I was leaving my deer stand, took a couple of steps, and thank God I had my flashlight. Luckily I was wearing my snake boots- Rattlesnake!
Good eye! What did you kill it with? Did it rattle?
killed one saturday and less than a hour later a copperhead to. Mine was coiled up in a hole on top of his rattle and I never heard him
Biggest and longest stick I could find
Those things make me quiver like a little girl… Lol. I killed a canebreak a few years ago and skinned it. It actually turned out really cool. Makes a awesome addition to my man room. Its mounted on a board I cut and routed into the shape of a rattlesnake and it hands vertically.
quote:
Originally posted by killinRThose things make me quiver like a little girl… Lol. I killed a canebreak a few years ago and skinned it. It actually turned out really cool. Makes a awesome addition to my man room. Its mounted on a board I cut and routed into the shape of a rattlesnake and it hands vertically.
What process did you use to tan the skin?
Key West 19’6" CC 115hp Merc
14’ Fast Craft w/ 60hp Merc
Pit,
I’m not sure if it’s the desired process to make the skin soft and leathery like reformists use but it worked great for me. I skinned it, stapled it to a piece of ply wood fleshy side up and poured a ton of salt on it to dry out and left it in the sun for a day. I took a razor and scraped the dried up flesh still attached to the skin. I repeated the process about three times. The skin was completely clean and free of flesh after about three times. I took the skin off the ply wood flipped it over, used antiqued round tacks to mount it to the board and then put one light coat of polyurethane over the top of the skin to protect it. Looks awesome. I’m really glad I did it.
I meant taxidermists not reformists… stupid auto correct…
quote:
Originally posted by killinRPit,
I’m not sure if it’s the desired process to make the skin soft and leathery like reformists use but it worked great for me. I skinned it, stapled it to a piece of ply wood fleshy side up and poured a ton of salt on it to dry out and left it in the sun for a day. I took a razor and scraped the dried up flesh still attached to the skin. I repeated the process about three times. The skin was completely clean and free of flesh after about three times. I took the skin off the ply wood flipped it over, used antiqued round tacks to mount it to the board and then put one light coat of polyurethane over the top of the skin to protect it. Looks awesome. I’m really glad I did it.
Thanks, I will give it a try. I have a skin in the freezer I salted and rolled up from a Timber Rattler that was almost 8 foot long. It was laying across a road at the club sunning. Had a big bulge about mid was down that turned out to be an unlucky fox squirrel…
Key West 19’6" CC 115hp Merc
14’ Fast Craft w/ 60hp Merc
dang!
That is a hoss of a timber rattler! Have any pics of it?
They must be moving a bit, I’ve seen a few in the last couple of weeks dead on the road.
“Gun’s don’t kill people, it’s mostly the Bullets”
I was pulling a limb out of the way and dam if there wasn’t a copperhead on that branch:dizzy_face:
we killed a 5’6" rattler last year that had a squirrel in its belly
Hunting, fishing, and poker are my sports. Work when necessary.
I wouldn’t recommend salt to permanently cure anything. The salt will tend to absorb moisture from the air thus the hide may become moist itself and this happening repeatedly will cause the hide to deteriorate. Being covered in poly may solve this problem. There is a product called snaketan. It can be ordered from a taxidermy supplier like mckenzie taxidermy supply. A 4oz bottle would cure several snake skins. I was a full time taxidermist and still piddle a little and keep some snaketan on hand. If you have any questions PM me.
run over a copperhead today