6 Foot Long Bull Snake!!!!!

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seamus7227

seamus7227

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Mar 18, 2009
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Wichita Falls, TX
Check out this bad boy! My snake supplier/catcher/killer provided me with this 6' long Bullsnake today, I skinned it, fleshed it, and is now in the tanning solution! Should be ready by the middle of next week!
 

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phillywood said:
Hey, Seamus, I thought you were not supposed to kill bull snake because they are good for the garden? On the other hands you're gonna use it for pen making?
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You are very correct, however, the guy that killed this snake said that it was eating his "killdee" birds eggs, so he had to go bye bye. otherwise, he did say he usually doesnt kill them.
 
I sat on my deck last summer and watch one climb up a big rose bush and take a baby bird out of a nest. I couldn't get there fast enough to save the bird, so I let him have his breakfast. He came back for lunch! Nature is hard!

Never have seen a bullsnake that big before. Oh ya, that is a Texas bullsnake!
 
Oh ya, that is a Texas bullsnake![/quote]

yeah buddy! :biggrin: In about 20 minutes i'm going to pick up two more from the same guy, but they are only 5' long. I will take more pics and post 'em.
 
yeah buddy! :biggrin: In about 20 minutes i'm going to pick up two more from the same guy, but they are only 5' long. I will take more pics and post 'em.[/quote]

So, It ended up being to late to post so I'm doing it now. The snakes ended up measuring 6' and 5 1/2' long. A little longer than expected, but thats cool. The great thing about these snakes is that the skins are so much different than the rattlesnakes, you can actually get way more blanks from the skins and still have a nice pattern!
 

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They make stunning pens, I can't argue that fact, but being such a large snake the patterns will not be quite as good and the Bull snake skin is thicker than average making it more difficult to seam and to spin to size. I've had a few and they were so thick that it was difficult not revealing some scales when spun down, and if you hit the scales with a chisel, it's a tough fix.
 
workinforwood said:
They make stunning pens, I can't argue that fact, but being such a large snake the patterns will not be quite as good and the Bull snake skin is thicker than average making it more difficult to seam and to spin to size. I've had a few and they were so thick that it was difficult not revealing some scales when spun down, and if you hit the scales with a chisel, it's a tough fix.
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this will be the first time I have tanned this type of snake, and after reading that, their skin didnt appear to be thicker, however, it must be, because when i was fleshing it last nite, I was able to be a little more rigid with the skins than with the diamondbacks or sand rattlers. thanks for the info. I will keep this in mind when i get ready to cast!
 
seamus7227 said:
this will be the first time I have tanned this type of snake, and after reading that, their skin didnt appear to be thicker, however, it must be, because when i was fleshing it last nite, I was able to be a little more rigid with the skins than with the diamondbacks or sand rattlers. thanks for the info. I will keep this in mind when i get ready to cast!
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If you want to avoid LOTs of complaining (assuming you will sell the blanks), take a caliper to your skins on the tubes, before casting, to make certain there is room to cast and still turn the pen (on an OOR lathe) without hitting the skin. DAMHIKT!!
 
Papa mark said:
Seamus, those are some Texas sized snakes. Can't wait to see some of the pens from these.
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No doubt! These two last nite had me worn out by the time i was done with everything and had them in the solution. It is quite a job when they are that long and have as much fat on them as they did! you have to scrape all of it off.
 
Wait a sec. i thought you said th eguy won't kill them then what's the next two all aoubt? well not my bus. just wondering what's going on in Whichita Falls,TEEEEEEEExas.. Unless you guys got osmething ther that we ain't got in San Antonio. BTW can you send me that how you prepare them and make balnks out of them. Actually, I was a born a city boy and lived in Houston in the City and now live in the city, I think I am doomed for not knowing any better. Or, maybe if I see one I just go up and shake hand with the sucker not knowing what kind they are.
 
Yea, they have interesting scales that can kinda stick upwards like hair too, so you have to make sure none of them do. If you are going to cast them, you haven't even scratched the work surface yet. Skinning is the easiest part.
 
PaulDoug said:
Got to admit, (darn Texans) those are some BIG bull snakes. Big ones around here at maybe 4 feet.
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Paul in WA your snakes are watered down becuase of so much rain you guys get. On the other hands here in Texas the darn things eat big stuff then they much on Jalapeno peppers to digest them after wards. and finally they go under the sun to strech so the can digest the whole thing. You know we bragg that in Texas everything is bigger. Including our hot air too.
 
Fact is, they say everything is bigger in Texas because they haven't been to Canada, especially British Columbia! They have slugs in British Columbia that could eat your Bull snakes! In Texas you might run into a Deer, in Canada you have to watch out for Bears and Moose..you hit a moose it's like hitting a brick wall. In Texas you have tiny sharks, In Canada you have monster sharks and killer whales that don't even bother to chew you because it's easier to just swallow you whole.
 
phillywood said:
Paul in WA your snakes are watered down becuase of so much rain you guys get. On the other hands here in Texas the darn things eat big stuff then they much on Jalapeno peppers to digest them after wards. and finally they go under the sun to strech so the can digest the whole thing. You know we bragg that in Texas everything is bigger. Including our hot air too.
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HA Uh, Little know to outsiders, the south eastern side of the state is DESERT. I live amongst sagebrush and cactus. Coarse this is where they made stuff for the atomic bomb in WWII which might explain why our smaller bull snakes glow in the dark and some have 2 heads. But we have well over 300 days of beautiful sunshine a year.
 
workinforwood said:
Fact is, they say everything is bigger in Texas because they haven't been to Canada, especially British Columbia! They have slugs in British Columbia that could eat your Bull snakes! In Texas you might run into a Deer, in Canada you have to watch out for Bears and Moose..you hit a moose it's like hitting a brick wall. In Texas you have tiny sharks, In Canada you have monster sharks and killer whales that don't even bother to chew you because it's easier to just swallow you whole.
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Hey Jeff how about you make some pens out of the bear claws and let us see how they lookk like. I may try to make some out of Jalapeno. then, I'll be crying on line for you all.
 
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