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hunter

(38,264 posts)
61. Rattlesnakes? I've had plenty of encounters with those. Nothing to get the guns out for.
Wed Feb 21, 2018, 02:20 PM
Feb 2018

If rattlesnakes are far from the house and animal pens we leave them alone. Shooting any rattlesnake you see isn't likely to reduce the population. They are generally shy creatures and useful because they eat rodent pests. I was careless once and got bit by one, fortunately its fangs didn't penetrate my boot.

Rabid wildlife is something to worry about, and the ground squirrels around my parent's old farm, and my brother's, can be reservoirs for the plague. It's maybe more gruesome than shooting them, but most farmers simply poison ground squirrels. We never did, and my brother doesn't, because we've always worried about our dogs. All our dogs are from the animal shelters and there are always a few idiots among them who might mess with a bait station. (My brother once had a dog who tried to eat the mice off one of those sticky traps... that was a mess.)

Coyotes, bears, cougars, and wild pigs generally mind their own business. People can be a lot more dangerous than wild animals but I don't feel any need to arm myself against them either.

Never owned a gun, never will. [View all] LuckyCharms Feb 2018 OP
You can always canfeild123 Feb 2018 #1
It's kind of strange when I look back on my life... LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #2
Me too. Dave Starsky Feb 2018 #8
Have you ever seen the video of that cop... LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #9
Was the cop's name Bernard P. Fife? Dave Starsky Feb 2018 #16
LOL...yes close to this. I found the video... LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #17
That is simultaneously terrifying and hilarious. Dave Starsky Feb 2018 #20
This one cracks me up every time Hassin Bin Sober Feb 2018 #43
LOL...I try not to laugh, but I can't help it. LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #52
OMG! Egnever Feb 2018 #51
PS, welcome to DU, canfeild123 LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #3
I think if you grew up in rural America, on a farm or in the wilderness I can see the need. Fla Dem Feb 2018 #39
Rattlesnakes? I've had plenty of encounters with those. Nothing to get the guns out for. hunter Feb 2018 #61
I grew up in a family of hunter who ate the meat trixie2 Feb 2018 #67
I feel the same as you do. Never owned one, never wanted one, Wwcd Feb 2018 #4
I was just pondering that... LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #5
In my opinion, "I'm a responsible, law-abiding gun-owner, but..." Aristus Feb 2018 #6
I tend to agree. LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #7
I think it was either the same day or the same week as Sandy Hook. Aristus Feb 2018 #10
Yep...another one that I've been seeing a lot of lately... LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #11
To that I say loyalsister Feb 2018 #71
Yang Qingpei killed 19 on September 29, 2016 in his home village with a knife. On 18 September... Marengo Feb 2018 #33
Like you, I've never owned a gun and never desired to own a gun. Arkansas Granny Feb 2018 #12
Love the last sentence. Iggo Feb 2018 #13
. LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #15
Me too, but I am 55. BigmanPigman Feb 2018 #38
Same here. ananda Feb 2018 #14
. LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #18
More than half the people who don't own a gun now could see themselves doing so in the future. WhiskeyGrinder Feb 2018 #19
Do you have a link for that? LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #21
Yes. WhiskeyGrinder Feb 2018 #22
OK thanks. I'll look at it, but that does not change my opinion LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #23
Oh, I wasn't trying to change your opinion. WhiskeyGrinder Feb 2018 #24
Do you know many people who have fired a gun at someone in self-defense... LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #26
A couple who have done the latter. WhiskeyGrinder Feb 2018 #29
Did they have a gun pointed at them when this happened? LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #30
One, no; don't know about the others. WhiskeyGrinder Feb 2018 #34
"a valuable part of self-protection..." hunter Feb 2018 #35
Nor I. tavernier Feb 2018 #25
That is your choice (and I respect it) melm00se Feb 2018 #27
How many people do you know that have used a gun for self-defense? LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #28
Lived out in the country and used one to safeinOhio Feb 2018 #36
Agree. LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #37
If you are in by the time the street safeinOhio Feb 2018 #66
This message was self-deleted by its author Skittles Feb 2018 #69
Not everyone melm00se Feb 2018 #41
I have made it 53 years without one. logosoco Feb 2018 #31
same...nt G_j Feb 2018 #32
Me neither. I'm 70 and was actually threatened for video taping illegal sinkingfeeling Feb 2018 #40
Never owned a gun, can't imagine a situation where I ever would. Stonepounder Feb 2018 #42
I have the best kind of "gun" leftieNanner Feb 2018 #44
We have to convince the gun lovers that we don't want to take away their guns FakeNoose Feb 2018 #45
I owned one when I was a police officer (when dinosaurs roamed the earth). Vinca Feb 2018 #46
Same here NRaleighLiberal Feb 2018 #47
No guns for me Vanessa Rose Feb 2018 #48
Welcome to DU! n/t LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #49
Thank you Vanessa Rose Feb 2018 #65
I've owned a number of guns over the years. Paladin Feb 2018 #50
I don't let anyone I'd care to shoot live in my head. hunter Feb 2018 #53
You are far BRAVER than anyone who needs a gun for courage. joanbarnes Feb 2018 #54
Thank you for saying that, but I'm far from brave. LuckyCharms Feb 2018 #56
Me either extvbroadcaster Feb 2018 #55
I don't currently own a gun, jb5150 Feb 2018 #57
This is where the debate gets stuck... DaDeacon Feb 2018 #58
But they come to the argument with their own absolute: Second Amendment, so fuck you. Iggo Feb 2018 #59
that's true, sometimes but... DaDeacon Feb 2018 #60
We've been coming to them with baby steps for years. Iggo Feb 2018 #62
yes we have DaDeacon Feb 2018 #64
start by considering the NRA a fucking TERRORIST organziation Skittles Feb 2018 #70
YMMV -exactly correct. aikoaiko Feb 2018 #63
Grew up the son of a Marine...around guns my whole life. Like shooting them jmg257 Feb 2018 #68
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