Got a surprize yesterday at the ranch.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri May 16, 2014 1:58 pm

I went out to the ranch to shoot one of my favorite revolvers a 44-40 D.W. King Conversion Colt New Service. I opened a drawer in the bar to get a target and a rat snake crawled over my hand. It does'nt take me long to decide to remove my hand. I finely get it out and it went to it's business and I went to mine. This is one of the best shooting handguns I have but I will have to say yesterday I did not shoot my best score.

missionary5155 · Post by **missionary5155** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:15 pm

Greetings
That is a fine looking revolver ! Nice piece of leather wraps around it too.
I put a grip filler on mine also but it still looks like a Peruvian Colonel carried it through some tough years. Mine is a 44WCF.

Just never know when those "good" snakes will pop up. Yeras back in Indiana we returned home late from an out of town church service. Wife got out of the car to unlock the garage and soon went screeming past the drivers side. All it was was a large bull snake half way up the door trying to see in the window. It took her some time before she would go out there at night without lights on.
Mike in Peru

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:24 pm

I wanted to see the snake....

Catshooter · Post by **Catshooter** » Fri May 16, 2014 4:13 pm

RR7,

I bet your score wasn't all that high! I'm not afraid of snakes but that'd got me going too.

I'll take pity on y'all Blaine as I know there's hardly any snakes where you live:

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.6080389 ... lt=90&rm=2

I've seen that pic before. Don't know if it's true but the story attached to it said that the electrified wires that he's biting are 18 inches apart. Enjoy.

Cat

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri May 16, 2014 4:30 pm

As teenagers, a buddy and I use to wade chest deep in a creek with axe handles and kill water moccasins as they swam toward us. It was a dare between us as to who would get out of the creek first. Yes we were stupid, and went the entire two miles. We did it several times. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity and we crossed the line. RR7

P.S. We would kill dozens each time.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Fri May 16, 2014 5:55 pm

rangerider7 wrote:As teenagers, a buddy and I use to wade chest deep in a creek with axe handles and kill water moccasins as they swam toward us. It was a dare between us as to who would get out of the creek first. Yes we were stupid, and went the entire two miles. We did it several times. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity and we crossed the line. RR7

A friend of mine in high school came out to my place where a barn had fallen in, and the metal roof and joists were flat on the ground covering a 30x40 foot area. We wanted some pet copperheads, and while I was content to catch them with a snake-stick (metal bar with leather loop), he jacked up the barn roof at one point so it was about 2 ft off the ground, and you could see dozens of snake-heads sticking up about 4 inches or so from where they lay coiled. He crawled in to the tented-up area he had jacked up, towards the lower areas where the snakes were coiled, and came out with a live one IN HIS HANDS.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri May 16, 2014 6:21 pm

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Fri May 16, 2014 6:46 pm

Catshooter wrote:RR7,

I bet your score wasn't all that high! I'm not afraid of snakes but that'd got me going too.

I'll take pity on y'all Blaine as I know there's hardly any snakes where you live:

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.6080389 ... lt=90&rm=2

I've seen that pic before. Don't know if it's true but the story attached to it said that the electrified wires that he's biting are 18 inches apart. Enjoy.

Cat

Washington has a full compliment of snakes. The western rattler is common east of the Cascades, and not unheard of west of them. When I was working it was common to see snakes in the utility vaults where there were crickets, moles, and mice. Snakes do not particularly bother me. Bees, hornets, and wasps/yellowjackets scare the heck out of me....spiders too.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/snakes.html#wasnakes

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Fri May 16, 2014 6:55 pm

RR......Ain't ashamed to admit......a snake that close would have made me jump 10 feet straight up. There's somethin about spiders and snakes.

Last week, at the gunclub, while shooting from the bench, I saw movement from my side vision. There was this humongous black snake (at least 5 feet long) just slumbering along. I helped him get to where he was going with my cleaning rod, urging him along to get away.

Nice New Service.......my favorite of all of the pre-war large frame double actions, even bettering the Triplelock Smith. A King conversion shows the previous owner was a gun guy---6

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Fri May 16, 2014 7:13 pm

BlaineG wrote:Snakes do not particularly bother me. Bees, hornets, and wasps/yellowjackets scare the heck out of me....spiders too.

I'll bet those insects kill more people than snakes do, too, at least here in the U.S..

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri May 16, 2014 7:34 pm

Sixgun, he was a LEO in the late 1930s here in Texas. RR7

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Fri May 16, 2014 8:06 pm

missionary5155 wrote:Greetings
. All it was was a large bull snake half way up the door trying to see in the window.
Mike in Peru

Those bull snakes do like to stand their ground and fight sometimes though --- had a 6 footer i was trying to relocate turn around and start striking my leg like he was a rattler or something -- felt like getting hit with a tee shot with a golf ball --- i then dispatched him, because if he was that mean , i figured he might take out one of the cats, or scare the heck outta the wife

--- but i started out trying to do the right thing --

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Fri May 16, 2014 9:02 pm

rangerider7 wrote:Sixgun, he was a LEO in the late 1930s here in Texas. RR7

RR, THATS a gun that I wish could talk....before the days of political correctness. I bet that baby was pulled out dozens of times and stuck in people's faces.

I've always liked the look of a nickel big bore double action, especially with the stags and those pre-war nickel-silver Colt medallions. It's a keeper......for sure.----6

J35 · Post by **J35** » Fri May 16, 2014 9:12 pm

One day at the Three Points shooting range just West of Tucson, we were shooting on the Pistol range, by buddy went to the rack where they stored the shooting mats and pulled one out and carried it to the shooting line, rolled it out and there was 4 ft Mojave rattle snake inside .

------------- J

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Fri May 16, 2014 11:12 pm

J35nut wrote:One day at the Three Points shooting range just West of Tucson, we were shooting on the Pistol range, by buddy went to the rack where they stored the shooting mats and pulled one out and carried it to the shooting line, rolled it out and there was 4 ft Mojave rattle snake inside .

------------- J

Those Mojave Greens are the worst of the worst. A massive cocktail of neuro & Hemo toxins.....

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Fri May 16, 2014 11:34 pm

My family had a Chocktaw working for them that got bit by a Mojave Green in the hand.
I don't know if the snake did not inject or he was so full of alcohol that it did not take. ( the Chocktaw )
Anyway the guy is still alive and owes me a small fortune.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sat May 17, 2014 12:50 am

Mescalero wrote:My family had a Chocktaw working for them that got bit by a Mojave Green in the hand.
I don't know if the snake did not inject or he was so full of alcohol that it did not take. ( the Chocktaw )
Anyway the guy is still alive and owes me a small fortune.

John's wife got nailed on her patio when she took the dog out before bedtime. She was dead a couple times, and nearly lost her leg. I doubt if he was envenomated.

OldWin · Post by **OldWin** » Sat May 17, 2014 7:18 am

RR,

That Colt is really neat. Gotta love a 44-40 revolver. I have my granddads Colt Army Special he used as a service revolver when he was a Maine game warden in the Allagash. It shoots well but I wish he'd used something cooler.

As for the snake stories.....wow! It's easy for me not to be afraid of snakes, we don't have any that bother you here.
There is a place up by our camp back in on a tote road. They used to peel logs there many, many years ago. There is an old cabin in a clearing that is grassed over but under the grass is several feet of old bark. The rotting bark must be warm or something because there are hundreds of snakes. If you drive in with a jeep or four wheeler it looks like the ground is alive with them all slithering away. My wife DONT like that spot.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sat May 17, 2014 8:03 am

I have found that any snake will coil and strike if cornered, even grass snakes. On the revolver, like I said it is one of my favorites. On my best days I have put two in the same hole.

RR7

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Sat May 17, 2014 9:58 am

rangerider7 wrote:. On the revolver, like I said it is one of my favorites. RR7

One of my favorites now too, RR !

piller · Post by **piller** » Sat May 17, 2014 12:11 pm

That is a nice looking pistol.

A couple of years ago, PillHer had a rat snake fall out of a tree in our yard onto her shoulders. When she called to tell me about it, it was dead. I was at work at the time. I never did get the story from her in any sort of sensible manner other than it fell out of the tree onto her, and then things moved rather fast.

vancelw · Post by **vancelw** » Sat May 17, 2014 12:22 pm

rangerider7 wrote:I have found that any snake will coil and strike if cornered, even grass snakes. RR7

Yep. And quite a few will rattle their tail, even thought they aren't rattlesnakes. A dry leaf proximal to their tail will make a person poo their pants

Since the feral hogs are so common now, our snake population has plummeted. About all I ever see anymore are large rat snakes. Can't say how long it's been since I saw an spreading adder (hognose) or a rough green snake.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sat May 17, 2014 2:14 pm

Some of the local ranchers say because of feral hog locating the rattlesnakes by their noise they have learned to stop rattling so much.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sat May 17, 2014 2:35 pm

Are the hogs not affected by rattlesnake venom?

vancelw · Post by **vancelw** » Sat May 17, 2014 2:47 pm

Mescalero wrote:Are the hogs not affected by rattlesnake venom?

Not if it's ingested

A big hog is pretty tough skinned. Fangs may not consistently get through to meat.
I don't have many rattlers in my area. Most vipers are copperhead or cottonmouth. Supposedly coral snakes here, too, but I've never seen one.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sat May 17, 2014 4:04 pm

feral hogs, I think, have big thick plates on each side of it's neck and shoulder. The fangs can't get through it. At least that's what I have heard. RR7

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sat May 17, 2014 5:19 pm

OK, I can see the logic.

Catshooter · Post by **Catshooter** » Sat May 17, 2014 8:15 pm

Blaine,

You can't fool me. I know exactly where Spanaway is having lived in or near Tacoma most of my life. There ain't one rattlesnake anywhere near there unless one got out someone's aquarium.

I know there's rattlers in the other half of the state but none on the wet side.

There are Garter snakes, but they're tiny. The first one I saw out here really surprised me. I was between four and five feet and covered with large beautiful orange and yellow markings on it's back. I've seen one here in the Midwest that was an inch and a half thick through the body.

Cat

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sat May 17, 2014 8:28 pm

John, Blaine's friend lives in Arizona; that is where the incident occured.

piller · Post by **piller** » Sun May 18, 2014 9:16 am

My Dad raised pigs on the farm when he was young, and one time there was a nest of rattlesnakes on the area where his deceased grandmother's house had been. His Dad rounded up the pigs and herded them to the old building. Using a cant hook, he pulled some of the wood and exposed the snakes. The pigs pounced and the snakes soon became pig chow. My Dad still remembers watching the snake striking at the pigs as they were being eaten. The gristle plate inside a pigs skin that covers the head and shoulders is thicker than most rattlesnakes fangs are long.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sun May 18, 2014 9:47 am

It would seem logical that in the wild variety that protective feature would evolve even stronger.

piller · Post by **piller** » Sun May 18, 2014 9:57 am

86er shot a pig and commented in this forum once about the bullet holes in it that didn't penetrate the gristle plate. I don't remember the thread completely.

How well would that nice looking pistol in .44-40 do on a wild pig? What little I know of the caliber is that it was a decent round in a lever action rifle.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sun May 18, 2014 12:02 pm

Catshooter wrote:Blaine,

You can't fool me. I know exactly where Spanaway is having lived in or near Tacoma most of my life. There ain't one rattlesnake anywhere near there unless one got out someone's aquarium. I know there's rattlers in the other half of the state but none on the wet side.

There are Garter snakes, but they're tiny. The first one I saw out here really surprised me. I was between four and five feet and covered with large beautiful orange and yellow markings on it's back. I've seen one here in the Midwest that was an inch and a half thick through the body.

Cat

Yes, the Friend's wife was bit in AZ......Now, as to some rattlers on the wet side: I said, exactly, that they are not unheard of, not common. They are brought over in Yakima hay deliveries. If they find a nice dry place to live in an out building, they will prosper

"They" will also tell you there are no grizz, or wolves in the cascades.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sun May 18, 2014 12:48 pm

I have only used it to finish off a downed feral hog. A shot below and behind the ear did the job. RR7

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sun May 18, 2014 5:55 pm

All of this talk on snakes gives me the heebie-jeebies. We rarely see them here, except for little green snakes that eat mice and such. Once in a while a water snake somes out of the creek below but they don't bother no one and we don't bother them.----6

Mike Armstrong · Post by **Mike Armstrong** » Sun May 18, 2014 7:30 pm

Neat to see a King conversion on a working Colt like that. Most I have seen were mainly kept for target work, SAs, NSs, and 1911s. And a nickeled NS is something you don't see every day, either!

New Services are about my favorite firearm, except for Win 1885s, low or high. They just don't break. And .44-40 is also one of my favorites; I have my grandfather's 4 1/2" NS and a Win '85 high wall both in .44-40 (to be strictly factual, the '85 was made in 2006 in Big Timber, MT. But I have a "real" one in .38-40, too).

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Thu May 22, 2014 12:16 pm

I went back to the ranch yesterday and my friend the rat snake had not come back but I did have a different intruder, could be poachers. I pulled up to the gate and a strange truck was sitting at the gate. I walked up to the driver side and asked who they were. They told me they were going to go hunting on corp of engineers land. I made the point that all COE land have walk-troughs and this is private property and as you can see a locked gate. The passenger side man started to put his arm behind the seat where I had already seen two rifles and a spotlight. I strongly suggested he keep his hands up where I could see them as I put my hand on my sidearm. I asked them if they had a core land permit, they did not. I ask them what they were planning to hunt, they said coyotes. I explained to them that only game animals are allowed to be hunted on COE land and no rifles are allowed just bows and shotguns. I added that I was pretty sure they already knew that. Since they had not actually trespassed I did not call the Sheriff. It was an old truck with a large iron grill guard on the front. I'm pretty sure they were going to ram the gate and try a shoot a dear for meat. I took down their plate number and told them it was probably best they stay away from our ranch. This is the third time I have had to deal with poachers. The other two were actually on the ranch. Maybe this pair will not come back.

vancelw · Post by **vancelw** » Thu May 22, 2014 12:20 pm

Tell the sheriff anyway...If you don't then they have no prior when the next guy has to encounter them.
In Texas is is a felony to trespass with a firearm, and more information helps the DA get a sentence that will modify their behavior.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Thu May 22, 2014 12:27 pm

rangerider7 wrote:I went back to the ranch yesterday and my friend the rat snake had not come back but I did have a different intruder, could be poachers. I pulled up to the gate and a strange truck was sitting at the gate. I walked up to the driver side and asked who they were. They told me they were going to go hunting on corp of engineers land. I made the point that all COE land have walk-troughs and this is private property and as you can see a locked gate. The passenger side man started to put his arm behind the seat where I had already seen two rifles and a spotlight. I strongly suggested he keep his hands up where I could see them as I put my hand on my sidearm. I asked them if they had a core land permit, they did not. I ask them what they were planning to hunt, they said coyotes. I explained to them that only game animals are allowed to be hunted on COE land and no rifles are allowed just bows and shotguns. I added that I was pretty sure they already knew that. Since they had not actually trespassed I did not call the Sheriff. It was an old truck with a large iron grill guard on the front. I'm pretty sure they were going to ram the gate and try a shoot a dear for meat. I took down their plate number and told them it was probably best they stay away from our ranch. This is the third time I have had to deal with poachers. The other two were actually on the ranch. Maybe this pair will not come back.

God bless the 2nd Amendment.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Thu May 22, 2014 8:20 pm

BlaineG wrote:I wanted to see the snake....

rr7 - I bet you almost jumped out of your skin!

VERY cool gun!

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Thu May 22, 2014 8:22 pm

BlaineG wrote:
Catshooter wrote:RR7,

I bet your score wasn't all that high! I'm not afraid of snakes but that'd got me going too.

I'll take pity on y'all Blaine as I know there's hardly any snakes where you live:

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.6080389 ... lt=90&rm=2

I've seen that pic before. Don't know if it's true but the story attached to it said that the electrified wires that he's biting are 18 inches apart. Enjoy.

Cat
Washington has a full compliment of snakes. The western rattler is common east of the Cascades, and not unheard of west of them. When I was working it was common to see snakes in the utility vaults where there were crickets, moles, and mice. Snakes do not particularly bother me. Bees, hornets, and wasps/yellowjackets scare the heck out of me....spiders too.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/snakes.html#wasnakes

Spiders ESPECIALLY. Hate them.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri May 23, 2014 11:13 am

vancelw, I always give the Sheriff the plate numbers of anybody that is suspicious. The last two pair I caught on the ranch are doing time at " The Wall " in Huntsville, Texas. RR7

piller · Post by **piller** » Fri May 23, 2014 11:28 am

That is where they should be. Poaching is a crime, and going through a locked gate without permission is quite clearly committing a crime with intent. Snakes are part of nature, so they don't count. They come on to property and hunt, no license, and usually are never noticed. Besides, I have not seen a snake in Texas which is hunting deer.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri May 23, 2014 2:48 pm

Some two legged ones do!

piller · Post by **piller** » Sat May 24, 2014 11:16 am

The 2 legged kind are the ones which should be shot, particularly since they are not supposed to be found naturally on your land. The kind which must crawl on their bellies due to not having arms or legs are to be expected.