Takes a .44 to kill a rattlesnake

SEBRING, Fla., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A Florida man says that it took a .44 Magnum to kill an Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake that slithered into his neighbor's yard.

Jim Epley of Sebring told the Tampa Tribune that he got his gun after watching Vince Tracy pumping bullets into the snake with his .22-caliber gun to no effect.

"I knew we would need something bigger than a .22 to kill that thing," Epley said. "It was the biggest rattlesnake I've ever seen."

The two men live in Orange Blossom Acres, a subdivision of one-acre lots outside Sebring.

Eastern Diamondbacks are the largest rattlesnakes. This specimen was 6 feet long, Epley said, about as big as they routinely get.

Killing rattlesnakes on private property is legal in Florida. But Dan Costell of Lowry Park Zoo in Florida recommends that people leave them alone or call a trapper if they are in a place where they could hurt people or pets. He said most bites occur when people try to capture or kill snakes.

"If you start messing with it, that's when you will start getting into problems," he said. "They would rather hide and be away from people."