American Gamefowl

[roosterhavoc]

I just checked my camera pics.... had a momma and a couple kits under the mulberry tree the night before last... my raccoonless streak is over...

Also had a possum and an armored-diller ... wonder if I have enough wax to get that diller in the cage

There can’t be many adult male raccoons left around here. I made a big dent in them as soon as the females started nesting. Now I should just have the females and young to catch. It’s not for everyone but it’s effective. There’s no shortage of possums and of course there’s always a fox that chooses to risk his fur coat for a chicken nugget. If they were as smart as everyone says I’d think they would weigh the risk vs reward and determine it’s just not worth it.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Do armadillos cause many issues? I don’t have them here. Seen plenty of them running across roads in Florida and Georgia. I’m not sure whether possums or armadillos take the top prize for getting smashed in the road. It’s gotta be close.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Good luck with the armored diller. Never got one to go in the trap here. And dang hard to shoot when you have to use something small caliber to keep from having the PO PO knocking on your door.
They just jump 6 foot straight in the air. .and take off runnin again when they hit the ground

Yeah I was just teasing about the diller in a cage...

... I talked to a guy near me that told me that you can catch them in a box trap if you put diller poop or other diller scent in the trap... he uses wooden box traps and if he shoots one he rubs it all over the box or something ... and then once he gets the box “seasoned” he catches them in it... there is diller scent you can buy too... but I’ve never tried it...

I have caught them coming in and out of burrows and crawl spaces, using a large
body grip trap... but in MO it’s technically illegal to set those on dry land... and it can’t be done anywhere there is risk of a pet getting into the trap...

I just shoot them with a .22... but you hafta to make a head shot or “Texas heart shot” ... meaning in the hind end ...

...I’ve tried shooting them from the side and I got the same result as you where they pogo jump and then sprint off... apparently their vital zone is small when going side to side... but when the bullet travels front to back or back to front it gets vitals...

I nearly stepped on this 37” coppery headed snake a couple years ago when I went after a diller in the yard with my 22 pistola, wearing flip flops ... I was the one with the 22 and flip flops not the snake...

...but anyway proper diller hunting footwear is something to think about

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Do armadillos cause many issues? I don’t have them here. Seen plenty of them running across roads in Florida and Georgia. I’m not sure whether possums or armadillos take the top prize for getting smashed in the road. It’s gotta be close.

They tear hell out of the yard and are hard on ground nesting birds... but they eat a lot of bugs... so ?

... I remove every one I can, I just consider them invasive...

The big difference on the road is if you straddle a diller and honk just as you pass over it, it’ll pogo bounce straight up and hit the bottom of the truck ... and take it’s self out...

 

[roosterhavoc]

Yeah I was just teasing about the diller in a cage...

... I talked to a guy near me that told me that you can catch them in a box trap if you put diller poop or other diller scent in the trap... he uses wooden box traps and if he shoots one he rubs it all over the box or something ... and then once he gets the box “seasoned” he catches them in it... there is diller scent you can buy too... but I’ve never tried it...

I have caught them coming in and out of burrows and crawl spaces, using a large
body grip trap... but in MO it’s technically illegal to set those on dry land... and it can’t be done anywhere there is risk of a pet getting into the trap...

I just shoot them with a .22... but you hafta to make a head shot or “Texas heart shot” ... meaning in the hind end ...

...I’ve tried shooting them from the side and I got the same result as you where they pogo jump and then sprint off... apparently their vital zone is small when going side to side... but when the bullet travels front to back or back to front it gets vitals...

I nearly stepped on this 37” coppery headed snake a couple years ago when I went after a diller in the yard with my 22 pistola, wearing flip flops ... I was the one with the 22 and flip flops not the snake...

...but anyway proper diller hunting footwear is something to think about

View attachment 1790875

You know you always hear never put your foot where you can’t see? Well those are the wisest words I’ve ever heard but didn’t listen to. I jumped up and over a fallen tree while fishing a stream in PA years ago. I was looking at the water and hopped right over and my foot landed inches away from a black phase timber rattler. I’m guessing he was asleep but the enormous restraint he showed by not biting me was crazy. It couldn’t have been a more perfect place for a snake to be sunning himself. I was just an idiot. I jumped like 10 ft sideways and fell right in the damn creek. I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my life. Lol

 

[roosterhavoc]

I’ve seen rattlesnakes a few times in Oklahoma but I was never in that vulnerable of a situation. So damn stupid. Apparently they’re not overly aggressive anyway.
We have timber rattlers here in certain areas and copperheads but I’ve never seen a copperhead. I have only seen a couple of black snakes and little ribbon and a few garter snakes in my yard.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I’ve seen rattlesnakes a few times in Oklahoma but I was never in that vulnerable of a situation. So damn stupid. Apparently they’re not overly aggressive anyway.
We have timber rattlers here in certain areas and copperheads but I’ve never seen a copperhead. I have only seen a couple of black snakes and little ribbon and a few garter snakes in my yard.

I just killed a 12” copperhead on the county road yesterday... that’s usually the size I come across... I’d never seen one as big as that 37 incher before...

If you need some snakes and dillers for your yard, I’ll mail you some... I’ll throw in some ticks and chiggers too ... you’ll be the envy of all the neighbors

 

[roosterhavoc]

This is exactly what that snake looked like. There were no markings just black with a big gold/yellow rattle. The one I damn near stepped on had a longer rattle though. Scary looking thing. Lol

 

[roosterhavoc]

I did run over a small timber rattler once too checking beaver traps along a dirt road. That’s in area I wasn’t exactly careful especially since it was winter time. That particular day was really warm though, maybe 70 degrees.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

This is exactly what that snake looked like. There were no markings just black with a big gold/yellow rattle. The one I damn near stepped on had a longer rattle though. Scary looking thing. Lol
View attachment 1790928

I didn’t even know rattling snakes came in that flavor...

It being Memorial Day... it seems right to share this pic of my dad... he was a good man and a proud veteran...and apparently a killer of big snakes...

This is from a newspaper clipping of him in his youth with a 56” rattlesnake he killed when rabbit hunting ... his buddy stepped over it right in front of him...

I like the way something like this made the newspaper back then... and apparently that was something to get your spiffy duds on for too... because those don’t look like wabbut hunting cloths to me..... lol