firearm for trapped copperheads

[skeeljc]

.22 birdshot (the brass crimped kind) from a revolver will not damage the cage wire. The ones with a plastic capsule will cut the wire. Wear safety glasses.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I'll just live where they don't

 

[rayporter]

at out benchrest range i have killed 2 and the owner that lives there has been bitten.

sitting around the fire at night when they come out keeps you on your toes.

 

[PigButtons]

Since this thread is alive from the dead, I'll answer the OP's question on wether or not a CO2 pellet pistol will kill a snake that has been caught in a trap. Yes it will. I have a simple Crossman CO2 pistol that is plenty accurate and has enough power, even in summer (it's a CO2 thing), to pass through any indigenous snake's head. But most snakes don't stop moving even after a central nervous system failure. Cut off the head and the body will continue to be quite active for up to a couple of hours. And yes it can still bite you if you are not careful in handling the head.

 

[Cecil S.]

I lived in middle TN for 18 years and my property must have supported the retirement grounds for "Venoms" snakes (11 rattles and a button) many were "relocated".......Keep the grass mowed in areas used by family (birds of pray eat snakes) use moth balls in crawl spaces (good for spiders) and a good pair of snake boots is priceless (ask me how I know) or snake chaps. Resist killing Black Racers they eat other snakes (wish I still had the photos) but I chose to live where snakes had taken hold I just evened the playing field.......oh and i can jump and change direction in mid air......LOL EDIT: A 410ga was always on the 4 wheeler.

 

[dave@aDave]

Back when I was farming, I was pretty tolerant of snakes. I even kept a Black Snake in the feed barrel in the barn to take care of critters coming in for a meal.

I remember one day I took the kids and some of their friends out to the pond for some fishing. Things were going well. Then there was a pretty good commotion a ways down the bank.

We went over to check it out. It was a pretty good size Corn Snake. He had captured a big bullfrog and couldn't swallow it or get rid of it.

I reached down and grabbed him and it took a bit to get the frog dislodged from his mouth. After a bit, I got it out and put the snake down on the ground.

He layed there for a while but didn't move. I picked him back up and treated him to a bit of the pint of "snake bite medicine" I had in my hip pocket and put him back down and we went back to our fishing.

A while later I felt a nudge on my pants leg.

I looked down and there was that snake with another frog in his mouth!

 

[yotehater]

A 9mm works well too.

 

[timeout]

A 9mm works well too.
View attachment 1216793

With my pistol shooting skills I would feel safer with a .410 Taurus Judge or a trusty 12 gauge!

 

[okie]

Back when I was farming, I was pretty tolerant of snakes. I even kept a Black Snake in the feed barrel in the barn to take care of critters coming in for a meal.

I remember one day I took the kids and some of their friends out to the pond for some fishing. Things were going well. Then there was a pretty good commotion a ways down the bank.

We went over to check it out. It was a pretty good size Corn Snake. He had captured a big bullfrog and couldn't swallow it or get rid of it.

I reached down and grabbed him and it took a bit to get the frog dislodged from his mouth. After a bit, I got it out and put the snake down on the ground.

He layed there for a while but didn't move. I picked him back up and treated him to a bit of the pint of "snake bite medicine" I had in my hip pocket and put him back down and we went back to our fishing.

A while later I felt a nudge on my pants leg.

I looked down and there was that snake with another frog in his mouth!

yeah, we used to wade creeks fishing in the mountains--pull your stringer up and there would be a cottonmouth latched onto one of your goggle-eyes or brownies. they wouldnt let go--just pull em up to bank and beat em off with a stick. well those days are gone now--game dept. thought we needed otters....

 

[Paula Marie Hamilton]

My son won't kill them, but my husband nearly got bit, hit the back of his boot. This is the biggest one I've seen here. Crossing our driveway in turkey season. I watched myself closely hunting there after.

 

[snert]

With my pistol shooting skills I would feel safer with a .410 Taurus Judge or a trusty 12 gauge!

6 wheel half track for me....

 

[10XSHOOTER]

Broom handle and a corn knife! frontal lobatomy

 

[DumpHollow]

Long handled flat shovel.
.or.
Bond Arms 45/410 ..... CCI 45 LC shot shells.....or....3" 410 #9s

 

[rebel]

Had a little Mtn. Fiest once that had no back up in him. He would take on a bear. He once had a 30 inch copperhead cornered in the lot and was actively getting struck at. It's amazing how good you shoot when your best buddy is in peril. Single six, HP to the head. At around 15 ft in failing light. A real Rooster Cogburn kill. When the snake went still the dog grabbed it and shook his guts out.

 

[338 dude]

I've been trying to figure out how to trap copperheads we get here each Spring and Summer so my grandchildren don't step on them playing around the house. After searching, I found a video on youtube of a guy that uses a minnow/fish trap - rectangular box shaped wire-mesh-like box (with one end shaped like a cone (with a hole in the end) that extends inside the box). He put chicken eggs (2) and/or some crickets (I think I can get them at the local pet store - they use them to feed pet snakes I think) inside the trap and caught snakes within 2 hours. The trap has about a 6x6" door on one side also made of wire mesh, so you (not me) can reach in there and grab the snake. Can grab them with snake tongs I've got, but I dont want. I talked with some friends who suggested using a CO2 air pistol to take care of the snakes without damaging the wire-mesh cage. If I use a pistol that shoots 20 gauge shotgun shells I will for sure damage the cage. Do you think an air pistol will work OK, and if so, are shot-filled rounds available I can use with an air pistol for this purpose.

22 Long rifle with rat shot works well