7 June 2010 Trespassers may become shot

7 June 2010 Trespassers may become shot


Yesterday afternoon Gloria and Loki encountered a 2.5-3 foot long Timber Rattlesnake in our front yard. She heard and saw it, told Loki to stay and Loki chose to obey. Gloria brought her around back and into the house, told me about the snake, rather calmly.

I loaded our Mossberg 500 with flechette rounds and went out the front door. The snake had moved from where Gloria had seen it and was headed for the upper, wooded area of our property. Fortunately for us, I was able to pick it up visually. My hearing deficit is really becoming problematic. One round of flechette was adequate for the job but, as with all rattlesnakes, it retained muscle activity and bite reflex for a significant and potentially dangerous time. We separated the head from the body and put it on a wood pile out of Loki’s reach. The body went into the creek bed.

The adrenaline burst was far too heavy and lasted much longer than I would prefer.

I had just been thinking that the shotgun should be loaded. It is a primary home defense tool and is only a club if unloaded. It will be loaded from today forward.

From a safety stand point, only the two of us live here or have any access to the firearms. Gloria knows that the weapons are all loaded and has her own personal weapon for defense. No one else is authorized to be in the house, let alone handle our firearms. They are kept under lock and key or on our persons.

This is the first venomous snake we’ve seen on our property. Since we’ve been here, Mike killed one on his bridge from driveway to house and someone from the family compound at the head of the valley ran over one in the road about 2/3 of the way from our drive to the upper property line. So we know they’re out there, just normally not crossing our paths. Something to watch out for when outside and when letting the dog roam a bit.

I dislike killing snakes, even venomous snakes. However, this one was a threat to our well-being and to Loki. Had it been on the property edge, leaving our land, I’d have left it alone if possible. It will certainly be bright lights tonight when outdoors with the dog.

Gloria gets credit for her calm control of Loki and quick response. I lose points for lacking half my search, tracking and targeting systems down due to battle damage. I must make a serious effort to wear my hearing aids whenever outside. They’re not water-resistant but I will have to figure out a way to deal with that problem.

Needless to say, all the cracks, crevices, weedy areas, and berry patches are suspect today. The road edges during today’s hike with Mike were suspect too. Not just poison ivy to be concerned about.

Spent about half an hour today patterning the shotgun, using the various rounds I have available. I sent sabot/slug rounds, 00 buckshot, “super speed” #7 1/2 game loads, and flechette down range at a man shaped target at 20 meters. Any snake inside that range would best be met with the game loads. The flechette I used yesterday has 19 darts/round. I shot better than I have in a long time.

Spent an hour and a half cleaning the Mossberg. That is always a problem with shooting; it takes a long time to really clean a weapon. The recoil I did not notice yesterday was very much in evidence today. A 12 gauge shotgun is not a target gun.

Gloria was in the pool today after we peeled back the solar blanket and cleaned the pool. She’s happy!