fish@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Jim Fishenden) (06/12/91)
I am looking for advice on what would be a good gun to carry on deep wilderness hiking trips that I often go on. It was suggested to me to get a .32 revolver w/ a 3 inch barrel and load it with shot cartrages. I am mostly concerned about snakes etc. I am not looking for a cannon. Any ideas?
boyd@mailer.cc.fsu.edu (Mickey Boyd) (06/12/91)
In article <35478@mimsy.umd.edu>, fish@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Jim Fishenden) writes:
#I am looking for advice on what would be a good gun to carry on deep
#wilderness hiking trips that I often go on. It was suggested to me to
#get a .32 revolver w/ a 3 inch barrel and load it with shot cartrages.
#I am mostly concerned about snakes etc. I am not looking for a cannon.
#Any ideas?
I have never gotten small caliber shot cartridges to work worth a damn. I
would suggest a .22 auto or revolver that you can count on (then learn to
shoot the snake in the lips :-). The "patterns" obtained by these shot
cartridges are usually spotty at best, so don't use them!! If you are
going to buy a gun chambered for a center fire round (ie anything except a
.22) you might as well get something "large", like a .357, since small
centerfire ammo costs just as much as the bigger stuff, and (if you get
a revolver) you can always go down in power (ie shoot light .38 wadcutter
target loads in a .357mag). A more complete list of why I would recommend
a .357mag revolver was posted about a week ago (I think the subject header
was Dumb Beginner Question). Anyway, there are may guns in this (and other)
calibers that are designed to be light and easy to carry, so you have
plenty of choices. Remember that guns and shooting them require lots of
attention, time, practive, and discipline. If you are only worried about
snakes, and are not all that into guns, you may be better off with a good
staff and some high boots :-).
--
Mickey R. Boyd | "God is a comedian playing to an
FSU Computer Science | audience too afraid to laugh."
Technical Support Group |
email: boyd@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu | - Voltaire MEDELMA@cms.cc.wayne.edu (Michael Edelman) (06/12/91)
For snakes I'd take a Bulldog in .44 with shot cartridges. Carries a lot more pellets than a .32. That, or a big walking stick. --mike
skrone@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (stuart.krone) (06/12/91)
In article <35478@mimsy.umd.edu> fish@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Jim Fishenden) writes:
#
#
#
#I am looking for advice on what would be a good gun to carry on deep
#wilderness hiking trips that I often go on. It was suggested to me to
#get a .32 revolver w/ a 3 inch barrel and load it with shot cartrages.
#I am mostly concerned about snakes etc. I am not looking for a cannon.
#Any ideas?
In most areas where I've lived .38 ammo is cheaper, easier to get
and available in a greater variety of ammo. (if your gonna carry
you might as well carry a variety of ammo just in case since
you will be far from civilization. Then again if your far from
"civilization" you might not need that advice after all ...)
.38's aren't much larger or heavier then .32's and Ruger
makes a few with 2 3/4 " barrels in SS that are great
just my .02
Hope it helps
Stugary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) (06/15/91)
In article <35478@mimsy.umd.edu> fish@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Jim Fishenden) writes:
#
#
#
#I am looking for advice on what would be a good gun to carry on deep
#wilderness hiking trips that I often go on. It was suggested to me to
#get a .32 revolver w/ a 3 inch barrel and load it with shot cartrages.
#I am mostly concerned about snakes etc. I am not looking for a cannon.
#Any ideas?
I've tried snake shot in everything including .44 mag. It usually makes
the snake angry. The best way to deal with a snake is to avoid him. A
second choice is a hiking staff. If you just like killing snakes, a
.22 hollowpoint through the head leaves them dead. A 4" barrel .22
is small and light, and so's a box of 50 shells. Don't go annoying
bears with it.
Garymacklin@garnet.berkeley.edu (Macklin Burnham) (06/18/91)
In article <35656@mimsy.umd.edu> ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) writes:
#
#I've tried snake shot in everything including .44 mag. It usually makes
#the snake angry. The best way to deal with a snake is to avoid him. A
#second choice is a hiking staff. If you just like killing snakes, a
#.22 hollowpoint through the head leaves them dead. A 4" barrel .22
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Maybe Gary can answer a question that I've had for 20 years or so. A guy
once told me that it was easy to hunt rattlesnakes with a .22 rifle: all
you had to do was point the rifle with one hand in the snake's face, and
it would move its head to zero in on the muzzle. I've never been a position
to try this. Was the guy putting me on?
Mack Burnhambae@uunet.UU.NET (Brian Ehrmantraut) (06/19/91)
In article <35478@mimsy.umd.edu>, fish@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Jim Fishenden) writes:
# I am looking for advice on what would be a good gun to carry on deep
# wilderness hiking trips that I often go on. It was suggested to me to
# get a .32 revolver w/ a 3 inch barrel and load it with shot cartrages.
# I am mostly concerned about snakes etc. I am not looking for a cannon.
# Any ideas?
From my few experiences with snakes, I'd suggest a good stout hiking
stick would be more generally useful. Personally, I don't see much point
in killing snakes, anyway...
--
Brian A. Ehrmantraut
BELL: voice:(408) 492-0900 fax: (408) 492-0909
USnail: Auspex Systems, 2952 Bunker Hill Lane, Santa Clara, CA 95054 klm@uunet.UU.NET (Kevin L. McBride) (06/19/91)
In article <35511@mimsy.umd.edu> MEDELMA@cms.cc.wayne.edu (Michael Edelman) writes:
#For snakes I'd take a Bulldog in .44 with shot cartridges. Carries a
#lot more pellets than a .32. That, or a big walking stick. --mike
Or a T/C Contender in the .45/.410 chambering and carry a .410 shotshell
in the chamber. Can you say snakeburger?
Yes, I realize that the Contender is a little large for a "pack" pistol,
but a guy I know uses one for rabbit hunting and it is *very* effective.
--
Kevin L. McBride DoD // Just say NO to the war on your freedom which,
President #0348 // by the way, is being fought with YOUR money.
MSCG, Inc. \\ // Let them know you've had enough.
uunet!wang!gozer!klm \X/ Vote Libertarian.magnum@mimsy.umd.edu (News Moderator) (06/20/91)
In article <35746@mimsy.umd.edu> macklin@garnet.berkeley.edu (Macklin Burnham) writes: #In article <35656@mimsy.umd.edu> ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) writes: ## ##I've tried snake shot in everything including .44 mag. It usually makes ##the snake angry. The best way to deal with a snake is to avoid him. A ##second choice is a hiking staff. If you just like killing snakes, a ##.22 hollowpoint through the head leaves them dead. A 4" barrel .22 # ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ #Maybe Gary can answer a question that I've had for 20 years or so. A guy #once told me that it was easy to hunt rattlesnakes with a .22 rifle: all #you had to do was point the rifle with one hand in the snake's face, and #it would move its head to zero in on the muzzle. I've never been a position #to try this. Was the guy putting me on? #Mack Burnham I was hiking with my SO over Memorial Weekend when I shot a rattlesnake. I'd always thought that my .357 Mag would be an appropriate weapon until it came time to shoot the snake. He was coiled up in a pile of rocks!!! The possibility of a ricochet with the 158 grain .357 seemed much more likely than the .22 rifle I was also carrying. I opted for the rifle and with one shot almost severed his head from his body. As for sticking the muzzle in his face... I could see no reason to get that close to a live rattler. After cutting off his head and rattle my SO wanted to look at his fangs. I figured OK. Reaching down I grabbed the head behind the jaw to push his mouth open. SNAP! He almost got me! I guess that was a dumb thing to do. If you do kill one of these critters, don't mess with his head. -- Brian Vandewettering - NRA, NRA-ILA, OSSA -- Opinions are MINE!!! Motorola Inc., Computer Systems Division - Beaverton, Oregon brian@pdx.csd.mot.com . . . tektronix!nosun!cvedc!mcspdx!brian
cbl@uihepa.hep.uiuc.edu (Chris Luchini) (06/20/91)
In article <35823@mimsy.umd.edu>, magnum@mimsy.umd.edu (News Moderator) writes: # #I was hiking with my SO over Memorial Weekend when I shot a rattlesnake. #I'd always thought that my .357 Mag would be an appropriate weapon until #it came time to shoot the snake. He was coiled up in a pile of rocks!!! #The possibility of a ricochet with the 158 grain .357 seemed much more #likely than the .22 rifle I was also carrying. I opted for the rifle and #with one shot almost severed his head from his body. This whole thread has me riled! Why kill the snake if you don't have to? If you had time to switch to your rifle, you had time to get away from the snake. Unless of course you were going to eat it, roast rattler if fairly good. I guess what I'm saying is: If it's alive and you kill it, it had better be for a good reason {defense or food} BTW, the decision not to use the 357 is a good one, an aquantance of mine had $30k worth of surgery because someone took a shot at a rattler in a pile of rocks with a 357, part of the jacket came off and embeded itself in his eye. His eye was saved, but now he has 2 pupils. # #As for sticking the muzzle in his face... I could see no reason to get #that close to a live rattler. # #After cutting off his head and rattle my SO wanted to look at his fangs. #I figured OK. Reaching down I grabbed the head behind the jaw to push #his mouth open. SNAP! He almost got me! I guess that was a dumb thing #to do. If you do kill one of these critters, don't mess with his head. They can still bite for 30-40 min or so after the head is cut off. -cbl #-- #Brian Vandewettering - NRA, NRA-ILA, OSSA -- Opinions are MINE!!! #Motorola Inc., Computer Systems Division - Beaverton, Oregon #brian@pdx.csd.mot.com . . . tektronix!nosun!cvedc!mcspdx!brian # # | Chris Luchini/1110 W. Green/Urbana IL 61801/217-333-0505 | | cbl@uihepa.hep.uiuc.edu (best) |Cluch@fnald.bitnet (second chance) | no cute sig found. . . thinking . . . thinking . . .
harrism@aquila.rtp.dg.com (Mike Harris) (06/20/91)
In article <35823@mimsy.umd.edu>, magnum@mimsy.umd.edu (News Moderator) writes: |> |> In article <35746@mimsy.umd.edu> macklin@garnet.berkeley.edu (Macklin Burnham) writes: |> #In article <35656@mimsy.umd.edu> ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) writes: |> ## |> After cutting off his head and rattle my SO wanted to look at his fangs. |> I figured OK. Reaching down I grabbed the head behind the jaw to push |> his mouth open. SNAP! He almost got me! I guess that was a dumb thing |> to do. If you do kill one of these critters, don't mess with his head. I used to hunt them as a youngster. When we cought one, we'd have a cookout party that night. Fun. Anyway, if you *are* going to handle the snake after killing it, be sure to sever the head. Their heart muscles keep going for hours even after their head has been severed. When we didn't have a bag for them we'd just carry them. For a small kid, it was tough to keep ahold of the (decapitated) rattler as it squirmed. When we'd skin them, sometimes hours later, their heart would still be beating. Getting a bite is a *very* real possibility. If you must have fangs, let the head sit for a while and then, with gloves, carefully dissect the mouth. Remember, even if it's dead, if it snapped (or someone startled you), you could puncture yourself and then accidentaly squeeze the poison gland - administering a much larger dose then you might ever get from a live snake. The meat, btw, is quite good. I'd suggest, howver, that it's safer to get snake soup at a Chineese restaurant. Mike Harris - KM4UL harrism@rtp.dg.com Data General Corporation {world}!mcnc!rti!dg-rtp!harrism Research Triangle Park, NC [MODERATOR: Points well taken. Educational too -- gosh, I always thought that snakes would only stop being a threat to you once you voted them out of office ... ]
malodah@PacBell.COM (Martin A. Lodahl) (06/21/91)
#In article <35656@mimsy.umd.edu> ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) writes:
##
##I've tried snake shot in everything including .44 mag. It usually makes
##the snake angry ...
My experience (primarily with Western Diamondbacks) has been very
different. The bulk of it has been with home-made .45ACP shot loads,
which have always immediately disabled and quickly killed any snake
with a single shot, a damn good thing as these loads ALWAYS cause
jams that are unusually difficult to clear. For that reason I
switched the commercial .38 Spl. shot loads in a revolver, which
smartly dispatched the only rattler I've had in the house since
then. I should point out that I've never attempted a shot at a
range greater than 4 feet.
--
= Martin A. Lodahl (DoD #65) (AHA) (NRA) Pacific*Bell Staff Analyst =
= malodah@PacBell.COM Sacramento, CA, USA 916.972.4821 =
= If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, =
= Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me!! 8-)} =gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) (06/26/91)
In article <35746@mimsy.umd.edu> macklin@garnet.berkeley.edu (Macklin Burnham) writes:
#Maybe Gary can answer a question that I've had for 20 years or so. A guy
#once told me that it was easy to hunt rattlesnakes with a .22 rifle: all
#you had to do was point the rifle with one hand in the snake's face, and
#it would move its head to zero in on the muzzle. I've never been a position
#to try this. Was the guy putting me on?
The rattler is a pit viper. His eyesight is poor but he has a good thermal
tracking system like his namesake the Sidewinder missile. So if you had
fired the .22 lately and the barrel was still hot, yes the rattler would
zero in on it.
My favorite snake hunting tool is a forked stick. Simply walk up to the
snake, pin his head with the stick, pick him up and put him in the sack.
After the barbecue is hot, shake him out of the sack, pin him, and cut
off his head with your trusty knife. Fine eating.
Gary
[MODERATOR: Gosh, folks, have we pretty much covered the rattlesnake
scene by now ...? (At least let's work in to some two steppers or something...)]