Snake defense gun or weapon suggestion...
With the lockdown, the safest thing to do is hiking in the mountains.
We don't have a lot of Rattlesnakes but this year, they are showing up more frequently.
It is rare but we have had few hikers not only bitten but killed here.
What do you guys carry for snakes? Firearm or not.
Not urgent but want to get some idea.
Something small and pocket-able would be great as I don't want two guns on the belt.
Ruger LCR with CCI Shakeshot....never used it for reals
Pin the head and cut it off, shovel, trek pole, whatever. I prefer not to waste the ammo or announce I have a gun.
الدهون القاع الفتيات لك جعل العالم هزاز جولة الذهاب
I've spent time in snake heavy parts of the world, including a lot of land surveying in central Florida.
I've found that most snakes really don't want to get into a confrontation, and will slither off if you give them room.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
Agree with mechanical problem solving or giving them room.
A stick. A hoe is best but a little awkward as a walking stick. Idk why people shoot em. Maybe someone can enlighten me, it's a serious question.
ETA: That wasn't a very helpful response. In rocky desert or mountain country where the main concern is rattlers you want two things, a good stick (Or pole, I prefer sticks) and a pebble pouch. Just a little pouch filled with pebbles you picked up while hiking. Most people get hit when scrambling up boulders or going over overhangs that a sleepy snake is under. If you see something that looks snaky, wing a couple of pebbles at it before going over. This will help wake up the snake enough that it will alarm before you get too close. It's not foolproof but it helps, and if the snake is awake enough it will often move on in a hurry before you get there. If you do roll up on a snake that's close enough to strike, bring your stick out in a sweeping motion straight at the center of the curve of the snake. It's fast and while not lethal, will disturb the strike enough that one or both of you can move your separate ways.
Winging pebbles at snaky spots is a good way to break up the monotony of the trail and you can always poke people with the stick if you get bored.
Last edited by MickAK; 07-27-2020 at 02:57 PM.
Especially since most snakes one will encounter are non-poisonous, even beneficial.Originally Posted by MickAK
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
I carry a walking stick and my regularly holstered G17.3. In the past, while working the farm I have carried a FA 97 in .357 Magnum. The only snakes that are an issue in this area are water moccasins, especially after storms. Only snakes that have ever charged me. The rest I try to avoid as stepping on them as doing so does not elicit a pleasant response.
Growing up, we killed them because they'd eat eggs and chicks as well as small rabbits, all of which we raised. "In the wild" unless it was a poisonous one we left them be. People know to leave them alone, dogs don't, and I lost a dog due to that, as did my neighbor. He carried a .22 with rat shot. I carried a single action .45 Colt with snake shot.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
A walking stick, usually. I have thrown rocks to disturb snakes and had them metaphorically flip me off in response.
I also pocket carry an airweight jframe .38 loaded with shot cartridges in the summer, in addition to whatever belt gun I have on.
I stepped on by the rattle end of a 6+ foot monster rattler on day. He was stretched out across a two-track dirt road sunning himself, and couldn’t be bothered to move more than picking his head up to look at me. There may have been a shotgun aimed at his head as I stepped past.
The snakes I’ve killed have usually been beheaded with a shovel or hoe. And not while hiking - I cannot recall killing one while hiking, camping, or hunting in the past 4 decades since I first took up the outdoors as a lifetime hobby.
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