Backyard "surprise"!

[Otto Matic]

We winter with our youngest in south Texas. We came back to south Texas yesterday.
About 9pm, the kid kicks the dogs out the back door before going to bed!
There was an immediate uproar with the kid yelling at dogs, slamming doors and running through the house to grab the 20 gauge shotgun by the front door and screaming back out the back door!
I hear a "bang"! A bit later, a second "bang" followed by a third "bang"!

This was in the back yard!


The resulting damage of the 20 bore at close range isn't pretty and kinda makes final measurement (head missing) a moot point, but best guesstimate is about 5 foot with 9 rattles!

"SURPRISE!"

 

[Dave N]

Dinner!

 

[MarvB]

Dinner!

And a bonus hat band

 

[timberman56]

nice chutin

 

[LuketheDog]

He shot it in the butt!

 

[MarvB]

Heart shot

 

[Otto Matic]

Dinner!

I've had fried rattlesnake. Not bad doings.

And a bonus hat band

I think the kid got a bit carried away to consider a hat band!

nice chutin

Dead ain't it? LOL!

He shot it in the butt!

Heart shot

He "shot it to death"! Mission accomplished!

 

[LuketheDog]

Heart shot

We do call that a "Texas Heart Shot"

 

[Hem]

Cut the head off before you pick the damn thing up.
Took a hoe to a rattler once,broke him down in to four pieces. Sucker was still trying to strike.

 

[Happy Myles]

My grandmother used to keep a garden hoe at the front door and the back door. She found them handy to use as walking sticks. if one of her “Watch” turkeys alerted her to a rattlesnake in the yard she lopped the snakes head off with one of her handy hoes. I suggested she was too old to be chasing rattlers. Her reply was at her age killing snakes was about all the excitement she had. She died at 98, death prompted by slipping and falling during a snow storm while carrying in an armful of firewood from the woodshed for her kitchen stove which she loved to sit by.

 

[Otto Matic]

My grandmother used to keep a garden hoe at the front door and the back door. She found them handy to use as walking sticks. if one of her “Watch” turkeys alerted her to a rattlesnake in the yard she lopped the snakes head off with one of her handy hoes. I suggested she was too old to be chasing rattlers. Her reply was at her age killing snakes was about all the excitement she had. She died at 98, death prompted by slipping and falling during a snow storm while carrying in an armful of firewood for her kitchen stove which she loved to sit by.

That's awesome Happy Myles!
Love hearing stories about the oldtimers.

I can remember as a kid, back in the early 50's, visiting family out in rural communities.
No one mowed, yards were clean dirt. Not one blade of grass or weed.
Kept that way by many of the older folks and the obligatory hoe or two kept under the front porch.
When I asked why, I was informed it made spotting snakes easier and cut down on the occurence of rats, mice and other vermin.

The hoes were usually worn to a width of only 2 or 3 inches and were kept razor sharp. Handles were usually not original and hand crafted of hickory by some neighbor, uncle or sibling.

 

[Buffs35]

My grandmother used to keep a garden hoe at the front door and the back door. She found them handy to use as walking sticks. if one of her “Watch” turkeys alerted her to a rattlesnake in the yard she lopped the snakes head off with one of her handy hoes. I suggested she was too old to be chasing rattlers. Her reply was at her age killing snakes was about all the excitement she had. She died at 98, death prompted by slipping and falling during a snow storm while carrying in an armful of firewood for her kitchen stove which she loved to sit by.

Never underestimate the power of a hoe.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

We don't shoot em' anymore, we just feed em' to the young un's...

 

[Lyfter1013]

My grandmother used to keep a garden hoe at the front door and the back door. She found them handy to use as walking sticks. if one of her “Watch” turkeys alerted her to a rattlesnake in the yard she lopped the snakes head off with one of her handy hoes. I suggested she was too old to be chasing rattlers. Her reply was at her age killing snakes was about all the excitement she had. She died at 98, death prompted by slipping and falling during a snow storm while carrying in an armful of firewood from the woodshed for her kitchen stove which she loved to sit by.

Thats always awesome to hear stories like that my grandmother is similar every couple years she’ll end up with a few rattlers in her yard and she just goes out chops there heads off with a shovel and calls it day haha. This is the same lady that chases bats out of her house when they get in. And when I killed my first quail told me I was taking too long to clean it pushed me out of the way and said watch this and learn haha. Or when I was younger and killed one of my first bucks on my own on her property proceeded to tell Me it’s only blood get your arms in there and I was taking too long to get it gutted.

 

[Duck-Slayer]

Oh
Matt

 

[Otto Matic]

We don't shoot em' anymore, we just feed em' to the young un's...View attachment 182459View attachment 182460View attachment 182461

There is a HUGE (6 foot or so!) "Blue Indigo" snake that hangs out around the kid's house!
Would love to have seen the two of them locked in mortal combat!

For those who don't know, the Blue Indigo is non-venomous and aggressive to other snakes.
They overcome other snakes by brute force and eat them.
They will even kill and devour their own kind.