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Originally posted by AndreaW:

That's awful. Anything that goes after _my_ dog would count itself lucky to _just_ be shot!

My mom wasn't a very good shot...Still took her a good 10 shots to kill it.
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I'm with your mom; who cares how many shots it takes as long as the snake isn't wriggling when I'm done? Some use a garden implement or stick...I stay as far away with as deadly a weapon as I can!!!

Lisa L. Peterson
Nolan County Attorney

Lisa, it was the skunk she was shooting at. Snakes she beat with a golf club. She claims now that she was just trying to scare the skunk away with the first half-dozen shots. Then it sprayed her, and she was out to kill!

The best part: our house had been on the market for about a month with no lookers. There Mom was in her robe and slippers, holding a gun, dead skunk in front of her, dogs running around like crazy, and skunk spray everywhere. And up drives our realtor with two people to look at the house! They stopped, turned around, and left without ever getting out. Can't imagine why.

Having briefly met your mother, Andrea, I really enjoyed that mental picture.

With two creeks and two tanks on the property, we have a lot of rat snakes that we see frequently (3 five-footers lived in the barn hay for years). I've only had to kill one cottonmouth in over 15 years, the others we just leave alone or pick up and re-distribute! I guess we are fortunate, though. No rattlesnakes or copperheads around us--yet!

I usually leave skunks well-alone too--Denton County has a high incidence of rabies--but when one came up to our front door in broad daylight, raised its tail, and let rip...... Well,let's just say it is no longer with us on this mortal coil. Nothing a 12 gauge with # 7 1/2 shot couldn't take care of.

[This message was edited by John A. Stride on 04-29-10 at .]

Thankfully we haven't been overly bothered with (4 legged) skunks; however, last summer I blasted a rattler (7 rattles & a button) in the yard with the dogs. I'm a decent shot with a pistol - but if you have ever tried to inflict serious injury on a coiled snake with one, you will understand why I prefer the 12 guage!!

Lisa L. Peterson
Nolan County Attorney

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Originally posted by John A. Stride:
The Taurus Judge .45/410 combo might be a handy "snake" gun. You could take care of the wriggly varieties and the mugger types. But I understand the snakes better be at close range.

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Even the lightest weight Taurus Judge (the incorrectly named Public Defender) is several times larger and thicker than the Ruger LCP and weighs between two and three times more than the Ruger. I can see slipping an LCP into a pair of jogging shorts, but I can't see carrying even the smallest and lightest of the Judge family when jogging.

I don't carry or jog/run, but so far I have found a S & W .357 magnum with a 6" barrel adequate for a handgun. I have heard tell that even that may not be enough for some wild hogs, though, so maybe a Ruger .44 magnum? Hogs are quite as deadly as dogs, coyotes, or snakes and a whole lot tougher.

I have been confronted on a couple of occasions by wild hogs. Once I was carrying my old Smith Model 459. Never thought of clearing it from the holster. I turned instead to the .300 Win mag rifle I was fortunate enough to be carrying at the time. I've also used a .30-30 Winchester to summarily terminate a hog encounter. My old uncle and others repeatedly counseled me that a pistol may just make them angry, and will require you to be closer to them than you wish to get off an effective shot.

I'm with Lisa and John on the snake issue; I try to leave them alone (they're more effective varmint control than I am). When left with no alternative, a 12 gauge with 7 1/2 or 8 shot is the preferred method of dispatch.

Gosh, I'm jealous of all of you. My gun just squirts water.

Having lived in the suburbs for so long, I have forgotten this debate. When I lived in West Texas, everyone who talked about a rattler encounter who used a pistol usually emptied the magazine. After all with a pistol firing, the encounter might become you or the rattler. However, with a 12 gauge you can breath heavy and have racing blood pressure, but it will end with you alive and at worst your shoulder sore.

Since the Subject line was "Only in Texas" did you mean the two page discussion on varmint/weapon of choice determination or Gov Perry shooting a coyote?

Possibly, the topic could also be "the one-shot kill?"

quote:

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Originally posted by John A. Stride:
I don't carry or jog/run, but so far I have found a S & W .357 magnum with a 6" barrel adequate for a handgun. I have heard tell that even that may not be enough for some wild hogs, though, so maybe a Ruger .44 magnum? Hogs are quite as deadly as dogs, coyotes, or snakes and a whole lot tougher.

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With most hogs, a .357 with a 6" barrel is going to be sufficient, depending on shot placement of course. .357 builds up incredibly high pressures with 6" barrel, which if I recall was the preferred barrel length by the gun writing gurus who worshipped the caliber when it was introduced.

Of course, with a wild animal such as a hog, more is going to be more better, and it's hard to think of a better large wild animal weapon then the venerable .44 magnum, particularly if shot from a Ruger Blackhawk (if you are talking about a Blackhawk SA revolver). I have shot several large hogs in years past with a Ruger Blackhawk in .41 caliber, and it was quite adequate for one shot stops.

.44 magnum is a preferred handgun caliber for many guides in bear country, and if it will stop a bear it would seem like it would stop a hog. But like our Association President says, reach for the long gun if you've got one, but if you don't, a .44 magnum should be quite effective.

As an aside, while eating dinner last weekend at the wonderful Riverbend Restaurant located in Matagorda, Texas, you could see scores of wild hogs across the river on the (by car) unreachable portion of Matagorda Island. The hogs are so prevalent on the island that they have binoculars for customers to view the feral hogs from the patio, but some of these hogs were so big that you didn't need binoculars.

If you're "cityfolk" and want to see what herds of feral hogs look like and how they can ravage land with their foraging, go eat dinner at Riverbend and see for yourself. The kids will be amazed at the numbers and size of some of the hogs on the coast.

One of my good friends whose ranch is also full of large feral hogs frequently dispatches them with a headshot from a scoped and *legally* supressed .223 AR-15. He has had no survivors, and is convinced that his AR is a great hog gun. He also doesn't have to throw on the hearing protection since the AR is suppressed.

EDIT: I also don't know anyone who has ever carried hollow points in a snake gun, and am in agreement that any shotgun with 7.5 shot is better any day of the week than a bullet in terms of shooting snakes, even the big ones.

I myself carry a couple of rounds of .45 auto shot shells when I am in snakey territory, with hardball behind the shotshells in case I run into a hog or it's ilk.

I applaud the Lone Star�s commander in chief for serving the death penalty upon the coyote for the terroristic threats it made toward our Gov and his best friend.
As far as snakes, I lost a 1200 pound horse due to complications from a rattlesnake bite. So I will terminate the being of any rattler I encounter with whatever method necessary. I feel like the rattlesnake community owes me 1200 pounds of flesh. I rarely have a 12 gauge in my pocket, but have used everything from my .380 to my trucks front radial to a big rock. Other brands of snake are free to go as long as they show me their tails and not their tongues.

"Other brands of snake are free to go as long
as they show me their tails and not their
tongues."
When we moved to the country, I told Bob that, while I know the difference between snake species, any snake that did not immediately hold up a sign proclaiming "I am benign; I apologize for startling you and am leaving the area" was in danger of being shot on sight. Haven't seen any signs...have assorted dead carcasses available for viewing...none of which belong to me or the dogs!

Lisa L. Peterson
Nolan County Attorney

And rat snakes sure like to act like they are dangerous with their hissing, mock striking, and tail shaking. If that wasn't enough, they are dreadfully stinky.

But you should meet some of the dangerous snakes they have in Western Australia. There I really did take no chances: death adders, king browns, dugaits,and tiger snakes among them. A lethal collection--out and about day and night.

When I'm clearing brush and out on the tractor, a rifle is just not practical. I carry a pistol loaded with ratshot in .22 or .38 caliber and have never been disappointed with the results. Non-venomous snakes get a free pass.

All you need for snakes is a .410 loaded with #6's. Takes the head clean off. Of course, growing up in the brush country, I, like TS have used any method that is close at hand when dealing with a rattler. My father carries a .357 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk loaded with .38 Special rat shot. Very effective.

Think it's the one the Guv used?

Shannon drags us back in. Maybe the Guv used this "weapon", I do not know. But based on the experts in this thread none of them would be caught with this pink "weapon".

Just like I said: a girl's gun.

We had a victim who took 4 rounds from a .380 while running from his attacker. Two rounds hit him in the butt, one in his side, and one went thru his arm. He didn't even notice he had been shot until he stopped running, about half a mile later. They life flighted him to Austin in a chopper, and when he arrived at the Class III trauma center they gave him a aspirin and a Coke. After a couple of days of hanging out in the hospital, they told him to go home.

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Originally posted by John Dodson:
All you need for snakes is a .410 loaded with #6's. Takes the head clean off. Of course, growing up in the brush country, I, like TS have used any method that is close at hand when dealing with a rattler. My father carries a .357 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk loaded with .38 Special rat shot. Very effective.

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My father's brush clearing and pasture/woods roaming gun of choice for nearly 30 years was a Thompson Contender in .45 LC/.410. Even with Pachmayrs on it, it had a good wallop, and not just to the snake. It let you know you were shooting a shotgun shell out of a pistol. Interestingly enough, all of my friends with the Taurus Judge say the recoil is very mild compared to the TC.

Nice to know there are some Blackhawk fans here. Now THAT'S a Ruger!