Snake!?!

[lesken2011]

I attended a 3-D shoot, yesterday a few miles from where I live. I shot a round with 3 nice fellas, all shooting modern glass bows and me with my trusty Molle. I held my own with them till about target 20 when my shooting became erratic over the last 10 or so targets, I guess due to muscle fatigue. Boy I am out of shape! Anyway...on about target 22 I walked up to the stake and was about to draw and shoot, when one of the guys said calmly, "There is a snake." I was so intently looking at the target, it took a minute to register what he had said. I realized then that I had heard something near me moving in the brush. When I looked down about 12 inches from my boot was a black snake all coiled up. This is what is so bad and funny about this addiction we are in. I didn't panic at all. Not because it did not appear to be a poisonous snake, but because all I could think about was - Is it big enough to back a bow with? Now that is sad. It turned out to be a black runner about 5 feet long, but we couldn't catch it, although we tried. I told my wife that story last night and she did not think it was funny!!

[Thesquirrelslinger]

LOL thats hilarious. You see a snake and think" is it big enough to back a bow?" I found a snake. How do you catch a snake and kill it?

[mullet]

That's one of the good ones. As bad as I'd like to back a bow with one of our orange rat snakes I can't bring myself to kill one. And most of the road kills are muushed.

[lesken2011]

When I was a kid my dad taught me how to kill a snake with a stick. We didn't hunt them or anything, but he didn't want me to grow up afraid of them. While I respect them, I never have really been afraid of them. The funny thing is, a couple of years ago, before I got into this bow building madness, I probably would have at least jumped back out of reflex when I saw him, but instead, I just measured him in my mind. Wondering if that would cover both limbs....or would I have to get another one to match. Before I could take any action, one of the guys with me moved and he took off.

[PrimitiveTim]

That's one of the good ones. As bad as I'd like to back a bow with one of our orange rat snakes I can't bring myself to kill one. And most of the road kills are muushed.

  I found a baby one on my front porch tonight.  I agree though, I could never kill a snake for backing.  Maybe if I was starving I could do it.  This summer I'll be picking the dead ones up off the roads.  Maybe I'll send you one mullet.

[lesken2011]

I try to get the road killed ones when I can. A few months ago I came across a big one that someone had just run over the head. It was a pretty heavily traveled road but I managed to get my truck pulled off far enough not to get hit. I was waiting on the traffic to lull long enough to run out and pick it up when an 18 wheeler topped the hill. After he went by it was too late. I think every tire on one side of that truck hit the snake. It was just mush after he went by. Oh well!!

[Lemos]

Road kills are my preferred choice also. There's so many of them in the spring and late summer. I'm not a big fan of killing them just for backings although I've been known to measure them on the hoof so to speak and when I find a good one suddenly I'm craving snake meat.