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.