Slithering snakes and celebrity hunter draw crowds at McAllen expo

IF YOU GO

>> What: 19th Annual Texas Hunters & Sportsman’s Expo.

>> When: Continues 11a.m.-6 p.m. today.

>> Where: McAllen Convention Center, 700 Convention Center Blvd. (near the

junction of South Ware Road and Expressway 83).

>> Cost: $9 for adults and $8 for seniors; children 12 and under admitted free.

>> More info:

http://www.texashunterassociation.com/

http://www.huntinwiththejudge.com/

McALLEN — The crowd stared silently as Joe Martin pulled a writhing rattlesnake off the cold tile floor and grabbed it by the head.

Dozens more slithered around his thick rubber boots, the thrum of their rattles droning out a country song that blared from a nearby speaker.

Using a metal hook, he pried the animal’s jaws open, exposing the reptile’s pink, fleshy mouth.

Martin pushed the hook deeper, extending a loose fang that dropped to the ground.

“They shed their fangs every nine to 10 weeks,” he said. “They have several reserves that move in and the old ones fall out.”

Drops of yellow goop dribbled from the new fangs.

“That’s the venom,” the veteran snake handler said.

Martin’s snake pit was among the main attractions Saturday at the Texas Hunters & Sportsman’s Expo, a three-day event that wraps up today at the McAllen Convention Center. The expo features about 225 exhibits, including Martin’s Snakes of Texas pit.

“That’s cool how his body expands so much,” Nick Estrada, 14, told his younger cousin Damian while watching one of the lazier looking snakes heave with each breath it drew.

Another crowd-pleaser was Julie Mogenis, host of the TV show Huntin’ with the Judge. Mogenis, a Washington, D.C., native, is renowned for being the holder of several world records in whitetail deer hunting.

Visitors at Saturday’s event got the chance to meet her and pitch ideas to her for outdoors adventures that could be featured on her internationally syndicated show. A former municipal judge from Montgomery County, she offers hunting lessons and sometimes features clients on her program.

“That makes the show interesting and unpredictable,” Mogenis said.

Some episodes have been shot in faraway locations like Africa and New Zealand.

“I’m a conservationist,” Mogenis said. “I like to use the show as a vehicle to help people appreciate the outdoors.”

Saturday’s event included plenty of vendors selling everything from sports equipment to leather goods to jewelry.

The expo, hosted by Chris and Justin Curl, has been an annual McAllen tradition for the past 10 years, though the event itself is 19 years old. The Curl brothers took over as coordinators after their father, Jerry, died in 2000.

“We like everything and anything that has to do with fishing, hunting and outdoors,” Chris Curl said.

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Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.