I've read posts several times where people say they put "snake shot" in there revolvers . Has anyone ever been " attacked" by a snake ? I find it really hard to believe that a snake would go out of its way to attack a human or any animal that was too big to be on the menu . I'm sure that if you stepped on a snake it would probably bite in self defence . If you surprised one most likely iit would try to escape or assume a defensive .posture . There aren't poisonus snakes where I live [ New England ] . I think there used to be eastern diamond backs but they were probably never plentyful and are know extinct in this area. Ihave surprised a few snakes on some hikes , usually Garter snakes . They either face me with there mouths open , trying to look as big and bad as they can , or they slither away as fast as they can . I once almost stepped on a huge black snake , I think they call it a Black Racer . It rased it's head up over the grass to take a look at me then took off . OK , they aren't venomous but snakes are snakes and it's not in there nature to attack . Even if you encouter a rattle snake , copperhead , Corral snake or whatever , why not just walk around it and let it be ?

When it comes to my neck of the woods one answer: INVASION OF TERRITORY. Copperheads become so infested by multiplying on some people's land, they find their land untenable for other uses. Now they have made a big comeback around my father's rural neighborhood after relatively being rarely seen for the last 20 years. These snakes get under your house, etc. I find the best way is just to throw out mothballs everywhere, they chase off about everything, that way nobody gets mad at you for killing the little snakies.

The only kind of snake that I have had actually chase me was a large cottonmouth or Water moccasin. They are poisonous and are very territorial.

Cottonmouths can be very aggressive -- when annoyed -- that is a rule to always remember.

OK , I didn't know copperheads were so agressive . Also if you have them living under your house or on your property and they are a danger to you or your family , I can understand the need to exterminate them . What bugs me is that some people need to kill them on sight for no reason .

Copperheads aren't aggressive, they're docile mostly. Cottonmouths CAN be aggressive, IF provoked. There is just a fear of snakes that some people will never overcome. So they needlessly kill them.

It is illegal to kill any native wild snake here in TN, but when a former schoolteacher I knew had timber rattlers getting inside her house, I think I would make an exception unless a professional snake handler was handy. My brother was almost bitten in the face spraying for bugs underneath her house once. He had no clue they might be under there.

OOPS I meant to say cottonmouth

I don't know about what part of Ma you are located in.
But where I grew up in western Ma, there was poisonous snakes, mostly copperheads.

I used to say, and still do out of habit, that I had to shoot an "attacking" rattler 'cuz my department had a very strick shooting policy, and that was my BS way of getting around it.

In southern CA, western AZ, the "Mojave Green" Rattlesnake is reported to be very aggressive. It is also the worst to be bitten by, its venom attacks both the blood and nervous system.

In Central/South America the Fer-de-lance is agressive and has very nasty venom also. It has a very high mortality rate in some areas. I came inches away from stepping on one once in Panama, I still shiver at the thought...

IMHO, "snake shot " is useful in dispatching the snake that bit you or your pet, for positive ID at the hospital.


In snake counrty, which is pretty much all the tropical and temprate areas on earth, I recommend the following:

Wear leather boots and long pants.

Use a walking stick

Look down along and to the sides of your path

Never step over fallen logs

Watch where you put your feet, hands and backside (unless you want to find out who your friend are...)

If you travel often into wild areas with dense undergrowth, consider getting snake-proof boots and/or chaps, or both.

Most snake bites in the U.S. are the result of deliberate provocation of handling by the victim. More here from Wikipedia.

In North America, say from Mexico City north, the most venmous snake is the Coral Snake. Its venmon is in the same family as the Cobra. It is also one of the most reclusive snakes in North America.

MrJIm