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No contest, chainsaw won!

We live out in the country….so snakes (and critters) are just part of the deal. I rarely kill a snake…even if venomous UNLESS they get up around the house or my shop.

I was just starting to cut up a large tree limb that had fallen next my shop when I noticed movement about two feet from my right foot. I looked down to see a Copperhead coiled up and striking my direction.

The nerve!

Usually, snakes are quick to beat a retreat at the slightest commotion….but not his guy.

He was really acting pissy….so I said to myself, ”Well….fella, if you REALLY want to strike at something, try this chainsaw”!

With that….I gave the saw about ½ throttle (Poulan S25DA)…and lowered the bar toward the snake. I figured he’d strike at it and kill himself in the process.

Sure enough the snake hit the chain pretty much dead center.

Do’s and Don’ts for using a chainsaw to kill a snake:

1. DO leave yourself a path of retreat.
2. DON’T present the bottom of the bar to the snake.
3. DO realize…. that if you fail to observe rule #2, the chain WILL snatch the snake right back onto your feet.
4. DON’T be surprised if you scream like a girl.


You can see in the pic below… the chain took nearly all of the snake’s head off, but…. it also grabbed some of the body below the neck (if snakes have a neck). Pretty sure that’s what threw it back on me.



Remember:

ALWAYS…offer the TOP of the bar (bias cut) to the snake. That way it will be pitched AWAY from you if the chain happens to grab it.

Just wanted to pass that little “pearl of wisdom” onto others.


Flint.

That is a big boy for a copperhead.
They gave me WAY more trouble when I worked in the woods than Rattlers.

Correct about chain dirrection.
Saw that once but w/ a weed eater. Yes he had a runnin fit.

Wouldn't I loved to have seen that! Next time give me time to get my video-cam.

i wouldve settled for an audio clip of him screaming like a girl

longtooth wrote:That is a big boy for a copperhead.
They gave me WAY more trouble when I worked in the woods than Rattlers.

Correct about chain dirrection.
Saw that once but w/ a weed eater. Yes he had a runnin fit.

Those copperheads are a pain in the woods. They blend right in with the ground and will not move a muscle until you step on one.
I've come really really close to being bit more than once.

I think Copperheads are worse than Rattlers. For one they don't make noise when you get near them to let you know you're too close and between the two, copperheads have been much more aggressive when I have been around them. That's why anytime I go out hunting above 50 degrees my snake boots are always on my feet. Just this last weekend while turkey hunting I encountered two rattlesnakes and a some sort of water snake. All three got a 12Ga. turkey shell in the head. I had to walk back and get more ammo to turkey hunt!

In my experience, Copperheads are THE most aggressive of all the venomous snakes in North America.

That being said, I don't kill everyone I come across. Snakes do us a good turn keeping the rodent population in check.

The vast majority of the time I don't harm any snake, even the venomous ones, but I killed one Cotton Mouth some years back as it presented a lethal hazard to my Grandchildren. Even so, I felt badly about doing it. He was just sunning himself - in my yard... I thought long and hard about killing him. I wanted to simply relocate him, but have didn't the necessary gear in order to do it safely. 90/95% get bitten while handling venomous snakes and I didn't care for the odds...

I'm having trouble visualizing flintknapper screaming like a girl.

Abraham probably just bellows like a bull, throws down his staff, his staff turns into a snake and eats the copperhead and becomes a staff again. Then Abraham picks up his staff and returns to telling Congress to "let my people go!"

TAM,

How did you know...?

The Annoyed Man wrote:Abraham probably just bellows like a bull, throws down his staff, his staff turns into a snake and eats the copperhead and becomes a staff again. Then Abraham picks up his staff and returns to telling Congress to "let my people go!"

Shouldn't he change his name to "Moses", then?

Wasn't that Moses?

It's like the joke where you ask how many animals Moses put on the ark. Most people miss that it was Noah, because they're trying to figure out the animal part.

Glad the snake's carcass didn't cause more harm than an unmanly screech.

LarryH wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Abraham probably just bellows like a bull, throws down his staff, his staff turns into a snake and eats the copperhead and becomes a staff again. Then Abraham picks up his staff and returns to telling Congress to "let my people go!"

Shouldn't he change his name to "Moses", then?

Nope. In the Bible that would be Moses, but in Texas, it's Abraham.

BLG wrote:Wouldn't I loved to have seen that! Next time give me time to get my video-cam.

Hmmm ... chainsawcam ...