warn you it will hurt when you shoot the derringer.

This is why I prefer the Judge. It has more steel to absorb the recoil.

Guys, first things first. No snake is poisonous. If they have venom, it is venomous. Leave the poison to ivy and things you may ingest. If its injected, it's venom.

Next, I'm not claiming be be the end all be all to reptiles, but I am a certified expert in herpetology. I've never once been in a situation that I needed a gun to solve a problem with a reptile of any kind. Zero. Ive put myself into as much as I can concerning all things reptile. Face to face with as many of these guys as I can.

Walk with a stick if you're afraid of a belly bound rodent eater that can move no faster than 3 mph. It's easy to move them out of your AO and you'll be saving ammo and conserving the ecosystem all at the same time. Stop being a bunch of girls.

scrubber3 wrote:Walk with a stick if you're afraid of a belly bound rodent eater that can move no faster than 3 mph. It's easy to move them out of your AO and you'll be saving ammo and conserving the ecosystem all at the same time. Stop being a bunch of girls.

Good post.

8,000 venemous snakebites a year in the States. Not bad for a belly bound rodent eater that can move no faster than 3 mph. While the mortality is not all that great, it is still considered a medical emergency. One thing that is recommended is to bring the snake in to the treatment facility for ID. I'll leave it to the victim of a bite to determine the best means of capture for transport.

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scrubber3 wrote:Walk with a stick if you're afraid of a belly bound rodent eater that can move no faster than 3 mph. It's easy to move them out of your AO and you'll be saving ammo and conserving the ecosystem all at the same time. Stop being a bunch of girls.

You can let them bite you if it makes you feel manly. I'll keep on shooting them if they even might have a chance to. Whatever blows our respective skirts up, right?

I've hunted , fished , canoed , hiked and just about everything else that can be done outdoors. I've realized that most people in the outdoors don't know one Snake from the other. Every Snake around water , they call it a Cottonmouth. When in the woods if it isn't a Black Snake it must be a Copperhead or a Rattlesnake. It's kinda like the uninformed people about Gun Control.
Like said here before "MOST" Snakes move out of the way....The Cottonmouth is the only Snake that I have encountered that will stand their ground. I lived on Lawnes Creek in Surry for 5 yrs. and Cmouths and Cheads were everywhere. I also lived on The James River at Ben Harrison Bridge and plenty of both were also present there too. Most of the time we would fling them back in the woods....Sometimes we would cut the head off FIRST.
A friend of mine got bite by a 3' Copperhead in his garage just below the knee...He spent 4 days in the Hospital and actually took several weeks to get completely well...At 6' and 230 lbs. you would think a couple asprins would be the CURE ! HA HA

scrubber3 wrote:Walk with a stick if you're afraid of a belly bound rodent eater that can move no faster than 3 mph. It's easy to move them out of your AO and you'll be saving ammo and conserving the ecosystem all at the same time. Stop being a bunch of girls.

I love reptiles (considered studying herpetology myself as a teenager, but the idea of postdoctoral work in a malaria infested jungle changed my mind) but while snakes may not move quick, they strike very fast, and thats the part that concerns humans.

It saddens me that people kill snakes unnecessarily, but a venomous snakebite is no picnic even from the less than lethal species around here and unfortunately sometimes situations will arise when man and snake collide when something more decisive than a stick will be required.

When it comes to the issue of snakebite, it is a more daunting prospect out here where the remote location and severe terrain where many snakebites may occur (when you are truly "out in the woods") usually mean that severe delay and exertion are involved in reaching medical facilities which are never state of the art to begin with. That makes any bite by a venomous snake much more serious even if you are in good health; and not all of us are in good health.

WRW wrote:8,000 venemous snakebites a year in the States. Not bad for a belly bound rodent eater that can move no faster than 3 mph. While the mortality is not all that great, it is still considered a medical emergency. One thing that is recommended is to bring the snake in to the treatment facility for ID. I'll leave it to the victim of a bite to determine the best means of capture for transport.

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Gonna have to disagree with you in this. Having said that, most any snakebite is a result of someone not leaving the snake alone to begin with.

Or it is the result of the snake taking up residence along a trail and then a human comes along just walking by. The snake gets stepped on and the human gets bit. It does not have to be malice or neglect in the humans part to get bit.

I have a rule of thumb with snakes. In the field (or woods) venomous or non venomous I let them be. By my house non venomous snakes are removed to the woods. Venomous snakes are destroyed. Not because I want to be mean or enjoy killing thing (I certainly don't) but my young children play by my house. Their lives mean more to me than the snakes and I can't move him with putting myself in unacceptable risk.

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What in my post are you disagreeing with scrubber3? I got that number of venemous snake bites from the Virginia Herpetological Society web page. Numerous first aid agencies recommend taking the snake with you for ID. The 3mph belly bound rodent eater I got from you. Am I missing something?

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Didn't we have a dog discussion like this?

Bottom line is that I generally leave stuff alone as long as it leaves me alone. If it poses a threat, I won't think twice about killing it, be it a snake, dog, bear or whatever.

.22. I shot a 5 foot black snake with one at 10'.

zimm17 wrote:.22. I shot a 5 foot black snake with one at 10'.

Why? Black snakes are beneficial.

zimm17 wrote:.22. I shot a 5 foot black snake with one at 10'.

O.K. ...zimm17 Should donate $25 to VGOF for shooting a Black Snake !