Camouflaged and possibly deadly

Can you spot it

I "think" so.

Will wait for others, and maybe you will confirm.

Larry

I will post a pic of it circled

Hint. Only the head is visible

I believe I found it, but will wait for others to have a go at it. I hope that that's not in your back yard,seeing that I'm only a couple of hours north of you.

Well, I will be the first to make my guess.
If I am wrong, I have been bitten!

I've got the body but cannot verify the head. They are masters at camouflage for sure. One popped one of my dogs. Snake hung around kennel and then it lost its mind (and head). Luckily Ranger recovered.
Walker

I did not see it until after the tell. Good eyes fellows, the body is well camouflaged.

I’m like Walker. Had the body almost immediately but angle of the head really made it tough. Living in and around this same area all my life how many l kill varies by the year but rarely is zero. The high one year was 37 when I was 14 and no family member on our family farm bitten. Standard carry weapon at age10 (at least) was 22 bolt action single shot.
And I do mean me personally killing 37. When you look for ‘em everywhere all the time that pattern becomes much more visible. Some years the heads like a new penny; other years and times of year not so much.
I do not care for ‘em one bit.
Great teaching pic.

I was off.

Larry

Ok - who imported it?
The only poisonous snake in Michigan is the massasauga rattlesnake.
Must be that you were on a road trip!

The camouflage exhibited by nature is second to none. I’m just glad Michigan doesn’t have them.

I'd have been nailed.Good thing there's nothing like that this far north.

Duke, 37 man you could have been the hat band kid! Amazing that no one was bitten. Y'all were surely in the copperhead country.
Walker

Gosh! Talk about concealment!!!

Just came back from a quail hunt in south Georgia. Snake Gaitors are a MUST down there.

Snake bite treatment is very costly,can pretty well bankrupt you.

One person was bitten by a Copperhead and the overnight stay was $200,000.

Another bitten by a Water Moccasin had a six night stay in the hospital to the tune of $300,000.

Anti-venom stuff goes $20-40,000 a pop with several needed.

Wayne

Just to give you a couple of clearer pics., good examples of these guys, at different times of the year......
**NOT all my original pics....BUT I’m not sure which one isn’t. My snake pic file has 84 pics of copperheads, timber rattlers and black snakes/racers.....all local gang members.
Clicked on last pic by accident......left it for comparison.

Duke--

Don't kill the blacksnakes.

They eat the others.

Larry

Top dog
Please tell me these 2 bites were not on the same hunt.
Walker

I caught a Timber Rattler one time with my bare hands he was about 5 feet long as I was taking him to a cage my heart rate was through the roof as he was rattling like crazy. I had a cage so I kept him in my living room for quite a while before letting him go. I have always liked snakes and have caught hundreds over my life time.

Sidney, my oldest Son’s Scoutmaster was a reptile fanatic. He also kept them in his living room. Snakes and Monitor Lizards. He used a blanket to catch the monitor lizard when it got loose. The smell was rather negative.

I could do without the lizard. Not to hard to clean out the cage of a snake and they don't eat all that often.

870,
The first bite was in 2015,but I was lucky,it was in an edema on the ankle and the venom was squeezed out. Two hour visit to the hospital was $5,000.

This year,I was wearing Gaitors and I got struck in the lower calf,no penetration. Snake got Black Widowed at about four feet. Two first shots were with the Rat shot,the third was the 22 mag HP.

For those of you that don't know me,around me....things tend to occur.

I would not have it any other way.

Wayne

Top dog
Exciting to say the least! I really liked the black widowed comment. That little weapon is awesome.
Glad all turned out well.
Walker

Wayne
I grew up wanting to be a herpitologist and had a cage full of snakes. When I was 11, my grandfather gave me $10 for my birthday. I sent off to Ross Allen's Snake Farm for a catalog. Back then he sold yellow rat snakes for $2.00/foot including postage. I sent all $10 for a 5 footer.about 2 weeks later, this plywood box with screened openings on 4 sides showed up. The outside of the box said live reptile inside, and our normal black postman wouldn't deliver it. The Postmaster came to deliver it. Once opened, which took a claw hammet,the snake was in a cloth bag. The instructions said to have a bowl of water available. Sure enough, once in the cage, it found the water and had a long drink.

There was a chicken hatchery in town, and any deformed chicks were destroyed, so yo could get them for free. I had 2 black rat snakes and the yellow rat snake. Every month, my mother would take me to the chicken hatchery and i would get a dozen deformed baby chicks. Throw them in the cage and watch the fun begin.

I never did pursue herpetology, but went for a forestry and animal science degree, but still knew a lot about reptiles.

Pap

Pap,

You remind me of a classmate of mine who was into snakes big time. Used to bring a snake or two for show and tell days at school.

He later was one of the founding doctors of the Dade/Miami Venom one squad.

870,
Yep,the Black Widow is always in my back pocket in a mika pocket holster. The holster was one of Bob Mika's first holsters when he was working out of his garage when he was LAPD/SWAT.

Still works just fine.

Wayne

When I was in Military school in N.C. just miles from the S.C. border I had maybe close to a 100 snakes of all kinds. I had a whipsnake that was about 7 foot long but very skinny, I would put him in my shirt and go to class sometime in the class he would crawl out my sleeve and put his head up. I don't think the Col. teaching the class would see the humor in it. Corn snakes and King snakes are some of the most beautiful of all the snakes! Rattlers rank up there also.

Top dog
What rounds are you using?
Walker

870,
For my anti-snake loads in the Black Widow,the first two chambers are loaded with CCI rat/snake shot. The rest are with the CCI HP rounds.

Other times,it is full loaded with the CCI HP rounds.
I used to carry the Bond Texas Defender with 3 inch 410 shells but getting on in years,especially being that I am partially handicapped,and crashing through some dense grass/vegetation while quail hunting,I opt for the lighter piece.

Up north,while in the squirrel woods,the BW is in the vest pocket and the Savage Model 24 in 22lr/410 O/U is the squirrel piece.

While fly fishing,the BW is in the fly vest pocket.

Wayne

Thank you sir. I appreciate the lighter carry too for sure.
No longer carry my derringer in .410 either. Too heavy for 2 shots.
Walker

North American Arms in 22mag, light, fits in your top shirt pocket.

Pap

Bond Arms Texan

.410 3” Magnum #4 or #6 shot

It stays in the console of my 4-wheeler.

I too,love the Bond Texas Defender,in fact I have 9 different bbls for it.

But,it is a bit heavy.

Coach,
With all those "buzzworms" in your area,I would make sure that I had a Bond derringer close by at all times!!!

Up in my neck of the woods,venomous snakes are very few and far between.

Wayne

Wayne:

I need all of the mass (weight) the TEXAN has for the loads I shoot! I keep it in a zipper pouch in my 4-wheeler console so its not a problem to carry.

Yesterday, I used the last round out of a brand new box that bought on Sept. 28 online from CHEAPER THAN DIRT.

That translates to approximately 20 dead moccasins, give or take, during October alone.

We don't see many Copperheads any more around here. I reckon that the moccasins have ate them all.

Coach

Coach,
From what I have heard,Water Moccassins/Cotton Mouth snakes are quite aggressive. Will come after you while most other snakes tend to mostly retreat and hide.

Also,I understand that the venom/digestive enzyme of a moccassin is more potent and requires more treatment if a person is bitten.

But I could be wrong on that.

Wayne

Wayne:

I've had them scurry out of the way of my bush hog, turn around, and get into striking position, and sometimes strike out.

Coach

Coach,
Gosh! Down where you live,seems that you are in a target rich environment!

Buzzworms,feral hogs and Lord knows what else.

Probably have a Snakehead fish or two lurking about to round things out.

Sounds nice!

Wayne

Wayne,

We don’t have any snakeheads yet, Im sure that since they are varmits, it’s just a matter of time.

Coach

Coach,
Pretty much in the southeastern waters the Snakeheads have established themselves as an invasive species.

All of the fish & game agencies that I know of ask that if you catch one,do not release it back into the water.

They,like nutria,feral hogs,burmese pythons,once they get a foot hold,cause untold damage to the environment and ecosystem.

Wayne

.. and the asian carp.

Rob,
Always nice to have fish jump out of the water and whack you as you are going by in your boat!!!

Wayne

They're good to test your bow hunting skills!



(full video here: https://imgur.com/swpSivN )

Windsor,

That is really neat!! I have heard of some guys doing that with a shotgun but not archery!!!

Wayne