re: Cottonmouth or Copperhead?

Yep, lol

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Copperhead. I’ve seen enough of them.

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Did you read the thread?

GDKC!

OP's pics have the side band on the face like a cottonmouth and the jagged pattern is closer to that of a cottonmouth.

From Louisianaherps.com:

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Juvenile Cottonmouths are often confused for juvenile Copperheads due to their vibrant pattern that usually darkens quickly as it matures. Notice below, however, that the pattern of the juvenile Cottonmouth is much more jagged than that of the juvenile Copperhead. There is also more spotting and such within the bands of the juvenile Cottonmouth than the juvenile Copperhead. Lastly, the thick black bar that runs through the eye and is bordered below by a thin white line is absent in the juvenile Copperhead.

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From Living Alonside Wildlife:

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Cottonmouth patterns are superficially similar to that of Copperheads, but the hourglass bands of a Cottonmouth are not as precise as those of Copperheads: they are messy, the lines are blurred, and sometimes there are other shapes thrown in there as well.

Baby Cottonmouths are as strikingly and vividly patterned as Copperheads, they do not become dark and lose their pattern until later in life. Just because the patterns on a baby Agkistrodon are clear does not mean it is a Copperhead. This is where it's important to see if the hourglasses are messy or not. Again, Copperhead bands are relatively crisp, Cottonmouth bands are not.

Cottonmouths have a dark band on their face that runs through their eye.
Copperheads do not

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Juvenile cottonmouth

I think people, in general, want to see things that are special or rare. Hell, part of me wanted it to be a copperhead just so I could tell people that I saw one. But in reality, the most reasonable answer is probably the correct answer.

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Not that I am defending these people, but it can be surprising how light some cottonmouths are. In my area, they are pretty dark, even when young.

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Yeah, I think a lot of people see dark cottonmouths and think that's what they always look like. They can vary by age, locality, and just by individual. Young ones, especially, do look pretty similar to copperheads in most cases. They're in the same genus and pretty closely related, which is why they CAN (but rarely do) hybridize.

WTF did you do, have a photo shoot with it before decapitating it? Ballsy.

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I think the OB is trying to see how far it can push me before I stab somebody.

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Do it, please! I nominate boat motor bandit as your first victim

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WTF did you do, have a photo shoot with it before decapitating it? Ballsy.

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Sure did. I wasn't that close, though. Gotta love camera quality on these new phones. I actually almost stepped on the thing, right over the top of it barefooted. I saw it out of the corner of my eye and thought it was a stick. But, there shouldn't have been any sticks in that area of the yard.

The snake never moved the whole time.

The inside of the mouth was bright white. It opened up when the shovel got it.