Bear Grease - Ep. 208: BEAR GREASE [RENDER] - Pit Vipers, Outwitting Turkeys, and Coon Skin Hats

Episode Date: April 24, 2024

On this episode of the Bear Grease Render, Clay Newcomb and the Render Crew are joined by “herpaculturalist” and snake ambassador Brad Birchfield as he shows up on the scene with some jaw-dropping stories and bundle of snakes from his personal collection. Bear Newcomb tells the tale of his turkey hunting exploits. Also joining are Misty Newcomb and Josh “Landbridge” Spielmaker as we discuss the Cobra Scare Podcast. Come see Clay and the rest of the MeatEater crew on the MeatEater Live Tour starting April 23rd. See www.themeateater.com/events for cities, dates, and tickets.  Join in on the Owl Hoot Contest for your chance to win a genuine Coon Skin Hat. See the video of Carl Barnett’s confession:  https://youtu.be/1dv9IZCSW44?feature=shared Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease MerchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. First Lights fieldware collection is made for the work that happens long before opening day and continues when the season ends. Products built for early mornings, full days and real use. Hard wearing where they need to be versatile where it matters. No shortcuts. Just gear designed for the work that earns the season.

Built to perform, built to last. Check out. First Light's new field. Worldware Gear at firstlight.com. My name is Clay Newcomb, and this is a production of the Bear Grease podcast called the Bear Grease Render, where we render down, dive deeper, and look behind the scenes of the actual Bear Grease podcast. Presented by FHF Gear, American Made, Purpose Built, Hunting and Fishing Gear that's designed to be as rugged as the places we explore. This is quite an environment we have in here for the render right now.

It is. Everybody's heart is racing a little bit. Not me and Brad and bears. Bear? Nope. You feel no increased anxiety in your nervous system right now? Hey, if what is in that bucket was crawling across my leg. You would just chill?

I mean, probably not. It's like an equine animal. It senses fear. Yeah. Is that right, Brad? 100%. Is that why that one's being weird right now? I don't know.

Because I'll just be honest, I am not cool as a cucumber. Josh, really, your heart's beating fast knowing that. A little. It's not like, I think it's anticipation. Okay. I think once we talk about it and see it, I'll calm down a little bit. But I have to be honest, my heart rate is a little elevated. Why Josh's heart is palpating is because within about two feet of him is a, in a bucket.

Two feet on either side. Tell us what that is, Brad. This is a timber rattlesnake, and that is a Western Diamondback rattlesnake. They're in five-gallon. They look like snake. They're genuine Home Depot buckets. But it's a lid that is made for an animal, it looks like. It's got holes in it.

We got a bunch of snakes in here. We've got a Diamondback, a Timber Rattler, and a Teastern Indigo snake. Which one do you want to show us first? Well, I don't know. We want to show them right now. Should we introduce? Okay. Man, I'm just so excited.

We've got no mystery guest, guys. Mystery guest is over. This is Brad Birchfield. Brad is, uh, he's from... Really sorry, Brad, that was a lame intro. No. That was the old... It's like a man who needs no introduction.

Brad doesn't need an end. He doesn't need a fancy mystery intro. I have Josh Land Bridge Pillmaker. I'm here. Bear John Newcomb. Here. Bushwhacked a turkey this week. Yep.

Misty Newcomb, who is very scared over here. And then our guest... Her boots are off. Brad Birchfield. For those who are anticipating this render, we're going to talk about the cobra scare, but we're going to have our own cobra scare today. We have lots of snakes in here.

Brad, how long you've been into snakes, man? Ever since I was a small child, like I would say my earliest memory is probably about four years old, just being really obsessed. I was into dinosaurs as a child. A lot of snake weirdos. Did you have a dinosaur? I did. My dad built me a dinosaur in my backyard. It was 12 foot tall and still there.

Really? Yeah. My dad built the dinosaurs in the city of Mountainburg. You know those big giant dinosaurs in the city of Mountainburg here in Arkansas? So many people. My father built those due to my obsession with reptiles. No way. Wow. That was back in the 70s when there was just books and you couldn't find real dinosaurs, but you could find reptiles. And so it was kind of an easy transition into snakes, I guess. But Brad, you are, I don't know you real well, but you're the best. most normal snake guy of that.

I would agree. I appreciate that. Yes. Yes. You do tend to run into some extreme personalities. Snake people and big cat people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're kind of in the same category.

You think so, Brad? Oh, absolutely. Do you have any big cats? No. Never wanted a desire. But a funny side note, I was watching the Tiger King or whatever, when the Tiger King Cup. And the first episode, there's actually a guy I knew that was on there.

Oh, yeah. I was like, hey, there's... Wow. So, you're not... How do you classify yourself? Because you're not a, you're not like an academic herpetologist. No. My degree is in journalism.

But I just have become obsessed with snakes as a small child and just studied them and was just fascinated with them. And I probably should have went to college. They say to go to college for your passion about. And I'm like, I don't know. Because now I think if I went snake hunting every day, I'd probably get bored with it and hate it, you know. So what do you do? So you have pet snakes, but you also catch snakes. Yeah.

I do a lot of we call a herptoculturist, I believe, is the correct terminology. Okay. And that's someone who's in that world, but it's not a degreeed scientist. Okay. It does stuff. But me and some friends. That's your title. Yes.

A herbeculturist. Man, that's a good title. Yeah, it's hard to spell, too. I can get business cards. But, yeah, we run with a lot of people with degrees in biology and stuff like that. Yeah. We just do it for fun. But I do a lot of educational programs for.

Boy Scouts and, you know, nature centers, gaming fish nature centers and stuff like that. And it's just kind of been a function of having, you know, 40-something snakes at your house. And your wife says, why do you need these snakes? And I said, well, it's for education. I'm going to show these to kids and stuff. And she's like, oh, okay. He's a philanthropist. Thus far.

Okay. Can I ask a follow-up question? How did you sell that to your wife? I mean, at some point she wasn't your wife and you had to convince her. Funny story. Okay. Everything I tell you will be. This starts with a funny story.

Yeah, when we were dating, she thought it was very amusing that I like snakes. Okay. And so when our dates, we'd go driving the roads at night, looking for, you know, road cruising for snakes. And it was all fun. And then the day we got married, that all ended. And I had a couple of snakes at that point, which she wasn't real happy with, but we had an upstairs bedroom. And I kept them up there, and they were kind of out of her. In the upstairs bedroom, that seems logical.

Actually, a few got out. But anyway. So after we got kids, the snakes got evicted. So I had to build a big building in my backyard to house my snakes. Okay. So I have a separate building now that I keep my snakes in, which she didn't realize was going to free me up to get more snakes. Yeah. So now I've got like between 40 and 50.

I'm not really sure. What kind of snakes do you have? Just a lot of, like I say, most of the Arkansas species. And then I've got some. How many Arkansas species are there? There are 38 species. snakes in Arkansas. Only six of them are venomous. Okay. But I keep all the venomous except a coral snake. I've had coral snakes, but they're

kind of quirky to keep in captivity. They don't do well over time. So I just kind of don't worry about them anymore. I've got a rubber one that I use in my snake presentations. Okay. But I've got a lot of like corn snakes and different kinds of king snakes. And you've ever heard of a bull snake? I've heard of it. West bull snake, gopher snake. It's kind of like the black rat snake of the West. Okay. I really like that genus. So I've got several of those. And then I've only got one exotic snake. It's called an Andros Island boa. And there's not much information on the internet. It's really strange. But we went to a snake nerd symposium. And they had a silent auction. And my son was about seven. And he pulled the old Joey off of friends and had bid on everything in the room because he thought it was like, guess the price.

And so as they're reading the silent auction winners, I won a pocket knife, a thermometer, and then the snake. And I'm like, I didn't want it. Yeah. So I ended up with the snakes. That's the only, non-native snake. I don't really get into exotic stuff. So you never owned a cobra? No. No. I have a friend that has had cobras and I've messed with them and it's just not my, not my thing.

They're very quirky, very easily agitated, very intimidating. They're kind of like super fast and just, you know, most of the native snakes, they're all pretty chill and you can kind of read their body language. Cobra's are kind of on another plane. Yeah. Well, my first question. So the main reason I wanted you to come to. day was how do I get a cobra?

Well, I'm, I'm not sure he's got the wife for it. Banjo's out, Cobras in. I'm going to own a cobra. So that is an odd thing since the internet. I mean, there are places that sell all sorts of nasty venomous snakes. Like you can order a black mamba or you can order a goon viper, cobras. If you've got a credit card, do they just show up in the mail? No, you have to ship it Delta Dash.

It's got to be picked up at the airport and dropped off the airport. And I mean, there's some, you know. So the regulations here are pretty loose? Compared to some other states, yeah. So five years ago in Arkansas, it was the Wild West. There were really no laws on snakes. Really? You could have anything.

Nobody cared. And then Game and Fish came up with a proposal to kind of regulate it and make you buy a permit. And you have to, if you're keeping venomous snakes, you're supposed to have a venomous keeper permit that you had to, you know, meet some criteria. And then, I think, $75 a year. Any venomous snake? Yeah. Okay, $75 a year.

Yeah. That's not a problem. No, that's what I'm saying. It's a bargain. You're not getting a cobra. Come on. How cool would it be to commemorate the Cobra scare podcast?

Uh-uh. And we'll put the cobra in the Bear Gries Hall of Fame. Well, we'll put a cobra emblem on the Bear Gries logo. Oh, there you go. Now you're talking about. I just think about how often his. mules get out and like how challenging that is to handle and now I'm going to have a snake while he's got no so Brad the so you have 40 snakes 40ish 40-ish yeah 40-ish and tell me about when you're

going out into the wild and first of all let me just make clear Brad is not he doesn't sell snakes he doesn't like catch him and kill him like Brad is so bear picked up a road kill copperhead that I put on my Instagram story this week when he killed his turkey. Okay. It was a copperhead with its head cut off, which to those of us, like me and Brad, that love snakes, that's an, you know, you just don't kill snakes anymore. So someone had chopped its head off.

Yeah, it probably, Bear, just when he put it in his truck after it was already dead. They ran over it and pretty much I just, I'm not going to use the head. And so Brad was like, I was glad that that was a roadkill. And so I wanted to just clarify. clarify Brad's not killing snakes. He would be the last person in the world to kill a snake. But you do go out into the wild and catch snakes. Yeah. Tell me like what do you do? Like if me and you were to go out this Saturday just to have a big time, what will we do? Well, this time of year, you know, it's like hunting. There's all these seasonal things. So right now is a good time to flip artificial cover. Like 10, trash.

boards. So if you can find an old collapsed barn, an old chicken house, that's where we go. There's going to be snakes in there. Yep. And you flip that tin and you'll find stuff under there because the tin heats up. Snakes get under there in the night when it's cool and then it heats up quicker. Okay. And then they can go out and forage. They get energy from that. But that and flipping rocks, you know. So you'll go out and just, you're just like, hey, we're going to try to find a snake today. Oh, yeah. You find a snake every time you go? Yeah, pretty much. I don't get skunked a lot, but, you know, it depends.

and what species. Some things are harder to find than others. What if I told you that I wanted to see a big timber rattlesnake? I'm not asking you where we would go, but what would we do? Yeah, we'd probably find a south or southwest-facing slope, a lot of rocks, some open canopy because they like to regulate between the shade and the sun to regulate their temperature. and it's pretty predictable once you kind of figure out, you know, connect the dots. Really?

So this is a habitat. Yeah. So this, yeah, 100% we could find one. For real. Like today. Yeah. For real. Is there a certain time of the day that they're more prone to be?

In the afternoon. I mean, it all depends on temperature, you know, like I say. No. Now, once it gets summertime, it gets too hot. Something that people don't realize a lot of times is snakes are not very heat-tolerant, just like they're not very cold. tolerant. So in the wintertime, you don't have snakes because it's too cold. In the summertime, you won't have snakes out crawling because it's too hot. So they go up under your porch and they wait till dark and then they come back out and they'd go to night. So if you ask that question in mid June or July, I'd say, we're not going to find anything out in the woods today. So we'll just wait till tonight and then drive some roads. Why are you finding snakes on roads? It's just transitional areas. They're crossing. It's not. I used to think that they would come up on the blacktop to gather heat. They do.

On cool nights. So that's a thing. That's true. That's absolutely true. Because we did the same thing. We used to catch a lot of snakes on roads, on blacktop roads. But I always wondered if that was really true, or if that's just, if you drive 30 miles a road, you're going to just random chance. So snakes just going to be crossing.

Yeah, especially pit vipers, because, like, say, when it cools off, you know, they're ectothermic, which means they're the same temperature as the air. And so once it gets cool, that the road starts. surfaces like a battery charger for all practical purposes. They get on that and sit for a while, absorb that heat, then they've got more energy to, you know, forage and look for food in the night or reproduce or whatever. Now, this is a dumb question, but you knew that you could have a round-eyed venomous snake. Well, I was going to say, I don't know that guy, but he's right in a certain perspective.

So venomous snakes, all the pit vipers have elliptical pupils like a cat. Okay. The slit eyes, everybody thinks that is 100% true. The problem is, in low light, their pupils expand just like ours do. So if you come up on a copperhead at night and you hit him with a light, his eyes won't look like a slit. They'll look round because his pupils dilated. And so technically what he said, you know, it's true. But now, coral snakes are the only venomous snake with a rounder.

pupil. They truly have a round pupil. All the time. Yeah. So they're daytime hunters. Yeah. Yeah. But like I say, all the pit vipers, they're going to have elliptical pupils unless they've been out in the dark and their eyes have dilated than they can see better. Have you ever come across a coral snake?

Never seen a coral snake. I've seen that false coral snake. That's a king snake. What is that? A milk snake. Yeah. Then there's a scarlet king snake. Have you ever seen a coral snake in the wild in Arkansas? Not in Arkansas. They're supposed to be here. They are.

Do you think they really are? Oh, 100%. Yeah. Well, why hadn't you found one? It's, they have very specific conditions. Coral snakes are really weird. They call them fossasorial snakes, which means they stay under leaf litter and cover. Oh.

And the reason we don't have them up here in the Ozarks of the Wash Taws is the ground's too hard. Down in South Arkansas between Texarkana, Camden, Eldorado, there's a rough triangle there. That's that piney woods habitat with the soft sandy soil. That's what they like. So that's the only part of it so you can find it there. but they're so reclusive they stay under the cover the only time you'll really find them the best time to find coral snakes is after a hard rain like if you have a really hard rain now yeah the ground gets wet and they come up and they'll be on the surface but most of the time you've got so they're not in the mountains they're not in the highlands nope okay just that very limited range in southern Arkansas what do you make of these these what appears to us to be an imitator snake like a snake that is mimicking another snake like so misty There's the coral snake, it's a beautiful snake, black, red, and yellow striped snake. I mean, it looks like something your kid would draw when they were two years old.

I mean, it looks like a cartoon. Well, the coral snake has a certain pattern. Red touch yellow, kill a fellow. Red touch black friend of Jack. So we were taught that because... Have you never heard that? No. So, so when you, when you, when you,

when you see this snake, if red touches yellow, it's a coral snake. If red touches black, it's a non-venom white. It's a milk snake. It's a milk snake. Yeah, in Arkansas. So, anyway, why do they, do you think they, did the milk snake, how did that happen? Well, you know, a guy. Take us into the psychology of the snake.

A guy wrote a paper on this, and I've never read it, but he talked about why is there. The way you do science, buddy. We've got to that, yeah. Coral snake mimicry because milk snakes occur basically from here, you know, from the Gulf Coast to Michigan, all the way to the East Coast and then some out west where there's never been coral snakes historically. So why would there be a mimic in an area where coral snakes never occurred? Okay. And, you know, it's sort of like all non-venous snakes when they get agitated will rattle their tail to make you think it's a rattlesnake. It's kind of a warning.

And, you know, it's like it's odd, you know, like the hog-nose snake. flares its head out like a cobra. Yeah, but there are no cobras in the new world. Those are all far east snakes. Well, until... Until Springfield, yes. And Mr. Fred, he probably let a few loose. There's a lot of those things that, yeah, it's very interesting,

and I don't know what the answer is. Okay, good. Yeah. As long as I know you don't know the answer and just like I just haven't asked. Yeah. Okay. You know, it is interesting, though, that, you know, bright colors and nature, mean danger.

And so obviously that's why the coral snake probably has bright red colors to warn. It would be predator. Yeah. And like I say, milk snakes used the same defense. It would be predator because they see that bright color. And I need to leave this alone. Really? Last spring, Clay Newcomb and I collaborated with Jason Phelps at Phelps game calls

in building each of our own favorite turkey diaphragms called prime cuts. Now, I'm going to tell you, I love mine because it's easy to use. I'm not going to win a turkey calling contest. It's just not going to happen. But when I run this call, I get the sounds that gobblers are looking for. I have a great turkey hunting track record. If you go listen to real turkeys out in the woods, they're not going to win calling contests, right? That's who I listen to.

I can make those sounds on my cut. I also hunt with Phelps's cut, and I hunt with Clay's cut because they're all three great cuts. Check out Prime Cuts at Felts. Game Calls.com. I think you'll be glad you did. And you'll find out that the Steve Rinella cut is an easy-to-use cut for beginning callers

who just want to start making good turkey noises and getting action. Clay and I were hunting on Wednesday. And I walked around this little pond and nearly stepped on top of a gigantic moccasin. Are we sure it was a water moccasin? Of course we were. All snakes are scary in the watermockes.

Anything in the water is a cotton mouth. Yes. I can verify. I didn't get a great look at it, but it was, it was, as he says, it was a big, it wasn't that big, Josh. It was probably six inches in diameter. It was big as a subway sandwich. That's not true. I mean, he was that big in the middle.

And it darted off. No, he, he jumped as I jumped. Yeah. And then he went under the leaves and then it's probably not a cotton. Oh, come on. I would bet my truck on it. Whoa. That it was a comment.

It was. Okay. I might trust your opinion. I really think it was. He yelled and jumped and I looked and where we were at, it was a wild place. It was way up on top of a mountain, a small little pool. Yeah. It was a weird place to see one, but it wasn't a band of water snake.

Yeah. It was, it was like that solid, and I know a moccasin has a pattern, but sometimes, they look solid. I feel like it was. Well, you know, Cotton Mouse has such a, I refer to it as an undeserved reputation of being aggressive, but they're just very assertive. They're very sure of themselves. They're assertive.

Yes. I like that. Walk up on one, a cotton mouth will usually not take off. It will coil up and gape its mouth and just kind of warn you. Yeah, he did not dart off. He kind of just. Well, yeah. He did leave.

He did leave. He was right by his heart. hole, though. Yeah. Like he, because he just disappeared into like a little root. We look for him. That doesn't sound like cotton mouth behavior.

Okay. I'm going to believe that it was a cotton mouth. That my life was in danger. The way Josh screamed like a woman. Yeah. That was your indicator. Yeah. That is not a good indicator.

There are very few absolutes in the snake world. And I get tickled at our snake programs because everybody wants to know that one thing that's, you know, full proof. That's the 100%. And there's very few things in the snake world that are like that. Is there a certain snakes that? that you're like, man, I'd really like to find. Oh, yeah. There's a list.

It's top of the list. Me and a buddy started about 15 years ago, wanting to find all the venomous snakes in North America. And we're down to two. Oh, really? You found all but two? Yeah. Hey, I don't want to break your rockers kind of touching that snake.

That might be why. He's making noises. Okay. I'll quit rocking. So Brad is in a rocking chair, and his, one of his very large snakes that's in a white, like, linen bag. You can slide that chair forward if you need to. Here, bear, touch that snake and move it.

Bear's not afraid of it. Yeah, just yank it out of the way there. There we go. There you go. Good job, bear. But, yeah, what were we talking about? The venomous snakes. You've caught.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we're on this quest to catch all the venomous snakes North America. And all we do, it's basically like my hobby is like birding. You know, people go out to all these exotic places. Real similar. To take a picture, except the bird. can kill you. But, so we set on this quest, and there's one little montane rattlesnake that occurs in the,

kind of the boot hill section of New Mexico. And it's a Mexican species, but it only ranges in the U.S. right there. And that's like the Kouetana. Yeah. We haven't gotten that one yet. And there are very few there, and it's a fairly sketchy area to go to because of the illegal stuff on the border. And then the other is a subspecies of one that science has kind of did away with, but we're

we're clinging to the old ways. Can you tell us what it is? Yeah. So that's called a desert Massasaga. Desert Massasaga. Where do they live? They have a really spotty distribution. They're on the coast of Texas like Brownsville up to, where's the spring break place? Padre Island. Padre Island down to Brownsville, they occur.

And then in West Texas, they're kind of spotty. And then in Colorado and then New Mexico and in Arizona. But they're not just like a wide ranging. They're very spotty distribution. And science kind of doesn't recognize it now. They just called all a Western Massasaga, which I found the Western Massasoga, just not the desert. Wow. So, okay, have you been bit by a venomous snake?

No. Invenomed by a venomous snake. Never have. Not yet, no. Okay. Pretty dangerous, you know, deal. And, you know, we understand the, the risk involved. And, you know, we're prepared for that.

Because if you play with fire long enough, you're probably going to get burnt. What's your take on a guy like Mr. Fred that's been bit so many times and doesn't? Like, I've got to tell the, well, let me tell the rest of the story. I have a recording of Fred telling what he did after he got bit by that banded Egyptian cobra. Oh, yeah? I considered playing it. I mean, it's like gold to me, his story. But he was a young man.

So let me tell that story. Oh, we got a new microwave. Rito's done. I got a new microwave and it still beeps. We thought we had that fix. out what we thought was beeping and it wasn't beeping. Mr. Fred, when he got bit by that

banded Egyptian cobra, bit him right on the hand and got him good. He had to put his foot on the snake and pull the cobra off of him. He tells the story of how he finishes doing what he was doing. Like he was working on something

and he finished working on it. And then he told the girl that was there like, hey, keep running this place. I'm going to run down in the hospital. He drove himself to the hospital? His wife was with him. But when he gets bit, he doesn't check into the hospital because when he was young,

the first time that he was in venom by a snake when he was 14, he went into anaphylactic shock and nearly died. Because of the medicine. Because of the medicine. And so he wants to be close to the hospital in case he starts to die, but he doesn't want to check himself in. Well, how do you think hospitals feel about that? not great they don't they're not real cool on it so he he goes into the the waiting room and is sitting

there and you know he's holding his arm and he said it swelled up to about his elbow but not that bad no pain but he said his throat started to close up whatever kind of venom it would be in a cobra his throat started to close up and he started having a hard time breathing and and he was but but his arm just just swelled up. And long story short, as I understand it, the hospital got word that this guy had been bit by a cobra

and was like waiting it out and they weren't going to have it. And so they bring a kind of a crew of people out to kind of like and Fred granted is a he's a carny. I mean like

he's a he's a side show. Yeah. that's not a bad word is it? I don't think it's one that we say. Carnival. He worked at a carnival. I think it's a word I've heard him say. No offense to any carnies out there.

Yeah, yeah. Take that out. It's a legitimate job. Take where I said it's a bad word out. No. It's an honorable, honorable trade. Bear, you should look into getting into the carnival, son. And basically, he stands up to greet the doctor.

He sees what's about to happen, and he shoots out. the door. And he's dark and wiry. Yes. And it's dark outside and he runs into the woods and basically runs away. It hides. They call the police. And there's this manhunt for Fred in this town. And they're looking for him all night and he sees flashlights and he's down in this little ravine. And finally he walks out the other side of the ravine and it's been like six hours and he's fine. And he was feeling better too. Yeah, he was feeling better. And so he decides he's going to walk back to the snake display at the carnival.

But he knows they're looking for him. And he said he wanted to look normal. So he went into a dollar general and bought some stuff and carried it in a dollar general sack just so that he would like, he just would have something to do. Rather than just walking down the road, he'd just have it. Well, when he gets back to the carnival, basically the carnival. owner is like like just like great i don't know if he physically grabbed him but like they made him go back to the hospital and he was like i'm fine and they didn't do anything to him so anyway he just toughed it out yeah wow that's one way yeah but but he's he's been bid over 20 times and he's

only had annavenum twice that's impressive is that i mean is that normal no no no i wouldn't say it's normal. You know, talking about the an phallactic shock. Used to, they derive the antivenom from horse serum, they called it. And the antibodies and the horse and ours don't get along. And so sometimes the reaction to the antivenom was as bad or worse than the bite. So that's completely plausible. And then after 20, I don't know, you may be building up somewhat of a tolerance to the effects, you know, because there are guys, once again in this weird world we live in, there are people that self-inventimate and they do it very carefully. Like to build up? up a tolerance?

To build up tolerance because he actually mentioned Bill Haust. Did you know that name? Oh, yeah, 100%. He's like the Mount Rush. He acted like I should have known it. Yeah, I was surprised you didn't. You're a little disappointed in me? He had a kind of a roadside attraction in Florida for 50 years.

It was a snake's reptile gardens. And he had been bitten 100, I think it's 160 or 168 times by like banded crates, king cobras, like real bad stuff. And he got to the point where he could just stay. it off. It wasn't a big deal. And they got blood transfusion from him to save other people's lives because he had built up these antibodies. That was Bill Hasked. Yeah. That's crazy. That is crazy. My dad one time, I wish Dad was here. You probably know this guy. I'm not going to say his name. He watched a guy get bit by Copperhead, kind of an animal snake guy. I think I know exactly who you're

talking about. 100%. Well, Dad, I mean, I don't know if it would have. I don't know if it would have believed it if somebody else would uh but dad was like clay i mean he reached down there and that snake just nailed him right in the hand and this guy didn't even acknowledge it yeah like he wasn't i don't remember the exact circumstance it's been 15 years

since i've heard the story and dad said did that snake just bite you and he you know almost as if the question was offensive to him he was like yeah and it was like okay all right Well, let's go. Anyway, it, it, I don't understand. Yeah. That's not a good plan.

I mean, uh, any, for those of you out there, considering. For children at home. We tell people, the best snake bite kit, you know, they make these things. You can still buy it. Sporting goods stores. It's got a nice little surgery kit with suction cups and a razor. Yeah. And it's kind of like, wait.

Is that the way to go, though? No. 100%. So what do you, what, what, what do you carry in the field for a cell phone and a set of car keys? Okay. the by far the best. There's nothing you can do in the field. The only thing that will treat snake bite is anti-venom.

And that some people always say, do you take that with you, you have it at your house or think, no, it's something that's got to be kept under, you know, really controlled conditions. Then it's got to be diluted in saline and injected. It's not something you can just shoot up with. Yeah. I wish it was. But, yeah.

So it's, yeah, the only, the only option is to get to a hospital. So, okay, you're in the woods, your back mile and a half. get bit by timber rattlesnake. What do you do? The first thing to be try to stay calm, which would probably be hard, and then, you know, walk as fast as you could without getting winded back to a vehicle and get, you know, to a hospital. It's just that simple. Yeah, it really is. I mean, because like I say, there's really nothing else you can do. Ternicates are such a bad idea because, you know, the old timers, they'd say put a tourniquet on it and then cut X's on it and try to suck.

Once the venom hits your skin and subcutaneous level, it's in your bloodstream. It's all over. Yeah. And if you, you know, section that off with a tourniquet, you're keeping this venom in there. Well, venom is not only a poison. It's also a digestive enzyme, basically. It helps digest the food that the pit vipers eat. So when you pull that venom up in one area and don't let it dilate through the body,

you know, it's going to be tearing up. worse. So, yeah, basically, if you're three, four hours for medical tension, that's life-threatening. That's something. You're probably going to need a helicopter or something, you know? Call your buddy with a chopper. Yeah. It could get serious real quick. But, you know, if you're within, a friend of ours is Dr. Spencer Green in Houston. He's like the expert in snake bat in the United States. He's probably treated more than anybody. All the other doctors combined, but he always said roughly two hours. You got two hours. You know, and there's a lot of variables.

All the hype. All the hype. Let me clarify, though. There's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of disparity in the severity of the bite. Because sometimes snakes will do what's called a dry bite where it's just kind of a, you annoyed the snake. And he's just telling you, leave me alone and he doesn't inject any venom. And then, like a say, can a snake control that? Yes.

Yeah. Weren't you paying attention on episode four? I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I remember it.

Brad knows. But, yeah. But yeah, they can control. the amount of venom. And if they're, you know, hemmed up on your porch by Jack Russell Terrier and you get bit, that snake's probably going to sock it to you. Whereas if you're just walking out in your yard and flip flops and you actually step on one, it may be a dry bite. But, you know, so there's a lot of variables. But he, his ballpark was, if you're within two hours of emergency medical care, you're probably going to be fine. Wow. But, you know, there are exceptions to that. If it's a huge snake and you've got a really long walk and your heart gets elevated, you know, bad things can happen. I think we have roughly six snake bite deaths a year in the United States.

Is there a trend of what snake is killing people? It's Western Diamondbacks. Are they the most venomous that we have in the States? An Eastern Diamondback, I think, is technically the most dangerous. The most potent venomous. Yes. Okay. But they're in a limited range, and you don't see them that often.

Western Diamondbacks, if you get out west. And just to remind everybody, we have one of those in a bucket. Yeah, right here. We're going to look at him. We're going to look at him in just a minute. But if he can take it. You know, that's one of the myths on snake bite is, you know, a lot of people will hear this and be like, oh, I've heard that. Baby snakes can't control the amount of venom.

If they bite you, they just hit you, everything they got. And then baby snakes venom is like highly refined. It's more dangerous than a big snake. That is not the case. That's one of the few things that is in stone and snake bite is a bigger snake always is going to be a worse bite. Really? Just the amount of venom. Yeah.

Volume of venom. And the, you know, the hardware, if you think about a. baby snake is things are going to be little and a big snake's going to have big stronger fangs. So that's one of the few things that is pretty much in stone. It's a bigger snake's going to call it a worst bat. Do you have a question? Well, do all snakes have the have the, and the, the venom is from a gland by the fangs or actually comes through the fangs? It comes through the fangs or like a hypodermint needle.

Are all snakes that way? No, just pit vipers. Just pit vipers. Okay. So the coral snake. is an elapid. That's like my cobras. And unlike the cobra, well, no, they're pretty much similar.

They have fixed front fangs, but they're fairly primitive. That's why I don't consider coral snakes that dangerous because they have very, you have to be really dumb to get bit by coral snake. They have to latch on and basically chew until they break the skin and they almost salivate the venom into your system. Interesting. Whereas a pit viper hits you in a blink of an eye and they've injected. But a cobra, when he hits you, he bites onto you.

Yeah, they chew their chewers too. But he gets you quick, though. Yeah. And they have bigger, more well-developed fangs than like a coral snake. That's a little spookier than a, you know, yeah, a pit viperate when he strikes you. I mean, it's like he's just like punching you. Right. Just like pop-pot, and then he comes back.

The cobra when he hit you. Latches on. He's going to. Yeah. Even if he isn't trying to eat you? Because like if you got bit by a cobra, like, he knows he's not, he's not striking to eat you. Right. he still would latch onto you.

Yeah, he's trying to envenate you. Wow. Yeah. That's risky. I have a, I've got, I've got a couple of good snake stories. Good snake stories is what we like. I have some good snake stories. Okay.

And one I have a question about that maybe, maybe he can answer. Do we have time for snake stories? Okay. Okay. First story, when our kids were little, probably like seven, bear was probably seven. Josh's son was probably nine or ten. we would go on hikes and hit Josh's, Josh Spielmaker's wife, Christy and I would go with all of our kids.

And so together we had like seven kids together. A passel of kids. So one day we were out on a hike. I remember Shep was five because he had just gotten his tubes out of his ear. And we were out there hiking and we were on some big, underneath some big bluffs. And these snakes literally just start coming off the bluff. Do you remember this? Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. They're blue racers. Yeah. And they just, and David, David was probably nine, and he screamed, snakes! And it's like these snakes are raining from the heavens. And we all start screaming, and Christy Grabs Shepherd so tight. And I believe the words that came out of your mouth were plural. Oh, yeah, I think I did say.

The bear said snakes. Yeah. I think, yeah, for some reason, I got in. the grammar of it. Wow. Yeah, and then they kind of went away, and all of us were just, like, what just happened? Like, how many snakes do you think you saw? There were two.

There were two. There were two. But it felt like snakes were raven from the heavens. And Christy let go of Shepard, and he just was like screaming grind. And Christy said, who was I holding? I'm so sorry. And I'm like, pretty sure it was Shep. That's a response.

my wife has when she sees a snake on a movie. I wish she could have been here today. She would not have done it. Yeah, well. So were they racing? No. Were they what? Were they?

Drag racing? They don't race or not. They had numbers on top of their heads. What were they doing? That's hard to tell. Why did they fall off the bluff? My guess would be that might be some sort of den hibernaculum and they were coming out and gravity took hold or, you know.

Yeah, if I remember it right, of course, I was like seven, but there were like a lot of holes and they were like going in and out of the holes whenever they got down on the ground. It looked like more than ones. Oh, yeah. There were definitely two, but I don't think there were a lot. Plural. Okay, okay.

Plural. Last spring, Clay Newcomb and I collaborated with Jason Phelps at Phelps game calls and building each of our own favorite turkey diaphragms called prime cuts. Now I'm going to tell you, I love mine because it's easy to use. I'm not going to go, I'm not going to win a turkey calling contest. It's just not going to happen. But when I run this call, I get the sounds that gobblers are looking for. I have a great turkey hunting track record.

If you go listen to real turkeys out in the woods, they're not going to win calling contests, right? That's who I listen to. I can make those sounds on my cut. I also hunt with Phelps's cut, and I hunt with Clay's cut because they're all three great cuts. Check out Prime Cuts at Phelps Game Calls.com. I think you'll be glad you did, and you'll find out that the Steve Ronella cut is an easy-to-use cut for beginning callers who just want to start making good turkey noises and getting action. Can we – I want to see these snakes.

Can we get one out? If you want to. Well, I mean, you tell me – you tell me if it's not a good idea. No, we can certainly get them out. Well, I mean... That's why I brought them. I need you to stay miced up, though. That's the problem.

Okay. How far with this? Wait, what if we cleared out you a space right here? Oh, we can do that. Here, Misty, you should... Leave. No, just stand up and back up. Bear, back up.

Josh, just come over here. I just want to see one. So... So, I think I'll take this off. Well, I don't want you to. Okay. Just try not to yell. Please here.

Yeah, I need the... The other one. This is, Brad, you are going to make your... Brad, can you hit me my phone right there? Yes, sir. You're going to make a name... You're going to be on the legendary list of render participants by bringing... By default.

Oh, my. Look at that bad boy. I'll get it out. You don't have to come closer. Okay. Oh, my Lord. That's a big snake. Sometimes he gets a little excited if he strikes.

And you found this one? Yeah, Bear. Is this a snake that you found, Brad? Yeah, this is a local animal. Is it really? Yep. Holy smokes. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

What's interesting is here in Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, these get really large. Now, out west, when you see diving backs, they're kind of long and spindly, kind of just not big and thick like this. But in the range here in Arkansas, Oklahoma, they get really large. Now, is he a little more docile because you've messed with him? No. If I got close, you would see a definite change in his... So he's not, like, friendly. Uh-uh, no.

Good thing I'm wearing my... See? Look at the boots I'm wearing. Yeah, that's probably a good thing. Wow. Hey, big boy. Sometimes it's easier to control him just by holding him like this. So the curious thing about these is,

Like I say, most of the deaths from rattlesnakes The United States come from this species And it's because they have a huge range They're all over the southwest And they're pretty quick to get upset and bite And see that head I think the lethal dose for an adult human Would be like 150 milligrams of venom

And he could probably dose you with about 400 to 600 milligrams Really? So you could just like straight up die from that bite? Yeah, this could be dangerous But what does that snake Probably 52 inches long? The last time measured it was 70. 70? Yeah.

How old do you think that snake is? This snake is probably 25 to 30 years old. They're very long lived out. How long have you had it? I've had it for 15 years and it was this big one and I got it. Really? Yeah. You've had that snake for 15 years.

Oh, yeah. How often do you feed him? In the summertime, about once every other week. What do you feed him? Interesting story there. So when I got this thing, it wouldn't eat. Misty, you're doing great. It wouldn't eat.

And I tried all different colors of rats and my eyes. because you order rats and mice online. They're frozen. And I tried black ones and white ones and gray ones. And then I tried live ones and he wouldn't have anything to do with it. It wouldn't eat. And then one day I was driving home with my son and there's a big dead gray squirrel on the road in front of our house. And I said, hey, grab that squirrel.

And we threw it in the cage and he ate it. No way. Wow. That was like feeding an old country boy a corn dog. Yeah. So now. He was like, this is what I've been waiting for. I keep a pellet gun by the door. And every time I see a squirrel in the yard.

So how often do you feed him? About every other week in the summer. Really? Wow, what a incredible beast. Yeah, I would like this to not be the first time that Brad gets bit by rattlesnake. Yeah, well, I'll put that one in there if he'll go. Sometimes he has a problem going. And now he breaks a lot of his rattles off.

Yes, he's notorious for breaking his rattle. That's why he doesn't have a very big one. That sound is unnerving. Wow. What to hear this other one. Now, okay. Wow. Good job, Brad.

That's the closest I've ever been to a rattlesnake that wasn't in a cage. So this is a big timbre rattlesnake. This is what old-timers refer to as a velvet tail. Now, this is my favorite, man. Some people call these cane-brakebracket. Now, is he bigger or littler than the other one? Well, holy smokes. Wow.

I don't know girth-wise. He's probably a little. That is a beautiful snake. Man, I always. love that. Listen, bro, I would like to

not get friendly with you. That one, if you'll notice, has an impressive stringer rattles.

He's never broken his rattles off. Can I do this? Yeah, you're good. But the demeanor of the

Timber rattles thinks is quite a bit different than the are they, are they not as upset? They will,

they will tolerate a lot more. Good job, Misty. Missy, put your headset on. Misty's back.

in the corner. Wow. Look at that rattle, man. But yeah, this one's got an impressive string of rattles. I think there's like 26 or 28. I can't remember the last time I counted them. Wow. They get, like I say, that's about as big as one you'll see in Arkansas.

I've only found a few. Hey, that one, did I send you a video? Yeah, that was a big. It probably wasn't that big, but it was close. It was a big one. Yeah, that was awesome. Now, I feel like right now, that snake, like I could reach down and touch its tail.

You could. I wouldn't recommend it, but he's not, could he come from that position and hit me right now. So that's something I was going to say. It's interesting about cobras. So cobras can basically only strike straight down. Oh, really? These guys, if I get over here, he's going to sling back over and hit me. Cobra's would have to turn around.

And that's one thing that they're a little easier to. That snake is probably three, three and a half inches in diameter, and it's fast. part. Oh, more than that, I bet. Now, he's as big around as a good subway sandwich in the middle. Yeah, it's definitely a... That water moccasin that I almost stepped on was probably three times that sucks. Is that right?

Yeah. I really wish you would have gotten a picture. This may have been the state record. Wow. I love that. Now, what, he's in a certain phase, like the coloration of the skin? I call this kind of the blonde phase. So in Arkansas, it is a beautiful thing. No, he's pretty much going to stay this color. In Arkansas you get some that are kind of gray, have different tones of gray,

and then you get some that's kind of olive green, and then you get this phase, which is kind of like a blonde phase, which is pretty light. Now, okay, Brad has critiqued my snake catching. It's not good to catch him by the back of the head. No. Why? Tell me why. Okay, so right now his fangs are folded up in the top of his mouth.

Yeah. If I reach down to get him by the neck, guess where his fangs are pointed right into my fingers. And they can bite through their bottom jaw if they get mad enough. They'll poke their fangs through their jaw. So that is bad. So like I say, the best thing is to not touch them at all. But if you have to, the best technique is to, like, let them stretch out. And you get them by the tail.

Yeah, and get the head going away from you. Yeah. And then you can pretty much gently come under the tail. And like I say, once they're supported, they... God, that's a big thing. He's calling right now. Hold it right there. Now, does he eat squirrels?

Yeah. He has. What does he prefer? He will eat lab produced rats and mice. So he's not as picky as not as picky. He's not as picky. Yeah. The diamond back will only eat squirrels and rabbits that are not produced in a lab.

Wild caught. Wild caught. Wild caught. Wow. Can he strike your hand right there? No, not in this position. We got gravity working against him. And then, like I say, he's using a lot of strength to come back up towards me.

So if you had him by the back of the head. right up against his neck, he could still like stick his fangs back in and hit your hand? Yes. Really? Yep. And like I say, that's where your fingers are. That's why we don't do that. How long have you had this snake?

This is a retired stud snake from the University of Arkansas. Oh, really? Buddy of mine was doing research on something with timorado snakes, and he was just up there making babies. And they were downsides in the lab. And I said, I need a big timbrelossed. Yeah, came from Madison County. Is that right? Yep.

But like I say, timber rattles snakes are a lot more. They'll tolerate a lot more than the diamond backs because you can see he's pretty much just annoyed that I'm holding him. What does the number of rattles equate to? How many times it sheds a year? Okay. So if he has a good year and he'll shed two or three times, he'll get three or four, you know, two or three segments on the bottom of his rattle. Okay. If he has a bad year and like a drought and there's not much to eat, then he won't, you know, he'll just shed once.

I don't know sure what he's doing here. We're doing that. but yeah the uh you can't age a rattlesnake yeah that that whole how many rattles how many years is just not because like I say you'd think that diamond back would have a huge section of rattles but really doesn't so anyway there's the timber rattlesnake that's now this guy he does that's probably more along the lines what I need yeah it's a good starter snake now now the irony is venom wise this guy's got a lot more different stuff in his venom, whereas the davenback's pretty much a straight hemotoxin, which is just a venom that attacks the red blood cells and destroys the cell walls. The Timberal snakes got hematoxin and neurotoxin,

which is what you get in the coral steaks and the cobras. So not only does it cause tissue loss and burning and all that, it can also, like, shut your diaphragm down. So, okay, we're good. All snakes are up. We'll look at that one afterwards. Yeah, I'll show you that. Okay, all right.

Missy. Go back in team. Wow, that was some good. That was good. That was good. I wish you all could have seen it. So we do need to talk about the Cobra Scare podcast. So I got to give credit to my friend, Isaac Neal, who told me he's from Springfield.

I wanted him on the surrender, but he couldn't come. Are they still rattling? Is that what I'm here? Yeah, they're still rattling. So Isaac Neal was like, man, there's a great story in Springfield. He said, I don't know if it's really like a baragery style story, but there were some cobras that got loose, the great cobra scare of 1953. There's a beer in Springfield that's named Cobrascare.

And I started researching it, and I was like, Isaac, this is like big time up my alley. And the first two people that I contacted were it was Kyle Jeffries at the mother's brewery because these guys had named a beer, Cobra Scare. and then he referred me to the museum curator John Stellars. And when I talked to those guys, I was like, this is going to be good. And it really was one of my favorite podcasts that we've done in a while, just because it was so crazy. You've had quite the reaction to the video you put on Instagram.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you know about that? Would you have known about the Cobra Scare? I heard about that about five years ago. and I'd never heard it before either. What context? Some snake person on Facebook had a picture of a, the sheriff holding the dead one there by the car.

Yeah. I was like, you know, because black and white, old, it's like he didn't see many cobras. And I was like, what is this? And I started doing a deep dive into Google. And the next thing you know, I'm like, I hadn't known. I'd never heard of this. The great cobras here.

Fascinating. What stood out to you in that story? Anything stand out to you? Just the general, outlook of people and snakes, you know, because in that time, you know, totally different time. And just everybody being terrified and like these things are going to attack us. And, you know, that's probably wasn't that big a deal. I mean, if your kids out playing in the yard and finds one, that's obviously bad.

But these snakes weren't looking for people to buy it. You know, they're just trying to hide or find food. Yeah. But you got to give it a little bit of credit, though, man. I would be spooked if they were just like, hey, there's like a bunch of cobras out here. Yeah. And you don't know where they come from and you don't know how many there are. Yeah.

So there's like three or four. I mean, I bet if that same thing happened in any city, like if it happened in the country, it would be different because people are more spread out. And the snakes would just kind of like disappear. Right. But this happened in right in the middle of downtown Springfield. And there was an epicenter. And all these snakes were like within just like a mile, you know. and so they had dispersed from somewhere.

And I could see, I bet you'd have the same reaction today. Do you think? Yeah, probably. People just going on lockdown, people getting crazy, people trying to do wild stuff, people leaving. I mean, I bet. People coming. You know, I think there's people who are real into that. Bradwood been there.

I'd say a bunch of people like me. Yeah. Let's go catch a comfort. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Probably. Yeah.

yeah what what's that is like really disturbing there's a rattlesnake rattling

very hard what stood out to you Misty from a just whatever you're

interested in the snake cobras the the social aspects the

motherly aspects of women protecting their children well I mean I don't

think you heard a lot of that in that story I think the

you know them getting with a hoe That's probably where my sense of... Apparently, if you want to protect yourselves from snakes, just keep a hole around. I remember the first time I ever saw a snake,

and it was my mom killing one with a hoe. Me too. And I was a little bitty girl, and she was hysterical. And I'm pretty sure it was like a garden steak. And that was the first time I ever saw one. And it imprinted, obviously, as evidence, today, pretty hard. This is... My mom is a pretty normal person, but they killed one with a hoe.

So what stood out to you? I thought my Was it a fun podcast? No, it was a fun podcast. I think the part where they were playing flutes in the down the street. I think that was probably my favorite part. You know, we grew up in an era.

You always saw, you're right, the 80s were, there was that era of cobras. Was that right, Brad? The two scariest things in the 80s were Cobras and Quicksand. Yeah, yeah. And so I would have known that's not the kind of flute you play.

Like I would have known, the flutes don't sound like that, that you've got to play them. Because the picture I have in my head is like you get the high school band out there with flutes and they're on the, and they're blaring it with these loud speakers. That's kind of how I envisioned it. But that image was pretty funny to me, men with pitchforks and flute players.

Brad, do you know much about Indian snake charmers? Some. I did a little bit of research just trying to understand like what this means in their culture. and these guys are, from my research, these guys that are snake charmers, so they're the guys that are putting these little baskets of snakes, lifting the lid off,

a big cobra jumps out. They're within striking distance, and they're playing this flute moving while the snake is doing like this. If you watch them, lots of videos, they get struck out all the time, and they just kind of move out of the way, or they slap the snake. Yeah, that's real common to see them slap the top of a cobra.

But also read that a lot of that is the snakes are not healthy snakes. Like they're not feeding them and they're kind of weak. Possible. Maybe what's your, well, let me say what I was going to say. Culturally, they're known as healers and magicians. So they're kind of like these special people. Like, oh, you're a snake charmer. Well, can you help me?

You clearly have this power. What do you know about snake charmers? Basically that. yeah it's just all tied to kind of ancient medicine and healing and that kind of thing and you know the snake is queuing in on the movement of the flute and the you know i don't understand why they don't get bit though i still don't understand again that cobra basically can strike straight down so he's not like a like you wouldn't do that with a rattlesnake a rattlesnake would would get you would get you would bet you but cobras are pretty predictable yeah in the way they react and

that's why they slap them on the head and stuff because they know but you know it's it's it's It's dangerous for sure, but... Can you take the fangs out of a snake? Yeah, there are... But they'll grow back. Yes, sometimes. There are venomoid animals, but they don't really do well. I mean, some people do that.

Interesting little anecdote, you're talking about, you know, when did cobras pop up? And back then, did people know about cobras? So back in the 30s, there was a guy named Ross Allen from Florida, another famous snake guy. And he did a lot of the stunt work in Tarzan, the old Tarzan serial. And they would literally...

take like Eastern Diamondbacks or Cotton Mouse and like milk them. Yeah. And Cobras and stuff as much as they thought they could. And then they would literally bite him on screen. Oh my gosh. To know. Like they just drain the venom and say, you'll be fine.

We've got to shoot this right now. Yeah. Because the snake's on empty. Wow. Yeah. They would literally do that. So I thought about that. I thought, yeah,

cobras, I mean, books and stuff, probably people were aware of cobras, but that would have been a pretty shocking thing. You know, if you're saying, Cobra's in Springfield, Missouri. Yeah. Did it work? Yeah.

Yeah. He did a lot of movies, a lot of TVs. He made it. Yeah. But that was, that's taking your job to a whole new level. So I like on the Render to comment on some of the things that was said on the deal. I thought bringing the cultural image back to something that we could relate to that was helpful for me. like to understand Indian snake charmers

and saying that would be like what if Brent Reeves had a big timber rattler in a bucket which would be different what you just did is more impressive but imagine he's basically a snake driver yeah

but but what if what if there was like that tradition here where you had I mean it's a you can see how those guys it's a powerful cultural image when we see it it seems exotic far off, not understandable, not approachable, not touchable.

But like, what if our little kids grew up and they were like, one day I'm going to be a Cobra snake charmer? Or like me trying to tell Barry, you should really look into this. You should be a snake charmer. Go to snake charmer. You know what I mean? I was just trying to find a way to like make it connectable because, and obviously we don't have anything like that.

Well, I think we do. Okay. Have you ever seen the snake handling churches up in Appalachians? Oh, well, I mentioned. I mean, that's straight up, you know. Snake Charming. I mean, that's his faith strong. Is that much, is that still going on?

Yeah. Not near as much, but they're still, it's funny, I liked a Facebook page of a church. I can't remember the name of it. But I followed them, and they post videos of their service, and about every six months, they'll have a snake service. A little snake handling. Nawing my fingernails off watching it. And this guy's dad and his dad both died from snake bites.

No way. Really? And he said on there, it's very interesting to their faith. How genuine do you think they are? 100%. You've got to be committed. Well, but what I'm saying is that sometimes I've seen it and it feels, and I mean, and I'm a, I'm a church-going man, so like I could respect somebody doing something that they actually had faith in. And I'm not suggesting, I'm not into handling snakes. But like I could see someone doing it in it like actually meaning something to them.

Oh, 100%. And not just a show. Yeah. I mean, because me and Brad, could, and bear could go probably pick up a rattlesnake in a church and it wouldn't really have any like, I don't know, your read was these guys were... Is it something you're offering you? Very sincere, yeah. There was a documentary about this one preacher's how I

discovered this whole church and this guy talked to him and he talked about and he said, hey, it's not for me and he said, I don't do it unless the Lord calls me to do it. And he said, I know the consequences and, you know, he's, the Lord is telling me to do this for a reason to, you know, bring somebody his faith. So it seemed genuine. Very genuine. Huh.

To the point, and I'm like, man, I wish my faith was that strong. I just saw you pick one up. Well, yeah. You know,

though watching Brad pick up the snake, it was just very, it like, there was like a grace to it. Like, it was just not that big enough. Yeah. Yeah.

Interesting. Bear, what stood out to you about the podcast? What was your favorite part? Well, well, first I've got a question.

Did you get why he had 12 of them? Like, Why didn't he just have like two or three? Like it doesn't make any sense to have a whole. Maybe they were only sold by the dozen. Well, probably you've got to break a discount. That's right. But, you know, back then there wasn't much in husbandry.

They didn't know how to take care of them. So they were likely going to get 12 and one or two is going to live. The rest of them bringing back because they didn't feed because they were kept in abysmal conditions. Okay. Mr. Fred may have some insight into this because when he mentioned that he ordered 25 king cobras from bank. Bangladesh. And he didn't want 25. He wanted 12 for his snake to spot. So he was, he knew he

wouldn't get 12. And he actually only got three. He ordered 25 and got three. And they shipped them to New Orleans. And he went down to New Orleans. He tells a great story. He went to New Orleans, picked up like, like huge king cobras, like 15 footers. Oh, my Lord. And they were the customs, The customs people, this is so long ago, I mean, you know, probably like the 70s or something. Maybe it was later than that. The customs people said, we got to see these snakes. And he was like, really? You want to see them?

And they were, they demanded to see them. And they're like in like an office. And he's like, you want me to turn this snake loose here? They thought, he suspected that they thought there was drugs in there. And that they were smuggling drugs. It was a cover to smuggle drugs. And so they were like, we want to see the snake. And he just was like, are you sure?

Are you sure? You want me to put this snake right here? And they're just like, yep. And so he does. He pulls out a 15-foot king cobra and just plops it in the ground. Oh, my Lord. And he, he, it was, and anyway, the room just like scatters. And he gathers the snake back up, gets it in, gets it back.

And it was like, okay, sir, you're good to go. Wow. On blood trails, the stories don't end when the hunt is over. They just get darker. I've seen something in the road. I instantly thought it was a sleeping bed. And there was a full of blood. Oh my God, he doesn't have a hit.

Blood Trails is a true crime podcast born in the outdoors. Where the terrain is unforgiving, the evidence is scarce, and the truth gets buried under brush and silence. Indications were he should be right there. But he wants to be right there. but he wasn't. This season, we're going deeper. From cold case files to whispered suspicions,

from remote mountains to frozen backwards. Each story begins in the wilderness and ends in darkness. Because out here, there are no witnesses, no cameras, just fragments and the people left behind trying to piece them back together. He's not an honest person. He's incapable of being honest. Somebody somewhere knows something. I'm Jordan Sillers.

Season 2 of Blood Trails premieres April 16th. Follow now on Apple, Iheart, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. So I've got a friend that's, I think he's 82 now, and he grew up in that era, and he lived up in Ohio, and he worked at a zoo. And I think what he said he did, he went in and started looking at their bills of ladings and shipments and stuff they've gotten and got names of people in Africa and India. And he started writing them as like a 12-year-old kid and was, like, I will provide you with, you know, X amount of black rat snakes and garter snakes and

you please send me. And he said, he would get in these boxes marked venomous snakes. And he would open it up and there would be like 15 different snakes and bags. And he didn't know what they were. And I mean, I was a child and he would go get books and figure out, okay, this is a bothar up and this is, you know, nah, nah, nah. And yeah, I'm like, are you kidding? But yeah, apparently back then it was pretty much. But he said he, he, yeah, he. Yeah. He. Yeah. He. He had some crazy stuff back in probably in the late 50s when he was a kid. So anything could go. Yeah.

I made the statement that some people believe the King Cobra to be the most venomous snake in the world. Dr. Chris Jenkins of the Snake Talk podcast, he actually, I had to put it that simply like some people think it. He didn't. He said the King Cobra actually might not even make his top three most. deadly. How accurate. Fact check me on my statement. 100%.

Yeah. So when you heard me say that, you were like, Brito's done. You were like, Clay missed that? No. I mean, but King Cobra's,

they are, they're large. You're talking about a big snake that can deliver a lot of venom. That's what makes it so dangerous. But as far as like on a program basis, it's not. Not.

What is? A lot of the tapans in Australia. Australia, like 80% of their snakes are deadly. Like, they don't have many harmless snakes there. You don't mess around them. And, yeah. And a lot of those venoms are a lot more toxic.

And, like, the inland Taipan, I think, has the highest LD-50. They call it an LD-50 score. But that one, and then, like I say, the one that kills probably more people worldwide is called a saw-skilled viper. And it lives in the Middle East, basically. And, in fact, I can't remember the Bible verse about sizzling snakes in, I don't know, it's in the Old Testament. But I think that's what they're referring to because these things, when they get agitated, they'll roll their scales against their cells. And it makes sort of like a rattling or sizzling sound. But the reason is they have very toxic venom.

They're very common. And where they occur is people are barefoot and there's not much medical care. So there's a lot of factors. But yeah, king cobras, that's just like, you know. Not even that venomous. Yeah. Now, is the king cobra more venomous than these rattlesnakes? Yeah, probably.

just because of the neurotoxic components. So when I have my king cobra and my rattlers, watch out for the king cobra. Yeah, I would say that. I didn't let you finish. What stood out to you most? Well, I thought that was interesting that, like, people would have had no context for what a cobra was.

Like, that would have never occurred to me. You didn't grow up in the 80s, so I don't think you really have a context for what a cobra is. Well, I mean, I've seen. Strike first, strike hard, no mercy, sir. He's been raised right, you know? He saw the right movies. It just seems like you just see COBRA's like, that's just like a...

School mascots. You just know it. Like, it's not something you'd even think about. And yeah, so whenever, like, they were, you know, pulling out the flutes and stuff, and I guess you kind of explained how they weren't necessarily totally serious about that. But it just never would have occurred to me that they wouldn't have had any idea that, just because they don't have like the exposure to it.

They would have been looking in like encyclopedias to learn about cobras. 100%. Exactly. Absolutely. I mean, yeah, there's no Google. There's no YouTube. Yeah. And they wouldn't have like seen it on movies and stuff.

Yeah. Growing up. Yeah. Yeah. Josh, what stood out to you? The whole thing was pretty interesting. But I think it's interesting how the, that isolated situation.

I mean, it lasted over the period of like six weeks. Yep. How much it imprinted on the identity of Springfield. Yeah. I mean, the fact that they went and put it on the seal, they had the cobra haircut, I mean, all these things, like, it was sensational at the time. And I mean, rightly so.

But just the fact that to this day, what are we 60 years later, there's still a cobra on the seal? 71. 71 years. There's still a cobra on the seal. I love it. I mean,

I love that a simple thing like that can change the destiny of a place. I thought Kyle Jeffries did a great job of explaining why little quirky regional things bring a lot of identity. The guy from the brewery, he was like, yeah, every little town's got something weird that happened. And this was our little weird thing, you know. I thought he did a good job of telling that kind of stuff. I'll tell you, I'll tell you this is behind the veil. I don't fully buy Carl Barnett's confession. Really?

Yeah. That was my favorite part. It was just a disc-girl kid that thought he got jipped on some fish. Well, okay. So there's a more extended version of the Confession. Okay. And they actually ask him if he had any regrets and if he wish he hadn't done it.

And he kind of gets defensive. And they were like, would you, would you do it different if you could do it again? And he was like, well, no. No, that sucker cheated me on the fish. And there's just something. So it's a YouTube video. You can look it up. The Cobra scare.

Maybe we'll put it in the in the, in the link in the box and the description. But you can watch him tell the story. And I just think, I don't know. When I was watching him, I just was kind of like, did you really do that, Carl? I mean, I don't want to cast skepticism on the Springfield's complete identity. We need to do an expose. As I understand it, Carl was no longer with us. Oh, yeah.

So he was a pretty old guy. He took the truth to the grave with him. Back in 92, he was, I mean, he was, yeah. What's the counterfactual play? Like if you say something like that, then there has to be another theory for what happened. I just think, no, I'm not saying, I'm just saying I'm a slightly skeptical

that he actually did it. Just from reading, just reading his eyes, I'm just like, that guy lied to you. Whoa. He has grandkids. Rest in peace. I have no evidence of this. I have no evidence of this.

No, no. no, no, no. All I did was watch a YouTube video. I just, I just wondered if anybody else got that vibe. I did not. I thought he was very sincere. I was like, this guy is telling the truth. I watched the extended one, too, and I think he was just mad about it. I think the defensiveness actually makes it sound more factual, more truthful. Yeah. Well, the fact that he lived with it for 30 years before telling someone. Yeah, I mean, well, see, that's part of it. That's part of it, though. If you, like, no one could dispute him.

Yeah. Do you understand? I mean, it's like there's nobody that's going to go, well, you're waiting for Rio Meyer to die. Yeah. Yeah, Real Meyer couldn't have gone, I don't even know this guy. Like, I didn't trade fish. Like, it's all so deep in the past.

That was it too. And there were no other, there were no other stories. But what would his motivation be? That's another one. If we're in the court of law, I'd be like, well, why would you lie? He has no reason to lie. which I get that other than just maybe

just a little publicity What else do you think would have Could have happened I mean the snakes just got out of Railmowers Pet Shop You know I mean they just got loose

Okay Maybe He did sound like a colorful guy Yeah Yeah for sure Chimpanzee Chimpanzees Yeah

It's like my kind of guy Yeah Yeah Yeah Well It was a fun It was a fun podcast.

Yes. I want to hear about Bears turkey. Oh, yeah. Bairsy boy. You weren't? Give us the condensed version of your turkey hunt. Okay. Well, pretty much I hunted from opening day until Thursday and had a couple of really good

opportunities on turkeys. And I kind of had an idea of what the turkeys. No, when he says he hunted those days, he literally left and didn't come home. Well, he spent the night out there. Spent the night out there. Yeah. I had to keep coming back for different things. He had that presentation, a big senior presentation that he had to do at school.

And he shows up at our house and is like, Mom, do you know where the shirt is? Do you know where the end? And it's coming in from the woods and went straight to that presentation. Did you shower before you? Yes, I did. I came early enough. But anyway, over the four days, I kind of developed an idea of what they were doing. He was, well, and you were sleeping in your truck at your spot.

Right, yeah. He would leave the house at like 10 o'clock at night to go get. get his spot and sleep in his truck. And then, you know, he had a couple guys pull in before daylight. Yeah, he'd like stumble out, you know, in his underwear and be like, I'm turkey out there. Pretty much. But, yeah, so I kind of had an idea of what they were doing.

And there was one particular turkey, the first one that I heard on opening day. And I could, I knew where he was roosting, but I couldn't really get in close on them every morning. But I heard them the first two days, like right before a lot. like gobbled out on the exact same spot. And I'd go down there and try and get them and I'd eventually find them up the mountain, like

400 yards probably. Maybe not that far. And two of the days he met up with another gobbler up there and I'd hear two of them. Do you have their like calendar? Pretty much. He knew he was meeting up with another gobbler around 10 o'clock. It just seemed like they were always like right there

after they got off the roost. Anyway, I, on Thursday I go down to where I can hear into this holler where I've been hearing some turkeys and then kind of hear another area over to my right but

I heard another guy well I saw a bunch of headlamps like all around the holler I saw three two of them were like kind of and this is a this is a hollow that's like a half a mile across

but the leaves aren't still out so you can see a headlamp like bobbing through the woods. Am I right? Yeah. And it seemed like people were just like accumulating every day because they would hear turkeys and then come back the next day. And anyway, I get in there and there's a guy over across the hauler who's Al Hout and a whole bunch and crow calling and just carrying on. Yeah, just over and over. And I was about to actually leave because I kind of thought he was just going to blow out all the turkeys because he was like right in the middle of where a lot of the turkeys were. And I was considering leaving,

and then I heard one, the one right down on his roost, where he usually is. And it was like the gun going off at a track meet. It was like you could just feel like everybody come off the top of the hauler and just like start going towards him. But I kind of knew he was going to go

up the mountain to where he was. And I knew I wasn't going to kill him on the roost or catch him flying down. and so I just kind of ran up to where I figured he'd be and it took me a really long time because there's big bluffs and stuff and it's a big hauler and I get over...

Like a scene out of Last of the Mohicans. Yeah. He's just running through the woods. I was literally running at a few different points. His hair flying. Exactly. And I get up about where I think he's going to be and I hear him, as I get close to that point

I can hear him gobbling. up the mountain from me. And as I get closer, I can hear two goblers up there, gobbling out each other, like one would gobble and the other one would start up right after. And I just started to get closer. You know, I figured I'd just get as close as I can and then call. But I just got closer and closer and closer. And I got to where I was like 80 yards from them,

and they were up the mountain from me. And they were up on this bluff above me. And I saw a break in the bluff. I could kind of get up it. And I was like, and up at the very top of it was a big rock. And so, like a rock as big as your truck. Yeah. Yeah.

And so I figured I could get up there. Now, why didn't you want to call at him when you were that close? Well, I thought about it, but I was downhill from them and I wanted to be above them. And I didn't know if, I just didn't know if they'd come off. Because at that point, they were like, even with me, between me and them was a bluff. they weren't even with the part where you could get up. Yeah, yeah, okay. And so I figured I'd kind of get up that part

and get even with them, and I'd pop out right next to that rock like 40 yards from them is what I thought. But as I started walking up that, I could hear them just like right next to that rock, right on the other side where I couldn't see them. But I could hear their wings flapping and they were gobbling

and I guess they were fighting each other or something. And at this point, I was so close to him, I was like, well, I might as well just risk it for the biscuit. Yeah. And I'd almost bush racked another one on the second day. Just like, I was walking and just saw him before he saw me. He just got lucky. And so I was kind of thinking I could probably do that with these ones.

And I'd called out him so much. And other people called out of him. I didn't know if a call would work at this point. It was good thinking. So I get up to that rock. And you're like 20 yards from them. I think I was like 10 yards from at this point. So you're just like sneak right up.

They were like directly on the other side of the rock. And the rock kind of was like a, it was like a triangle pretty much. And on the north end of the triangle is where I went. And that was like the point of the triangle. And I kind of stuck my hands on it and I looked around the other side. And directly on the other side of the triangle, probably five yards off the rock, there was a flock of them. And I could see like four or five turkeys.

Now were you not afraid you were going to spook them by peaking your hair? head around? Well, I did it like as slow as you could and I had a mask on and I didn't really realize they were that close. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And they were, that rock, it was kind of weird. It was like the low, there was a lower side of it and then you go to the other side and it was like four or five foot. The ground was four or five foot higher. Like there was like dirt stacked up against it. Okay. So I was below them still. Okay. On that rock and I could just see, I could just see them right up there on that little plateau there. And so I just kind of like creep back behind the rock.

And I can tell they're moving over towards me. And so I just stick my gun up and I hear them clucking. And the first turkey that pops out, I could tell he was a long beard. And I looked at him for a really long time, even though I could have shot him just because I did not want to mess it up. It's illegal to shoot a Jake. Yeah, shoot a Jake or shoot a hen or something. and he started going back and forth at like five yards and finally I got a really good look at him

and I could tell he was 100% a long beard and about that time he sees me right there in front of him and he turns and just is about to and just starts to run but it was too late he was already just like I mean I had my I was already hunkered down on him all I had to do is pull the trigger and yep man what a great

Got him. Got him. I think that's pretty good woodsmanship. Yeah. And Turkey know how to know not to call, not to mess around. I mean, I won't even go over there. I don't even want to go over there. It's just too many people, you know.

But, yeah. Nice work bear. It was a nice gobbler. I can cook it tonight. I bet there's snakes deluxe right in that area. Oh, yeah. I actually found one like probably. Well, yeah, you found one at the road, right where I killed it.

Probably like 300 yards from it. Yeah. A live one. Copperhead. Yeah, yeah, a live one. I've only been struck at and actually bit unintentionally one time, like thinking about being in a place with a lot of snakes. Going back to snakes.

Great turkey story. One time while deer hunting and it was cool in October, I had a copperhead bite my rubber boot. I didn't even know it was there. It was a little one, a little bitty guy. I just felt something like, tap my boot. I looked down and I was like, Dad, go that thing, bit me.

Anyway, I was thinking about bear out there and snake country. Yep. I think we are all the time. Hey, thank you, Brad, for coming. Hey, thanks, Brad. What do we need to do? Meteor live tour. Yeah, yeah.

It starts, when starts. Meteor live tour is on. If you're listening to this, we're there. But you can still buy tickets to shows. Oh, yeah, Josh made, Josh Pillmaker, Josh Lambridge, made 10. Did this strike you as odd

when he walked in there? That was a bit surprised. And this guy loves Coonskin hats. So, yeah, so Josh, Josh Lambridge Spillmaker made 10 Coonskin hats that are going to be given away one at each live tour event

for the winner of the Al Hooting contest. All right. So good job, Josh. Good job. But yeah, Brad, thanks for coming. man. Thanks for bringing the snakes. You bet.

You win. As much fun as you did. Incredible show and hell. Yes. Yeah, yeah. We're just going to have to have him come back just to, no doubt. Just like, hey. I'll bring him.

Just bring some snakes. A mystery snake every time. There you go. There you go. We can guess what's in it. Yes. Well, great. Thanks, guys.

On blood trails, the stories don't end when the hunt is over. They just get darker. I've seen something in the road. I instantly thought it was a sleeping bed. and there was a full of blood. Oh my God, he doesn't have a head. Blood Trails is a true crime podcast born in the outdoors, where the terrain is unforgiving,

the evidence is scarce, and the truth gets buried under brush and silence. Indications were he should be right there, but he wasn't. This season, we're going deeper, from cold case files to whispered suspicions, from remote mountains to frozen backwoods. Each story begins in the wilderness,

and ends in darkness. Because out here, there are no witnesses, no cameras, just fragments and the people left behind trying to piece them back together. He's not an honest person. He's incapable of being honest. Somebody somewhere knows something. I'm Jordan Sillers. Season 2 of Blood Trails premieres April 16th. Follow now on Apple, IHeart, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human