Until recently, I thought that "Bushmaster" firearms meant "master of the bush". Bush as in forest or outback.  I thougt that the snake on the reciever was just a trademark.  Then one day I was looking at a book called "the SAS survival guide" on page 467  and low and behold I found a picture and description of the bushmaster snake.  This snake lives in Central America and was decribed by the book as

"(Lachesis muta) is large-headed, pinkish-brown marked with large dark brown triangles and averages 2-2.6m (6-8ft) or more; nocturnal, in lowland forests, often using burrows and holes, in Central and South America. [b]Vicious if cornered; the most feared of all New World snakes.[/b]

I am probably the only idiot who didn't know that the Bushmaster was a real snake. However, after learning about the real snake I now see that the Bushmaster company selected a great mascot as this particular snake fits the "dont tread on me" kind of spirt (i.e. vicious if cornered. [%(]

Guess what?  If you look at the BUSHMASTER Logo, it is a rattlesnake.  A real bushmaster snake is not a rattlesnake, its a member of the viper family.

I wasn't aware of this either until about a year ago when I read a book about a women who took a job in a zoo and was put to work in the reptile house.

yeah your right but a rattle snake is in the viper family too.

You're right it is a rattler. And what's up with the bullpup on the snakes body? Isn't that their least selling gun?

Ok genius, a rattlesnake is a viper, but a viper is not a rattlesnake.


[:)] I stand corrected.

They probably went with the rattlesnake logo as most people in the USA would not recognize the real bushmaster snake.

I think it was their first gun produced.

It is actually the unique USAF “Arm-pistol” they manufactured.

[url]www.biggerhammer.net/armpistol/[/url]

Here’s a picture of the “Arm Pistol” and the “Bushmaster” Rifle:

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1619775&a=12368159&p=50412630&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]


[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1619775&a=12368159&p=50412629&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]

About 10 years ago my friend bought an australian made "updated" version of the Bushmaster called the SAP. The workmanship on the gun was much better, but it was a big POS when it came to reliability. It jammed every mag, doubled regularly, and broke an extractor ($60!) after about 300 rounds. He paid $600 for it new, sold it for $550.

I "bumped" into a couple of bushmasters while stationed in Panama.  They are very territorial and about the most vicious thing we had to worry about, next to the bees.  That's why when I got an AR, it had to be a Bushy.

And all this time I thought it was something sexual...

If I'm not mistaken I believe both the Rattle Snake and the Bushmaster are members of the "pit viper" snake family.   They both have fangs that fold rearward when the mouth is closed and forward during a strike, the Bushmaster is said to have the largest fangs of all the snakes within the pit viper family, I'm not sure but I believe the Bushmaster also has the capacity to grow to the largest size of all the snakes in the pit viper family.

I had one of these mean bastages chase me and a few other guys. Do not cross a meadow that has a Bushmaster watching over it.
We had a good 60 lbs on our back and started running full tilt with a lot of noise in a noise free zone. We turned around to see if this monster was still persueing us. Not only was he still coming he was gaining fast. We started dropping equipment as fast as we could and eventualy departed his AO.
We tried for a full day to get our equipment back. No body wanted to go after it with a machete and he wasnt giving ground. He was finally dispatched with a very loud bang and the meadow was open.
They are the fastest snake on the planet. They are not always pink but this one was reddish and very easy to see in the tall grass.
I had to buy a Bushmaster for the same reason as our friend from Panama.

I have read that Bushmasters have some of the deadliest venom in the world. I know my Bushmaster has very deadly venom.


Six

Nobody wants a pink snake on a purple rifle. [:)]

Don't go counting you chickens before they hatch.  I remember reading about a group of homosexuals who were arming themselves for self-defense.  Ya never know about those...people.

Since somebody mentioned it, http://www.pinkpistols.org/

Worth a look actually just to see some of the points they make, their battle cry is much the same as ours when it comes to gun legislation.   I say let them be.



As for the Bushmaster snake, nice to see a picture of it.   Looks like quite a pretty snake.   Mean as hell though it sounds like, at 12 feet long that's a lot to try to try to fight off if all you're armed with is a shovel.

I hardly have any fear of snakes and I certainly don't think they are any sort of super creature but I've also never been CHASED by one and especially by one that was poisonous.   I like playing around with gopher snakes and such but I don't like getting bit by the damned things, most every gopher snake I've ever come across has been mean as hell so I've learned how to catch them without getting bit.   The question is, how do you catch or kill a snake that is actively trying to catch or kill you?   Typically they go defensive so you can pin their heads with a stick or something, if the snake is coming right at you that isn't really an option.


Hmmmmmmm.   Would like to see the Crocodile Hunter go after a Bushmaster, should prove interesting!



I'm willing to go after a rattle snake but I'll damned certain be careful as hell about it and if I think that I can't catch it I'll just let it go or kill it depending on the situation.  Unfortunately I haven't even happened across a rattle snake yet and I actually look for the damned things when I'm out shooting or hunting.  I'd rather not happen across a Bushmaster though.



Here's a gopher snake my dad caught and we played with for about a week or two before releasing it back into a safer more perfect environment for it, this one measured at 7 feet long so imagine how long 12 feet would be.

[img]http://home.bak.rr.com/varmintcong/Snake2.jpg[/img]

Alphajaguars, Rich314 :

Thanks for taking the time to respond to this topic with your stories of encounters with real bushmasters.  When I read in the "SAS survival guide" that the bushmaster was the "most feared of all New World snakes", I thought that they might have been exagerating just a bit.  However, after reading your stories, I can see that these snakes are real bad asses.

My only encounter with a dangerous snake was in the army while on guard duty in the field.  My buddy and I heard the distictive rattle of a rattle snake as we started to walk from our post back to the tent city (I was in a medical unit).  Needless to say, we gave the snake a wide berth and stayed at least 100 yards from the spot where we heard the rattle.

I have somewhat of a phobia of snakes and don't like being close to them. When I was about 13, I was out hunting rabbits by myself and was sitting on a log overlooking a field.  I turned my head to the left and saw a snake poke his head up on the edge of the log a few feet from me.  Without hesitation, I blasted him with #6 shot from my single-shot 12ga.. As it turns out, the snake was one of those harmless black snakes... If I see a snake while in the field, I will usually just try to avoid him. But if he surprises me, I will definately "shoot first and identify the snake later"

Thanks to all who posted interesting things about the bushmaster snake.  I never thought this thread would generate the number and quality of posts that it did. Thanks for the great pics Troy.

The Bushmaster is hands down the most deadly and most pissed-off merfur in thte whole damned snake world.

They bite things for the pure hell of it and enjoy it.