Let me start this with a "Snake killed Advisory" for those who don't care for them being harmed, This thread contains graphic images of a dead Rattlesnake so be advised!
I hunted yesterday Morning till around noon and it was cold and windy throughout the morning but around noon the temps had risen to around 55 degrees. After climbing down I decided to check an area for rut activity prior to heading back to the truck.
As I was making my way back my Six sense kicked in or the Holy Ghost (I have learned to trust and obey it) and I
hesitated on my next step and looked right of the path WOW there lays an "Anaconda" right there to my right at least that was my first thoughts :scared:
These Photos are not Photoshops and for size proportion sake I weight 187# and stand 5'11" Tall and the Broad head used for comparison is a Simmons Tiger shark 2 and 1/5" x 1 and 9/16" wide .
I didn't have a tape on me but did use some cord to take a measurement of his length and measured it when I got home. It was 70" and it still had a few small kinks in it as it was still moving around as I tried to measure.
Another frustrating thing is I can shoot the eyes out of snakes but later that afternoon I missed for the 3rd time this season on what should have been a chip shot. I get target panic bad in stress situations like live animal and even while drawing back on the snake have to mental fight to get back to full draw.
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-52.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-41.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-36.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-25.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-2.jpg)
Holy smokes that thing is huge!
A few more...
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-12.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-9.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-60.jpg) (http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-64.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-66.jpg)
Those are some neat pictures.
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-68.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-75.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-71.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-35.jpg)
Looks like he had a full belly!
That's one big snake. Should make some beautiful skins.
Yea I thought about opening it up to see what kind of 3 course meal it had eaten! That thing felt like 20#s + my arms got tired dragging it.
Wow! That's a beauty! I'd hang that skin on the wall and use smaller ones for a bow. Are your bow limbs even wide enough to get the full diamond pattern on?
That is one huge snake, thank God that you were not bitten.
won't make it look fat but would make it look good, but I am with Goshawkin on this one , hang it on the wall
I doubt snake boots would of helped anyone if he struck you...Man he's a "BEAST" for sure...That one needs to be mounted and take loads of pics for proof...Glad he ain't roaming the grounds anymore..
That things got shoulders! I'll tell ya' what,I give a hats off to you Southern Folks. I would be a wreck going into the woods/brush thinking those things are lying in there. I would'nt have a blade of grass in my yard. I have to ask,does anybody down there eat the meat off a big ol'snake like that? I have heard that some snakes are good table fare. Just wondering. rat'
Thats is a BEAST for sure! I agree the pattern will probably be so big as to not be fully appreciated on a bow. But try it and let us see pics when it's done!
That's a whopper!
I feel your pain in the shooting dept. Struggling with the same problem.
That snake needed killin. Glad you trusted your sixth sense!
Looks to be a piglet hidin in its belly!
Now that's a big snake!
Good golly, miss Molly! :eek:
I think the new trend is "skinny snakes", but not the low rider type...
Great job! That is one awesome snake!
That is a huge snake!
Either your really skinny or hes really fat...LOL That head would be in a jar of formalin and on the shelf.Nice!!
Unfortunately with a diamond back that big you loose the pattern when you put it on a bow.
Here farther east Eastern Diamond Backs are protected. Those big ones are so rare anymore it is a shame to kill one.
I wanna see what he had in his belly! Do an autopsy and show us, if it's not too late.
-Jeremy :coffee:
Thats an awesome snake. You are going to have some really nice skins, good job. :thumbsup:
huge critter. Probably enough poison to put a man away quick. Put him on your bow for sure. they look good.
:scared: Holy cow!
To clarify, I was out hunting on a Day hunt and not in a position to save the skin due to temperatures rising and not heading out of the woods still night.
So no the skin was not saved and not in a condition to save if you noticed on a couple of the pic's the Simmon's Tiger Shark ripped through the head and into the body some 11' down and the blunt left a couple of holes to.
I walk the woods a lot and I don't kill every snake I see, but one of this size don't normally survive due to my desire to live to hunt again :bigsmyl:
My intent with the post title was not to ask if the skin would work but to get your attention to the sheer size of this monster! It was the biggest to date that i've seen, and i've see a few each year. I didn't do an autopsy due to time and hunting that afternoon, but it appears by the size of it belly that a very large rabbit or something bigger was consumed.
WOW!!
Holy smokes that's a big'un.
When do they hibernate down there?
yes , now your bow gonna look phat :bigsmyl:
Wow what a monster!
WOW, just another reason I'm glad to live in Michigan. Did you find out what was inside the belly? Looks like a nice sized rabbit.
Last few years it's not been cold enough to make them want to hibernate . So I'm always watching for them.
Mike I didn't check it's content so not sure, but it was heavy.
Bow skins? Think big man! I see a sweet pair of cowboy boots there!
When I saw the first pic, I was sure that you were out wrangling pythons in Florida! What a TOAD!
Archie,
When I first seen it the scene of Marlin Perkins of "Wild Kingdom" wrestling that Anaconda in the water was my first thoughts (Marlin liked to drown in that episode if you remember). I'm aging myself with that show anybody remember the series?
WOW
Good night that is the biggest Mississippi snake I have ever seen. I hope u skin him
Holy Smokes there John..now thats a whopper. Next time we do a shoot, lets stay on my side of the woods.
Thanks from another Mississippi native for removing another of those pesky critters. For folks who don't know, we have snakes year round. Rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, copperheads, you must be careful when going out. A week ago it was almost 80 degrees here in south Ms. Big snake, mount him up and buy some skins if you want them on your bow.
Wow what a snake!!
Still think you could have saved the skin holes and all. Guess it just became possum food then?? Sure was a big one. At least get one or two of the pics framed as a memento. Just an FYI to the rest of ya if you're not reptile saavy- snakes can sense your vibrations from good way off and are generally heading away from you long before you get close to them. Either way, watch your step in snake country!
Geez... That thing is huge! Awesome pics!
Jason
Good night! That is a humongous monster of a snake! Good shot on him!
Not sure if it would be appreciated on a bow, as he it's so wide. Could look awesome as a quiver or strap, though. Otherwise, make it a wall hanger...a big wall hanger.
Congrats!
QuoteOriginally posted by South MS Bowhunter:
To clarify, I was out hunting on a Day hunt and not in a position to save the skin due to temperatures rising and not heading out of the woods still night.
So no the skin was not saved and not in a condition to save if you noticed on a couple of the pic's the Simmon's Tiger Shark ripped through the head and into the body some 11' down and the blunt left a couple of holes to.
I walk the woods a lot and I don't kill every snake I see, but one of this size don't normally survive due to my desire to live to hunt again :bigsmyl:
My intent with the post title was not to ask if the skin would work but to get your attention to the sheer size of this monster! It was the biggest to date that i've seen, and i've see a few each year. I didn't do an autopsy due to time and hunting that afternoon, but it appears by the size of it belly that a very large rabbit or something bigger was consumed.
Great ideas for skin use guys. This one was def too big for a bow. Woulda been awesome for wall, boots, back quiver, etc.
Well I guess I know what happened to most of the little critters around there. Just think all the big ones are in their dens this time of year. :D
In Africa they call fat ones like that Gaboon Vipers - that thing is huge!
amazing size, looking at the thing coiled, it doesn't look like 70". The head is huge. I think you need some taller boots.
Wow! :scared: That's a biggun'.
Dealing with snakes like that would improve my stillhunting skills- I would move so slow because I would be afraid to take a step!
You weren't hunting with a Beagle were you?? :)
:scared: That is a big one. Wow!
wow. guess I need to wear my snake boots all year
Mike,
Had to chuckle with your beagle comment, the size of it contents make it look like he ate a small dog lol.
Anybody remember how in one of Howard Hills films he used a caged African boy as bait for a Crocodile?
I reckon not knowing the stomach contents leaves the doors open to all kind of conspiracy theories of "What did the Snake eat?"
I think it was the young yearling of the Doe that stared me down in the grass patch and cause me to miss her last week because I lost concntration :banghead: Karma
John, I do remember "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom"! But I don't remember that episode. I was pretty young back then!
Tom,
My boots are a Muck Boot knock off and are 16" tall (I think) and size 11's, and probably have been no good if he had choose to strike, although I was a little bit away from him.
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-35-1_zps8642cf7a.jpg)
:eek: WOW !!!
Bill
Now, right there is one reason why i live away up north in Ontario!!!! :eek:
Wow glad there isnt anything like that slitherin around here in Il.like that.
Scary right there.
I am one of those "snake guys," but DAMN that's a big rattler!
Kingsnake
I would have had a strokeand died right there!! I HATE SNAKES and i live in AZ. Good thing you lisen to the Holy Ghost, I know i do.
WOW. WOW. WOW. That one would definitely make B&C. Give you some seriously bad dreams.
We killed two the last couple of years but nothing as large as that monster,ours were only 5 footers.
After many asking what was in the stomach of this snake I decided to check it out after church today if it was still where I laid the carcass. I have to admit I was curious to but just didn't want to make time while I was intent on hunting that afternoon.
After having 3 or 4 gag reflexes and managing to keep my lunch down, Like Mary and Martha said "Lord, he stinketh" (I have a weak stomach when it comes to things dead after 48 hours).
Again be advises these are graphic stomach contents!
Body after 48 hours
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-57.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-93.jpg)
Some of the fangs, sorry for the blurry pic's, but I was trying not to let a dead snake bite me while aiming the camara back to snap the shot :scared:
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-89-1_zpsd211d1a9.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-92-1_zpsdf8a0ee8.jpg)
And here is the Mystery contents...
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-82.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-58.jpg)
(http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy235/jalmay5th/Big%20Rattlesnake/file-67.jpg)
Anyone care to guess what it is?
i Have no clue but it looks like a rat! Thanks for the taking the time to take the pic though!
Capybara? :bigsmyl:
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac46/Imnotted/hydhyd21824_zps826e2e50.jpg)
Looks like a rabbit to me :dunno:
:biglaugh: Kiefer
almost looks like two things ? Small nutria ?
Why dontcha dig in there and yank them out so we can see them better. Long tails ?
ChuckC
That's a pretty big snake. Bear cubs?
:bigsmyl:
Wow,thanks for those cool pics,,,looks like she had ground hog for diner
amazing pics
Looks like two squirrels. One was ingested a few days before the other and was farther along in the digestive breakdown and the second one was maybe only ingested hours before you killed it.
Big snakes need to eat to get bigger!!
Man that's a whopper!
definately two critters the last one looks like a big ole rabbit and the mostly digested one would need testing to identify :thumbsup:
Great thread! Thanks for sharing it.
Baby nutria or an XL muskrat. If I was a betting man I would go with the former.
Also, and I mean no offense by this, but, I woulda been done with deer for the day after shooting a whopper like that one. We were showed some pics of big ones taken out of Ft.Bliss when we were there in 08. There were a couple that were that long but were obviously still hungry compared to that one, lol.
I really like your pic with the head laying across the riser of the bow. That's a B-I-G snake!
QuoteOriginally posted by hardwaymike:
Also, and I mean no offense by this, but, I woulda been done with deer for the day after shooting a whopper like that one. We were showed some pics of big ones taken out of Ft.Bliss when we were there in 08. There were a couple that were that long but were obviously still hungry compared to that one, lol.
Wondering the same thing? No offense but why did you kill it if not to use the skins, mount or eat it? Am I being a buzz kill here?
Looks like a cottontail to me!
Grey squirrel possible fox squirrel with hide beginning to seperate from the carcass.
Either 2 rabbits or 2 squirrels. It's fascinating how the rear feet are lined up the same way on both of them.
Biggest I`ve ever seen and I`ve seen a lot. Folks that don`t have snakes under there doorsteps and in there barn don`t realize how NOT fun these things are.On cool evenings they will lay on your stone or cement steps for the warmth...good chance you would step there huh?. I don`t kill every snake I see either but if its a place I hunt a lot and will be coming back too they won`t make it.
Thank the Good Lord you were not bitten. RC
To those with concerns it's as simple as I've stated earlier in the thread and again as RC mentioned, these snakes will hurt or kill you quick! Where I hunt I only have one or two places to get a signal for my cell and if this one or others like it ever get me in a place where I don't I'm in trouble. You live and learn.
It was one very large rabbit in it's stomach.
I'm not sure, but that could be a small horse inside that buzzworm. Yeow! :scared:
Jimmy Hoffa?
Judge Crater.
Killdeer :D
I don't have any snakes layin on my porch(thank god), but do understand why you shot it. I just meant that, with that one I would have forgot all about deer hunting and would strapped that giant to the hood and drove it around town. Kinda like someone in Africa, if they shot a "maneater"! Gotta show everyone,lol! I am a little different than you guys that said you don't kill every one you find though, I would. Just in case. I don't mind the things they eat as much as I mind the snakes!
John, that was what I thought you meant, and looking back probably should have.
I used to hunt Camp Shelby south of Hattiesburg quite a bit. That was over 10 years ago. Back then it seemed overrun with them. I know I counted seven one day walking in to my stand during early season. It was illegal (so I was told) to kill them - at least there on the base.
The biggest one I ever saw was similar in size to yours. I killed him with a handgun & it still shook me up. Until you've seen one that size up close, and alive, you just don't know how scared you can be of a snake.
I still think the eastern diamondback is the most beautiful of all our poisonous snakes. Far more striking (pun intended) than it's western cousin or even a copperhead for that matter. But I don't miss living in their bedroom!
I have not seen one that big in AR. That thing is just a toad!
Are you sure it wasn't a baby Sasquatch? Ha ha....
It's feet were big....Big Feet, Big Foot get it... Oh nevermind.
Good grief! I'm getting the willies just looking at that thing! That snake is huuuuuuge!
What a monster.. I've found gray squirrels in our timber rattlers but never something that big. Congrats on the kill
That is the Alpha of Rattlers. I have killed a 5' 8" at the tip of my boots, and that one of your's makes it look like a garter snake. One evil looking creature. Largest fangs I have ever seen on a Rattler as well....put's me in mind of Gaboon Viper fangs !!! Dang what a shame the skin couldn't be saved for a board at least.
Froggy
Wow!!! :eek: What an awesome critter, it is a shame the skin couldn't be utilized though. Thanks for taking the time to post pics and go back and perform the necropsy, I don't think I'd a had the stomach for it!! lol
Steve
Reminds me of the time I opened up a dead pilot snake I found in Great Falls. Had a couple-three birds in its gut. It had raided a bluebird box, and died of I-don't-know-what.
The snake was almost as long as yours, but not nearly as exciting. What I remember most was the smell. Gagged this maggot right out, and I have taken apart lots of road kill! Snakes don't smell good, inside always and outside when they are alarmed, part of what gives us a visceral aversion to them, I guess.
Yeah, I wish there were a three dimensional memory of the ominous grandeur of that snake, it certainly lived up to its potential and was a very successful member of its species. But I understand.
Killdeer
That proves my theory....snakes can die from the "blues"........