Guns on board?

[TomD]

Originally Posted by Saltwaterwalt

Tom,
It sounds like you get a little bent over a snake. !

Generally not, I live pretty rural and see plenty. I don like them when they show aggression. the one on OH had a lot of attitude going on. Ive had them annoying close when wading.

I see a lot of copperheads and timber rattlers when im hiking the creeks, Cannon County. Though middle Tn seems to have a lot of watersnakes Ive only seen the one cottonmouth. I spent 15 years living in northern Florida (Jax) when I was a kid and we'd take a row boat back into the feeder creeks on the St. Johns River, like Ceder Creek, Blacks Creek and a few others and they were loaded with Moccasins BIG ONES but they weren't never an issue. I cant believe thinking back how we managed not to get bit. If we weren't in the boat we'd be hiking through the palmettos with our pole in hand, saw a lot og BIG rattlesnakes. My buddy had a Dane / Shepard gigantic dog and he got face bite. Crawled off to die then came dragging in about 3 days later (we looked all over for him) took him to the vet and he drained this big abscess on his neck, the puncture wounds were very distinct, he survived.

Had my Treeing Walker, Ms Bell, get bit on the lip a couple years ago and she had a few bad days after the vet patched her up, antibiotic and antivenom and diuretic, her head/neck swelled up like a bowling ball then a year or so later she got bit between her toes on a frot paw. Her paw and forearm looked like a tree trunk but she didnt get quite as sick. I never saw either snake and I keep about 3 acres mowed but I'm guessing it was down in the barn yard by the spring, I know one of my tractor sheds HAD copperheads under it. Not as before anymore but I still keep my eyes open when I'm down there.

Ive had more concerns with some of the 2 legged critters while fishing. When I lived in Az I really enjoyed their open carry law and took advantage of it. Ive had my ccw for years but very seldom do. Really open carry in my opinion removes all doubt, I found the gun atmosphere in Az suited my needs much better than other states.

I appreciate knowing that there are guns on the lake. That's good.

[nofish]

I've heard stories about priest and old hickory where guys were in boats on the water acting like they were having boat problems and when people came to help they were robbing them of fishing gear and money.

[Saltwaterwalt]

Well, thought we were talking about snakes, the reptile kind. As far as those two legged snakes...totally agree, if you have a HCP, carry a sidearm. Yes, there are bad people on the lakes, just like anywhere else.

And Tom, you're right about Florida...makes Tn snake country look like kindergarden...I'd pack a piece down there for BOTH kinds of snakes.

[TomD]

I think snakes are protected most everywhere nowadays, That's a good thing.

Sad thing is most of the 2 legged snakes are protected also. That's a bad thing.

I've read about the piracy stuff out there. You'd think they would know better. Sure seems like a high risk thing to do, at least after reading some of the feedback here.

I guess I'll upgrade my tackle. I appreciate the frankness.