Carry a gun on your mower?

Pete.S · Jul 26, 2011

I have found that a lawn mower is a pretty good snake killer. When I worked for the county parks department I killed snakes with Scag mowers. They're quick, heavy and discharge the pieces a good distance. Of course, running down the snakes plays hell with your nice neat lines. First snake, a cottonmouth, actually charged the mower while I was cutting the grass in the doggy park. I stopped and he kept coming, I nudged the mower forward and he struck at the left front wheel, then I went forward again and cut him to 2" chunks. I usually left the pieces for the hogs. In the dog park I picked up the pieces and tossed them into a can to keep a dog from eating the snake. In 2008, from March to May I did away with 6 Moccasins, 2 Diamond Backs, and a couple of Pigmy Rattlers. I never carried a gun on the mower, just used the mower itself. When I mowed the roadsides with a tractor and double wing Bush Hog, I never noticed if I killed any snakes.

reddragon · Jul 26, 2011

Jesus H. Christ!....maybe BIGBLOCK'S idea of RPG's wasnt far off!....how bout grenades next:laughing:

bigblock · Jul 27, 2011

Pete.S said:
I have found that a lawn mower is a pretty good snake killer. When I worked for the county parks department I killed snakes with Scag mowers. They're quick, heavy and discharge the pieces a good distance. Of course, running down the snakes plays hell with your nice neat lines. First snake, a cottonmouth, actually charged the mower while I was cutting the grass in the doggy park. I stopped and he kept coming, I nudged the mower forward and he struck at the left front wheel, then I went forward again and cut him to 2" chunks. I usually left the pieces for the hogs. In the dog park I picked up the pieces and tossed them into a can to keep a dog from eating the snake. In 2008, from March to May I did away with 6 Moccasins, 2 Diamond Backs, and a couple of Pigmy Rattlers. I never carried a gun on the mower, just used the mower itself. When I mowed the roadsides with a tractor and double wing Bush Hog, I never noticed if I killed any snakes.

I agree that a mower does a pretty good job on a snake but that only works if they happen to be out in the open where you can get to them. The gun works on the ones that I happen to see in the bushes, rocks, or flower beds but can't get to with the mower. That, and a gun is much neater. I don't really care to have a bunch of snake parts rotting in my yard. It's a lot easier carting off a one piece dead snake than scraping up a bunch of chopped up parts.

It should be noted that a dead snake is still dangerous. Be very careful handling a dead poisonous snake. They can still bite.

06ccdmax · Jul 27, 2011

Like an earlier post "The Judge" assures no issues of any kind ! And in southeast Oklahoma there are 2 legged, 4 legged, and no legged!

reynoldston · Jul 27, 2011

after reading this I am sure thankful for no snake problems in my lawn. I am lucky to see one grass snake a year and they are going faster them me to get out of my way. If I ever had to shoot a snake in my yard I would be afraid the neighbors would be calling 911 about a maniac on the loose with a gun. On top of that I don't like snakes and I sure don't want to be picking them up dead or alive. I would be the last person to chase one down with my mower. It just give me the chills to hear about one attacking the mower tires.

stoneyrunmiller · Jul 28, 2011

Yes, I often carry a side arm when I'm mowing, not so much for snakes, but we have a lot of coyotes among other things that can render bodily harm especially if they are rabid.

midnite rider · Feb 23, 2013

reynoldston said:
We are going from snakes, to crime, and now the big guns. Boy just how neat would it look to have a mounted machine gun on your mower. You have a bad neighbor just blow him away. It would be just like living in the middle east countries. This forum is just getting good. The person with the biggest gun would be the winner. Maybe they will start selling mower in camouflage paint. LOL:confused2:

They do now.

midnite rider · Feb 23, 2013

bigblock said:
I agree that a mower does a pretty good job on a snake but that only works if they happen to be out in the open where you can get to them. The gun works on the ones that I happen to see in the bushes, rocks, or flower beds but can't get to with the mower. That, and a gun is much neater. I don't really care to have a bunch of snake parts rotting in my yard. It's a lot easier carting off a one piece dead snake than scraping up a bunch of chopped up parts.

It should be noted that a dead snake is still dangerous. Be very careful handling a dead poisonous snake. They can still bite.

A shotgun works really well but if you are in suburbia have a shovel handy. That is my tool of choice even in the country. I killed a copperhead with a shovel at my country property in Alabama, after my trusty dog alerted me to it, as it was crossing a trail late on a summer day. Below is a picture I took of it. It measured right at 3' long, which is full grown for a copperhead in my area. I have seen a lot of other snakes there, but I leave them be as they are benificial. Never kill a king snake. I kill poisonous snakes even though they are benificial too ( copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes are all native to my area) that come around as I do not want to risk being bit. A copperhead, as you can see by his colors, camoflages well in the leaves and will be perfectly still until you step on him. Then it is too late for he will have bitten you.