OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
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- Advanced Levergunner
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OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
A buddy sent this photo to me. It said it was killed just outside of Del Rio, Texas. I have been to that border area of Texas in the past. It was to meet some senoritas across the border while in college, not something like this!
"That'll Be The Day"
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
WOW
Kind regards,
Tycer
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- Advanced Levergunner
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
By the way they estimate it to be over 16 years old by the number of rattles. The photo I got was much larger and clearer but to big to post.
"That'll Be The Day"
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Rangerider,
Were you going to the college at Ojinaga?
Check out ebay item 3 230323694357
Were you going to the college at Ojinaga?
Check out ebay item 3 230323694357
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Much bigger and he mighta needed a 4"x4" to hold it up!
Griff,
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
I don't mind snakes, but I think if I would have seen that, I would have run away screaming like a girl!
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Lots of steaks there.
- GonnePhishin
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
How many pairs of boots do you think it would make????
"The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." - Thomas Jefferson
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- AJMD429
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
I never agreed with the 'kill every snake on the planet because it could be one that's venomous' concept, but one that size shouldn't outta get within a few yards of me unless it wants shot 'just in case' - with proper apologies to any herpetologists, I'd avoid it if I could, but like the man said - "Lotsa steaks..."
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"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
The real question is,UncleBuck wrote:How many pairs of boots do you think it would make????
...how many pairs of shorts do you think would get filled if you came across that en route to the outhouse...?
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws
"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Jesus, Mary and Joseph the Carpenter!!!
That thing is a monster!!!!
The biggest rattlesnake I ever saw looked like a tree limb in the road and I swerved to avoid it. It was at least six feet long and as big around as my arm. When I realized it was a snake, I backed up and ran over it three times, but the dirt was too soft to do much damage. I tried a couple of shots with a pistol, but it was too dark to get a good sight picture. My last sight of him was as he disappeared into the roadside weeds. I was not about to get our of the car in the dark to try and finish him. I think the one in the photo is even bigger that that one was.
That thing is a monster!!!!
The biggest rattlesnake I ever saw looked like a tree limb in the road and I swerved to avoid it. It was at least six feet long and as big around as my arm. When I realized it was a snake, I backed up and ran over it three times, but the dirt was too soft to do much damage. I tried a couple of shots with a pistol, but it was too dark to get a good sight picture. My last sight of him was as he disappeared into the roadside weeds. I was not about to get our of the car in the dark to try and finish him. I think the one in the photo is even bigger that that one was.
Last edited by Doc Hudson on Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Doc Hudson, OOF, IOFA, CSA, F&AM, SCV, NRA LIFE MEMBER, IDJRS #002, IDCT, King of Typoists
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- Advanced Levergunner
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
If you look at that picture it is nightime, in Texas & New Mexico; it does cool down at night( ambient temperature ) often the snakes come out and warm themselves from the heat coming off the blacktop of the roads.
It is likely they were driving down an not heavily trafficked two lane blacktop and drove up on the snake warming himself.
It is likely they were driving down an not heavily trafficked two lane blacktop and drove up on the snake warming himself.
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
RR7, I hate to play devil's advocate but...
Check the shadows in this shot. The snake throws a very heavy shadow, while the man does not. Photoshop again?
Check the shadows in this shot. The snake throws a very heavy shadow, while the man does not. Photoshop again?
Riamh Nar Dhruid O Spairn Lann
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Thats one big coontail ! danny
- Griff
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Nope, that would be consistent with a flash photo, the farther from the source of the shadow the more indistinct the shadow becomes.airedaleman wrote:RR7, I hate to play devil's advocate but...
Check the shadows in this shot. The snake throws a very heavy shadow, while the man does not. Photoshop again?
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
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There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Assuming that the man in the picture is of average height, that snake's gotta be at least 7 feet long, maybe 8?
Kid, you're an Advanced Levergunner. Get ahold of yourself. Advanced Levergunners run away screaming like Apache warriors or something, not girls!Ysabel Kid wrote:I don't mind snakes, but I think if I would have seen that, I would have run away screaming like a girl!
Have you hugged your rifle today?
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Now THAT was FUNNY!!! You owe me a new keyboard... spit a wad of tobacco all over it!claybob86 wrote:Assuming that the man in the picture is of average height, that snake's gotta be at least 7 feet long, maybe 8?
Kid, you're an Advanced Levergunner. Get ahold of yourself. Advanced Levergunners run away screaming like Apache warriors or something, not girls!Ysabel Kid wrote:I don't mind snakes, but I think if I would have seen that, I would have run away screaming like a girl!
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
I think I'd have to have that mounted. Keep it right by the front door, along with a roll of paper towels.
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- Borregos
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
WOW
Pete
Sometimes I wonder if it is worthwhile gnawing through the leather straps to get up in the morning..................
Sometimes I wonder if it is worthwhile gnawing through the leather straps to get up in the morning..................
- gunslinger598
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Over the last 10 years or so it sure seems like the rattlers are gettin bigger.
Neighbor here killed one in 2001 that was 7 1/2'. Once they knew they were on the moved they hunted up another 7' r and had a big feed. The first one had 2 cottontails in his belly.
Neighbor here killed one in 2001 that was 7 1/2'. Once they knew they were on the moved they hunted up another 7' r and had a big feed. The first one had 2 cottontails in his belly.
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
I didn't see is since it happened long before I was born, but my Dad told about a big rattler he saw once.
His cousin Jody Hudson, a very tall skinny fellow (I remember him as being 6'3" or taller and rail thin) walked past the homeplace one day with a snake tied to the end of a stick. Jody had the stick (three or four feet long) over his shoulder with the tip a big higher than his head. Tied to the end of the stick was a LOOOOOOONG rattler. The snake's tail was above or at least even with the top of Jody's head and the head and a considerable length of neck and body was dragging on the ground. Dad figured it was 7 feet long or nearly that.
Jody had killed the snake with a stick as it lay in the middle of the road and he'd decided to take it home and skin it. Unfortunately for him, his wife saw him coming and what he was bringing. She quickly closed and barred the door and assured him that he'd not get into the house until he disposed of the snake. Being wise in the way of wives, Jody three the snake away.
His cousin Jody Hudson, a very tall skinny fellow (I remember him as being 6'3" or taller and rail thin) walked past the homeplace one day with a snake tied to the end of a stick. Jody had the stick (three or four feet long) over his shoulder with the tip a big higher than his head. Tied to the end of the stick was a LOOOOOOONG rattler. The snake's tail was above or at least even with the top of Jody's head and the head and a considerable length of neck and body was dragging on the ground. Dad figured it was 7 feet long or nearly that.
Jody had killed the snake with a stick as it lay in the middle of the road and he'd decided to take it home and skin it. Unfortunately for him, his wife saw him coming and what he was bringing. She quickly closed and barred the door and assured him that he'd not get into the house until he disposed of the snake. Being wise in the way of wives, Jody three the snake away.
Doc Hudson, OOF, IOFA, CSA, F&AM, SCV, NRA LIFE MEMBER, IDJRS #002, IDCT, King of Typoists
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
mmmm, tasty.
Mike Johnson,
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
It is a big snake but not near as big as it appears in the photo. The snake is closer to the lens than the man and three dimensions get reduced to two in the photo and the snake appears much larger than it is.
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Still, it is bigger than anything I want to have surprise me. I thought that Rattlesnakes added a new button on their rattle each time that they shed. I also thought that shedding was done based more on available food and growth than on age. Anybody have some better information on when a new button is added.
D. Brian Casady
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Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
- Modoc ED
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
The guy holding the snake has a couple of big cajones!! I have a cousin that was holding a dead copperhead snake like that once and on reflex the snake bit him on the knee. It didn't kill him but it caused a lot of muscle/tissue damage and he has trouble/stiffness with it to this day.
- Old Ironsights
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Huge snake.
Perspective (snake closer to the camera by a good bit because of 2x4) makes it look bigger than reality, but still a monster.
Edit... I just ported the pic to my CAD program and scaled it off of the end of the 2x4.
Using the end of the 2x4 as a referent, the snake is APROXIMATELY 13 feet long...
Monster. Definately a Monster.
Perspective (snake closer to the camera by a good bit because of 2x4) makes it look bigger than reality, but still a monster.
Edit... I just ported the pic to my CAD program and scaled it off of the end of the 2x4.
Using the end of the 2x4 as a referent, the snake is APROXIMATELY 13 feet long...
Monster. Definately a Monster.
Last edited by Old Ironsights on Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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מנא, מנא, תקל, ופרסין Daniel 5:25-28... Got 7.62?
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Gott und Gewehr mit uns!
- steveb
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Or how many sets of grips for a good 1911!UncleBuck wrote:How many pairs of boots do you think it would make????
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Take another look...that's not a 2X4. It's a 1X2. STILL makes for a 7 foot or longer snake!!!Old Ironsights wrote:Huge snake.
Perspective (snake closer to the camera by a good bit because of 2x4) makes it look bigger than reality, but still a monster.
Edit... I just ported the pic to my CAD program and scaled it off of the end of the 2x4.
Using the end of the 2x4 as a referent, the snake is APROXIMATELY 13 feet long...
Monster. Definately a Monster.
Wayne Miller
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
That snake is big enough for me to shoot... no questions asked.
I ran a 3 footer out of my garage last year... lost him in the dark or he would have been in rattle snake heaven with his Texas cousin.
I ran a 3 footer out of my garage last year... lost him in the dark or he would have been in rattle snake heaven with his Texas cousin.
always press the "red" button--- it's worth the effort and the results can be fun
- Sixgun
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Man! Does everything HAVE to be bigger in Texas?
I work with a guy that I would love to stuff a live snake like that in his bed.------------Sixgun
I work with a guy that I would love to stuff a live snake like that in his bed.------------Sixgun
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Sixgun, A bite from that snake would result in a horrible lingering death; with massive tissue damage.
Find another way.
Find another way.
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Sixgun, if your co-worker is that bad, then why treat an innocent snake that badly?
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Everything is big in Texas!!! I hunt near Del Rio in Sanderson, the snake capital of Texas. I always watch where I sit down there!!!
In New Mexico I haven't seen any that big but I have seen some big ones. My record is shooting three in one day. They do like getting on the roads right after a cool rain. I can't tell how many hve met their squirming end under my jeep tires, it is a lot but not enough.
Dave
In New Mexico I haven't seen any that big but I have seen some big ones. My record is shooting three in one day. They do like getting on the roads right after a cool rain. I can't tell how many hve met their squirming end under my jeep tires, it is a lot but not enough.
Dave
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Still not sure about this shot. Look at the shadow of the snake's rattle. It falls on nothing. There are other anomalies too, but what the heck...
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- Sixgun
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Well, I have to tell you boys about this idiot I work with. The horrible death that Mescalero describes is too good for this thing.
This guy is 50 years old and still has not learned how to shut his mouth. Biggest rat in the plant. This Pagan-wannabe will look you in the eye and tell you how the boss is an ah, and when you agree, he runs back and tells him what you said. I could go on for hours but I still NEED one of those big Texas Rattlers so I can sneak it in the back seat of his car. If there was a place on his Harley, I'd do that too.---
In the old days in our union shop, we would take a guy like that and give him a "blanket party", but today, you would be sued, fired, loose your carry permit and get your name in the paper. Todays society coddles the useless-----------------------Sixgun
This guy is 50 years old and still has not learned how to shut his mouth. Biggest rat in the plant. This Pagan-wannabe will look you in the eye and tell you how the boss is an ah, and when you agree, he runs back and tells him what you said. I could go on for hours but I still NEED one of those big Texas Rattlers so I can sneak it in the back seat of his car. If there was a place on his Harley, I'd do that too.---
In the old days in our union shop, we would take a guy like that and give him a "blanket party", but today, you would be sued, fired, loose your carry permit and get your name in the paper. Todays society coddles the useless-----------------------Sixgun
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
I agree with sixgun on the " coddles the useless " phrase.
We are saddled with a bunch of misfits that not too long ago would have caused thier own deaths and removal from the gene pool.
Now they propagate.
Welcome to the brave new world.
We are saddled with a bunch of misfits that not too long ago would have caused thier own deaths and removal from the gene pool.
Now they propagate.
Welcome to the brave new world.
- O.S.O.K.
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Looks like they took out a perfectly good border patrol officer.... I bet he's grown fat on wetbacks and drug mules....
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Well that is a big rattlesnake, but its size is greatly exaggerated by the photo's perspective. Recently an article was published describing an 8'10" western diamondback killed here in AZ. The photo accompanying the article was virtually identical in perspective to that shown here. The article's author was Euben Hadd (sound it out); the article should have come out on 1 April.
It is NOT possible to determine the age of a rattlesnake by counting the segments of the rattle; snakes gain a new segment each time they shed their skin. The rate of shedding varies depending upon growth rate (age and food availability) among other things. So, older snakes have molted more times but they also tend to lose terminal segments of their rattles as these become worn or broken while the snake crawls around in the rocks and brush. A rattle that is strongly tapered from base to tip indicates that a snake has lost relatively few segments during its growth from smaller to larger diameter (since width of segments is related to body diameter). Such a rattle "records" something about the snake's growth. The larger snakes tend to have rattles of relatively uniform width (actually I should say height-since the rattle is widest from top to bottom) since they have usually lost many of the terminal segments produced during their youth. Since growth slows during maturity, the width of the segments tends to stabilize around a particular size. If you have some available rattles, take a look at them to better understand what I'm trying to describe. Don't be confused by the very narrow tip of the terminal segment; that's just the "plug" that would have once fit into the "socket" of the formerly adjacent segment which is now lost.
I know I really took this subject way OT--I used to teach about these critters and have been retired for 12 years. Excuse the lecture!!
It is NOT possible to determine the age of a rattlesnake by counting the segments of the rattle; snakes gain a new segment each time they shed their skin. The rate of shedding varies depending upon growth rate (age and food availability) among other things. So, older snakes have molted more times but they also tend to lose terminal segments of their rattles as these become worn or broken while the snake crawls around in the rocks and brush. A rattle that is strongly tapered from base to tip indicates that a snake has lost relatively few segments during its growth from smaller to larger diameter (since width of segments is related to body diameter). Such a rattle "records" something about the snake's growth. The larger snakes tend to have rattles of relatively uniform width (actually I should say height-since the rattle is widest from top to bottom) since they have usually lost many of the terminal segments produced during their youth. Since growth slows during maturity, the width of the segments tends to stabilize around a particular size. If you have some available rattles, take a look at them to better understand what I'm trying to describe. Don't be confused by the very narrow tip of the terminal segment; that's just the "plug" that would have once fit into the "socket" of the formerly adjacent segment which is now lost.
I know I really took this subject way OT--I used to teach about these critters and have been retired for 12 years. Excuse the lecture!!
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
'Modoc ED wrote:The guy holding the snake has a couple of big cajones!! I have a cousin that was holding a dead copperhead snake like that once and on reflex the snake bit him on the knee. It didn't kill him but it caused a lot of muscle/tissue damage and he has trouble/stiffness with it to this day.
The grandfather of a guy I went to school with was killed by a dead rattlesnake. Mr. Hennigan had killed a big rattler with a hoe, chopped the head clean off. He hooked the body with the hoe and took it off to toss in a gully. When he came back to get the head, he missed seeing in the the twilight and high grass. He stepped on it with his bare foot and the snake bit by reflex. Mr. Hennigan died some days later.
Doc Hudson, OOF, IOFA, CSA, F&AM, SCV, NRA LIFE MEMBER, IDJRS #002, IDCT, King of Typoists
Amici familia ab lectio est
UNITE!
Amici familia ab lectio est
UNITE!
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
How about a 45 foot long, 1.25 ton snake?
Why not a 50-state secession?
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- Advanced Levergunner
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- Location: Texas
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
They just said that they estimated the snake to be 16+ years old, I threw in the rattle counting. Shows you what I know. I don't get close enough to examine them that close if I can help it. Here is the original size, came out about the same, photograph it's a little clearer.
"That'll Be The Day"
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Batman1939, thanks for the info. I was not sure about my information on the rattles, but it appears that I was close to the target. That is still a big snake.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Compared to the 1X2, that snake's about 4" in diameter, he's over 8ft long, and his head is as big as the end of the guys shoe! Either that guy is a midget with a 1/2" piece of molding, or that's a world record rattler! Rattle-Zilla, that is!
bogie
bogie
Sadly, "Political Correctness" is the most powerful religion in America, and it has ruined our society.
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
rangerider, How tall are you?,
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- Advanced Levergunner
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Guys that is not me! My buddy sent me the photo from a friend in Del Rio!
"That'll Be The Day"
- Old Time Hunter
- Advanced Levergunner
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Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
You really should explain why you even think of "mounting" a snake! Especially the reference to the roll of paper towels.Rusty wrote:I think I'd have to have that mounted. Keep it right by the front door, along with a roll of paper towels.
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- Levergunner 2.0
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- Location: Queensland Australia
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
Just gonna stir the pot,
Yer rattler is just a pussycat, try an Aussie King Brown or a Taipan, they are real snakes, swamp tiger is also to be reckoned with. You get hit you got about 30 mins or so if yer real lucky. Saw a big brown hit a 1.5 ton Droughtmaster bull in a set of cattle yards, was dead inside 30 minutes. No guns with us at the time either.
Mustering for the markets and awaiting the road train.
Yer rattler is just a pussycat, try an Aussie King Brown or a Taipan, they are real snakes, swamp tiger is also to be reckoned with. You get hit you got about 30 mins or so if yer real lucky. Saw a big brown hit a 1.5 ton Droughtmaster bull in a set of cattle yards, was dead inside 30 minutes. No guns with us at the time either.
Mustering for the markets and awaiting the road train.
GUN CONTROL IS HITTING YOUR TARGET
Re: OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!
In my opinion the photo is a fake. The snake has a distinct shadow on the man's body as well as on the ground. Yet the man's legs show no shadow on the ground as the snake does.