# How many pens can this make?



## its_virgil (Sep 21, 2005)

How may pens can this snake make? It is 9' long and weighs a little over 80 lbs. Found near Fritch, TX south af Amarillo in the Tex panhandle.
do a good turn daily!
don


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## Travlr7 (Sep 21, 2005)

Let's see..................

Ya Got to skin it..............hmmmmmmmm

Then you stretch the skin.

Need to scrape all the meat off ............... Might want to fry    it. I hear it tastes like CHICKEN.

Then you Tan the skin....................No not in a tanning booth!

Then you need to make it flexible again.

Finally, you can measure it and see how many you can make.

Have Fun.

Bruce


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## PenWorks (Sep 21, 2005)

I guess a couple of Texas size Statesmens ! Man I never new a rattler could get so big. 
I guess his tail would make one heck of a maracas to []


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## alamocdc (Sep 21, 2005)

NONE... that would look very good. Wouldn't be enough definition. [][}][]


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## vick (Sep 21, 2005)

Just to rain on everyones parade.  The way he is holding it in front of him on a stick makes it look a lot bigger that it is because  the snake looks so big compared to the person.  It is an old fishermans trick.  It is probably quite a big snake, but no where near as big as it looks.


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## JimGo (Sep 21, 2005)

Just one.  A REALLY big one!


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## green-eyes (Sep 21, 2005)

Looks huge to me....nevermind the pen, that's just good eatin'!!!


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## Woodbutcher68 (Sep 21, 2005)

> _Originally posted by vick_
> <br />Just to rain on everyones parade.  The way he is holding it in front of him on a stick makes it look a lot bigger that it is because  the snake looks so big compared to the person.  It is an old fishermans trick.  It is probably quite a big snake, but no where near as big as it looks.



Are you volunteering to hold it closer so we can get the true perspective on the size?
That stick ain't long enough for me to hold it!


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## pastorbill1952 (Sep 21, 2005)

Well if 9' & 80 lbs is not a big snake, then I don't want to see a big snake.  And surely a Texan would not LIE about something [] perhaps embellish the truth but never would he lie. BTW this is a good snake, any snake that is dead is a good snake.


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## vick (Sep 21, 2005)

Fred,
  If it can be verified dead I will volunteer, otherwise it look sbetter with you[]


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## its_virgil (Sep 21, 2005)

I know who is holding it and the size I reported is correct. This is not a trick photograph, althoug it may look larger because of the way is it being held. The skake is as reported, 9' in length and 80 lbs in wt. The largest one I've seen was killed on our farm/ranch south of FT. Worth and was 84" long....only 7' and had 21 rattles. We did not weigh it. and yes, the pattern is way too large to make a pen. I try to use rattlesnakes under about 36" long or less...just about the right size of pattern. I also like the timeber rattlers or prairie rattlers pattern better than the diamondback for pens.
Do a good turn dialy!
Don


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## PenWorks (Sep 21, 2005)

Did I ever tell you about the 300 lb mino I pulled out of my pool []


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## woodscavenger (Sep 21, 2005)

WoW!


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## alamocdc (Sep 21, 2005)

That's definitely the largest rattler I've ever seen, but then I've only been around for half a century.


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## Old Griz (Sep 22, 2005)

Lots of good eating on that snake.... 
MMMMM rattlesnake chili... fried rattler ... pickled rattlesnake... 
GOOOOOOOD EATS!!!!!!! Now where did I leave that hot sauce...


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## lkorn (Sep 22, 2005)

Well, what won't make pens is REALLY good for a nice pair of boots!


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## swm6500 (Sep 22, 2005)

Don, I am not sure I can believe a 9 footer. I lived in Texas for most of my life and I never saw one that long. From what I can find out, the record is 87 1/2", so if they really have a 9 footer they would easily break the record. Here is where I found the information.  http://www.kingsnake.com/venom/atrox.html


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## vick (Sep 22, 2005)

I believe the snake is 80 lbs.  I just find it amazing the guy can hold 80 lbs pounds on a stick in front of him, he must be really strong.

If you have seen it that is one thing, other wise I think your friend is playing a joke on you.


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## Glenn McCullough (Sep 22, 2005)

looks like the person holding it got a case of the shutter bugs.  Maybe he was afraid his wife would see who he's been fooling around with!


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## alamocdc (Sep 23, 2005)

> _Originally posted by lkorn_
> <br />Well, what won't make pens is REALLY good for a nice pair of boots!


I'll see those boots and raise you a belt and hat band![][}]


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## Randy_ (Sep 23, 2005)

With all due respect to Don, I sure would like to see that snake on a scales.  Don't know about the length; but I have a big reservation about the weight.  I looked around the Internet a little and the information that I can find...which is a little sparse...would suggest a snake that length would weigh around 20 lbs.  An average sized full grown Labrador will weigh about 80 lbs.  Just can't see the pictured snake as weighing the same as a full grown dog??  I bought a bag of concrete mix at Home Depot last weekend for a little patch job and it weighed 90 lbs.  I carried that sucker from the store to the car and it is hard for me to believe that someone could hold the weight of that concrete bag on the end of a 3-4' stick like the snake without turning 4 shades of purple.

I tried to find out what the Texas State record is for a rattlesnake; but never did get to the right Internet site so I emailed the folks at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake roundup to see what they have to say.  

If I'm wrong about this, I will just have to eat some crow.  Eating snake would be no punishment at all as I have eaten rattlesnake and it is pretty good!![]


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## its_virgil (Sep 23, 2005)

I am beginning to doubt this myself. I'm doing a litle checking on the truth of this matter. I may be the one eating crow...what wine goes with crow....a black chardannay maybe. 
do a good turn daily!
Don


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## Fangar (Sep 24, 2005)

It was big enough to bite that man's head off!

Fangar


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## nilsatcraft (Sep 26, 2005)

I don't care how much it weighed or how long it is- If I saw it I would be running fast.  Forget about pens, I would put it on your front porch for Halloween and see what kinds of reactions you get [:0]  That's one big snake.


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## airrat (Sep 27, 2005)

I would raise the boots, belt, hatband and go luggage.  I am sure there is some oil tycoon that would buy a nice "bag" for their LOM.


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## Randy_ (Sep 28, 2005)

I have been making a few inquiries about this snake and for the most part coming up dry.  Finally decided to email the guy who writes the outdoor stuff for the Dallas Morning News and this is what he has to say.  I think that Don has probably gotten hold of some faulty information??  

Black chardonnay it is.....room temp or chilled??

P.S. The folks at the Ft. Worth Zoo said the longest snake that they knew about was just a few inches over seven feet.



> Randyâ€”youâ€™re probably doing this research because of the e-mail that went around a couple of years ago of the guy holding what was supposed to be a 70-pound or 90-pound or whatever rattler at armâ€™s length.  The snake was supposedly caught around hico or Stephenville or somewhere in there.  As I told a woman who asked me about the snake, who do you know who can hold that much weight at armâ€™s length?  An anaconda that length wouldnâ€™t weigh that much.  The longest snake I personally have knowledge of and will vouch for was caught on the king ranch.  Itâ€™s mounted in the king ranch museum and I think it measures 7 Â½ feet or maybe 7-9â€”somewhere in there.  It probably weighed 10 to 12 pounds.  I donâ€™t know much about snake weights except for those Iâ€™ve killed and handled.  Theyâ€™re not very heavy, even the six footers.  The rattlesnake roundup at sweetwater would probably be the worldâ€™s authority on rattler weights.  Also a couple of years ago, an e-mail made the rounds with a guy holding an enormous mountain lion.  It was supposedly killed near aledo.  One e-mail even had a ranch nameâ€”the moncrief ranch.  I probably got 10 versions of that e-mail.  Turns out the photo was downloaded from the boone and crockett website and the cat was killed in Washington state.  The internet is gossip at the speed of light.  Good luck, ray sasser


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