OT-Biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen!

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:25 pm

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!

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:27 pm

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:28 pm

Wouldn't want to run into that dude!

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:30 pm

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.

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:33 pm

Rangerider,
Were you going to the college at Ojinaga?

Check out ebay item 3 230323694357

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:40 pm

Much bigger and he mighta needed a 4"x4" to hold it up!

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:40 pm

I don't mind snakes, but I think if I would have seen that, I would have run away screaming like a girl!

model55 · Post by **model55** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:50 pm

Lots of steaks there.

GonnePhishin · Post by **GonnePhishin** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:57 pm

How many pairs of boots do you think it would make????

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:59 pm

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:03 pm

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..."

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:08 pm

UncleBuck wrote:How many pairs of boots do you think it would make????

The real question is,

...how many pairs of shorts do you think would get filled if you came across that en route to the outhouse...?

Doc Hudson · Post by **Doc Hudson** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:12 pm

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.

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:14 pm

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.

airedaleman · Post by **airedaleman** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:07 am

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?

BigSky56 · Post by **BigSky56** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:41 am

Thats one big coontail ! danny

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:07 am

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?

Nope, that would be consistent with a flash photo, the farther from the source of the shadow the more indistinct the shadow becomes.

claybob86 · Post by **claybob86** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:37 am

Assuming that the man in the picture is of average height, that snake's gotta be at least 7 feet long, maybe 8?

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!

Kid, you're an Advanced Levergunner. Get ahold of yourself. Advanced Levergunners run away screaming like Apache warriors or something, not girls!

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:40 am

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?

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!
Kid, you're an Advanced Levergunner. Get ahold of yourself. Advanced Levergunners run away screaming like Apache warriors or something, not girls!

Now THAT was FUNNY!!! You owe me a new keyboard... spit a wad of tobacco all over it!

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:24 am

I think I'd have to have that mounted. Keep it right by the front door, along with a roll of paper towels.

Borregos · Post by **Borregos** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:08 am

WOW

gunslinger598 · Post by **gunslinger598** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:10 am

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.

Doc Hudson · Post by **Doc Hudson** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:27 am

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.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:56 am

mmmm, tasty.

Charles · Post by **Charles** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:23 am

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.

piller · Post by **piller** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:13 am

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.

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:18 am

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 · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:33 am

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.

steveb · Post by **steveb** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:11 pm

UncleBuck wrote:How many pairs of boots do you think it would make????

Or how many sets of grips for a good 1911!

Wayne Miller · Post by **Wayne Miller** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:54 pm

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.

Take another look...that's not a 2X4. It's a 1X2. STILL makes for a 7 foot or longer snake!!!

Hillbilly · Post by **Hillbilly** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 3:36 pm

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.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:29 pm

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

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:34 pm

Sixgun, A bite from that snake would result in a horrible lingering death; with massive tissue damage.
Find another way.

piller · Post by **piller** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:39 pm

Sixgun, if your co-worker is that bad, then why treat an innocent snake that badly?

BwanaDave · Post by **BwanaDave** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:10 pm

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

airedaleman · Post by **airedaleman** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:27 pm

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...

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:30 pm

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

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:44 pm

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.

O.S.O.K. · Post by **O.S.O.K.** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:02 pm

Looks like they took out a perfectly good border patrol officer.... I bet he's grown fat on wetbacks and drug mules....

Batman1939 · Post by **Batman1939** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:20 pm

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!!

Doc Hudson · Post by **Doc Hudson** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:45 pm

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.

PaulB · Post by **PaulB** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:50 pm

How about a 45 foot long, 1.25 ton snake?

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:42 am

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.

piller · Post by **piller** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:01 pm

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.

Bogie35 · Post by **Bogie35** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:14 am

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

oldmax · Post by **oldmax** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:46 pm

rangerider, How tall are you?,

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:18 pm

Guys that is not me! My buddy sent me the photo from a friend in Del Rio!

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:35 pm

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.

You really should explain why you even think of "mounting" a snake! Especially the reference to the roll of paper towels.

the telegraphist · Post by **the telegraphist** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:22 am

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.

Gene Dip · Post by **Gene Dip** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:14 pm

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.