Bush Hog Surprise!

[guesswho]

I went to my place in Barbour County Alabama this morning.  I decided to mow the yard so I unchained my tractor and bush hog.  I'm walking all around the bush hog, down on my knee's undoing the lock etc.   I get a couple buckets of water and water some tree's right behind the tractor.   I get on the tractor and start it, back out from under my covered shed and proceed to mow.  I make three or four swipes and spot a snake by my cover where the tractor stays.  It looked like a hawk or something had tore into him.  Then I realized I had just walked there while putting some water on some tree's.  Then I realized the bush hog had got him.  I'm pretty sure he must have been under it while I was getting everything ready.  If he would have been in the yard I'm pretty sure I would have seen him or got bitten.  My place is no place for a snake bite.  911 is not an option.  The people that's been there will tell you it's isolated.  It's three miles through the woods to my nearest neighbor.  A trip to town is probably 45 minutes to an hour.   Not an injury friendly place.  People who know me would also tell you that I wouldn't have accidentally killed it if I had seen it first.  The mowed strip is where I backed out from under my cover and then turned right to start mowing.

[fl panhandler]

WOW!! You got really lucky today, Ronnie. Glad it ended up like it did.
Rick

[Tail Feathers]

That's a big boy.
A similar incident while fishing gave me a delayed scare.  I laid down to unhook from a snag...got back up and realized I had laid my feet on, or within inches of two big cottonmouths. 
Can't believe I didn't get bit.

[Yoder409]

Any way you slice it............ that's a good one !!!   

[redmag]

Got one today while mowing grass.  About 3.5 feet and as big as pool ball.  Pushed the mower over it and only cut it's tail off as he quickly crawled out the front of the mower onto my woodpile.  I went inside and returned with my 20 ga. and saw the snake laying back in the wood looking at me.  I hate snakes of any kind.  Killed it in WV.  Also, WV Ridge Reaper who lives nearby managed to mangle a big one that was 45 inches long.

[West Augusta]

Got one today while mowing grass.  About 3.5 feet and as big as pool ball.  Pushed the mower over it and only cut it's tail off as he quickly crawled out the front of the mower onto my woodpile.  I went inside and returned with my 20 ga. and saw the snake laying back in the wood looking at me.  I hate snakes of any kind.  Killed it in WV.  Also, WV Ridge Reaper who lives nearby managed to mangle a big one that was 45 inches long.

They are pretty rare up here in North Central WV.  I'm thankful for that.

[MACHINIST]

Thats the only reason that living in NY is good!!!LOL They do have rattlers in a local swamp from what I have heard but thats it

[WV Ridge Reaper]

Here's my story for today.

So me and the women drive way back up on top of a mountain and walked 2 miles down a dirt road to this scene place as I was going to pro pose to her there!!!Well on the way down I spotted a rock bar and figured I would do it there on the way back out.

So we start out and get to the rock bar,we proceed threw the laurel.The whole time I am thinking rattle snake...Keep in mind prior to today I've never seen one alive.

So I jump across a rock and land on another,the second I do I hear a rattler.Turned around and he's maybe 10 feet from me.I started yelling at her and she looked like a bear trying to climb a tree who didn't have claws.

So I stood there and took everything in listening to it rattle while she's yelling at me..I tried to convince her to come on over haha.

So I made a big loop and got out of there..So on the way back off the mountain I spot another rattler in the road.That was the end of his day.

I honestly don't know much about them but everyone I've told said it's pretty big for a rattle snake..He went 45 inches...I was hoping to eat him but I tore him up way to bad for that.

One good thing out of this is I have her convinced I need a pistol to shoot snakes haha..On the other hand two rattle snakes on a pro pose trip,it has to be a sign.

[Yoder409]

Thats the only reason that living in NY is good!!!LOL They do have rattlers in a local swamp from what I have heard but thats it

No sure where you live in NY, but a good ways into NY the ENTIRE length of the PA border holds timber rattlers.  Yep.

[guesswho]

Put all the pcs. together and he was a good four feet.  I've seen them a little bigger around here but none compare to some of the Diamondbacks I've seen in South and Central Florida when I was growing up.  Some of them were scary big.

[Gamblinman]

Seen my share of 6' ers here in TX. Lots of dens here. Stick a hose on a exhaust pipe and thread it down into the den and watch them come out. Sometimes as many as 25.

Gman

[Yoder409]

Seen my share of 6' ers here in TX. Lots of dens here. Stick a hose on a exhaust pipe and thread it down into the den and watch them come out. Sometimes as many as 25.

Gman

Ya gotta love Texas !!!     

Here in PA, a stunt like that would likely get a feller prison time.   

[Snoodsniper]

Have to go to the mountains around here to find them.....I don't go looking for them.

[El Pavo Grande]

That's sure a big one and will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck thinking what could have happened.  We have some big timber rattlers in Arkansas, but you don't see them very often unless you go looking to find them.  I hunt some areas with big cottonmouths.  I've been too close for comfort numerous times, but fortunately have never been bit.

[longbeards]

Having hunted in Fla this spring I no longer have a fear of snakes!! BUT I shore do hate those cotton mouths!!