Rattlesnakes while hunting

[Mudder]

Pictures are the last thing on my mind when I happen across a Rattler. I got bitten once and have a healthy respect for them. I was hacking at brush, stuck my brush hook under the bush, and came out with a Pacific Rattler hanging off my glove. I didn't even get a full dose and it was bad. I was allergic to the anti-venom and the Docs spent days trying to suppress the venom and not kill me with the anti-venom.

I was walking up Mailbu Canyon (behind the famous Malibu beach) when two naked, very nicely endowed, young women come running by screaming Rattlesnake. They had been nude sunbathing on a large flat volcanic rock. I walk up to the rock, mostly black with some grey splotches and was looking for the Rattler. I found myself looking it right in the eyes from around 18 inches. The coloration of the Rattler made it nearly invisible on that rock. The first time I'd ever seen a mostly black Rattler.

I kill them when I find one on a well traveled trail, anywhere else I just keep my distance.

I had a Black Mouthed Cur female who could smell them and would point when she found one. She wouldn't point much of anything except snakes, which was fine by me.

 

[midwesthunter]

None for me out west yet, hopefully it stays that way on my son's southern NM deer hunt

 

[wyoboypt]

Too cold to rattle.

 

[NEW PA MT MN]

The only rattle snake I have ever seen is not while hunting but while visiting cenotes and Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. We were on a back road outside Uxmal and a big one was crossing the road. Pictures crap cause my son wouldn't get out of the jeep and get a better one.

 

[NYyotekiller]

Back about 15 years ago I was doing a boundary survey for a game preserve that raises timber rattlers and releases them into their woods. The manager of the place saw that we had our machetes on our sides that we use to clear line of sight and tells me that he ”hopes those machetes aren’t for killing his snakes, because they’re endangered. It’s against the law”. So I told him that I’d be endangered to if one bit me. He didn’t know what to say after that and just told me to be careful in the cool mornings because they wouldn’t be able to warn us of their presence when walking up on them.

Only good snake is a dead one as far as I’m concerned....especially rattlesnakes. Words of wisdom from my grandfather.

 

[Elkmagnet]

It was near 0° Doing some coyote setups when I almost stepped on this one last winter.
Fortunately for me he was frozen sold. I thought about sneaking him into the back seat of my buddies truck in hopes of a well timed resurrection but thoughts of an Ill timed resurrection straightened me out.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Never seen one while hunting but my friend seeing one helper me get my best antelope. It was getting close to lunch and I was walking through some knee high grass along a dried creek. I was hunting for a decent spot to sit and eat in the shade when I remembered the large rattler my friend saw the day before. It was warmer so I couldn't bring myself to stop and quickly moved up the hill to short grass and sage. About the time I got to the top and was sweating in the 80 degree sun I was cussing my cowardice. That was until I glanced on the other side of the hill and saw my buck and his harem.

 

[Mudranger1]

This is the only 1 I have a picture from in Florida. Saw a few monsters but that was way back before camera carrying days

 

[dirtclod Az.]

On the coldest morning in April it was about 55 degrees. I wasn’t even thinking about snakes. As we were driving in the middle of no where to go for a hike there was about 40 vultures circling. The area we were in is heavily used by illegal aliens, so I thought it could be a body, and if not that, maybe a big dead head buck. 20 steps out of the Jeep, I stepped on this guy.
View attachment 141961
I got back in the Jeep and never figured out what the vultures were for. Oh well. Whatever it is was already dead.

Later that day we saw this guy.
View attachment 141962

Just needed a tortoise to make a reptilian trifecta.

Anyone tried to eat a Gila Monster? I haven't even see one in my few virgin like years in Az.
I know there protected...

 

[JFish]

Thought I would revive this thread because I know everyone loves rattle snakes. For the second year in a row in an area I hunt very hard in the fall and never see a snake, I came across one while hanging cameras. Of course just like last year when I saw one, my wife was with me. She is a magnet for all animals dangerous and/or scary. This time she waited on the trail while I went off into the woods to hang a camera. I got a text saying “There’s a snake”. I hurried back because I was afraid what would happen to me if I didn’t respond to the scene in what she perceived was a timely manner. Turns out this very plump rattler decided to emerge from the brush and cross the path a couple of yards from where my wife and dog were waiting. I went up to it to grab a picture expecting it to rattle but it instead hissed at me which was much more terrifying. It was a tense walk back to the vehicle.

 

[Shangobango]

^^^^ That's a fatty.

 

[manitou1]

I almost stepped on one in WY a few weeks ago. He did me a favor and rattled before I put my foot down.
Two years prior in WY, I came face to face with one on a rock ledge. Lucky he didn't nail me right in the kisser. Both were at 6000'.

 

[brockel]

I let very few rattlesnakes get away. Working around loud equipment all day with ear muffs on makes it tough to know when the dirty buggers are around.

About as big as they get in eastern Montana

 

[jrabq]

This little guy was in my antelope blind couple weeks ago. I was not paying attention when I got in the blind, very lucky I didn't stick my hand right in front of him because I had been rearranging some stuff. I'm not particularly scared of snakes but I don't like being surprised. I scooted him out of the blind with my bow, then made sure he left the area.

 

[mtmuley]

That's a Booner brockel. mtmuley

 

[Walkathon]

@brockel Yikes. How old was the one that you have in your hand? (rattle) I've run into a few in Eastern Mt, and WY, but never one with that many rattles, or that big.

 

[WyoDoug]

@brockel Yikes. How old was the one that you have in your hand? (rattle) I've run into a few in Eastern Mt, and WY, but never one with that many rattles, or that big.

Unless you are a biologist and do some lab tests that I am not aware of you can't accurately age rattle snakes. You can estimate it by counting the number of rattle segments which are gained each time a rattler sheds which is usually 2-4 times a year. Keep in mind that sometimes a rattler will lose rings on the rattles for various reasons too.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Unless you are a biologist and do some lab tests that I am not aware of you can't accurately age rattle snakes. You can estimate it by counting the number of rattle segments which are gained each time a rattler sheds which is usually 2-4 times a year. Keep in mind that sometimes a rattler will lose rings on the rattles for various reasons too.

Rattlesnakes get a new segment on their rattle every time they shed.
It all depends on the range conditions ie, how much food they consume at any given time.
I have found small snakes with a lot of rattles and large snakes with very few.

 

[jbogg]

The only venomous snakes I have seen in the North GA mountains are Copperheads and Timber Rattlesnakes. The buck berry and blue berry bushes are so thick here that it’s almost impossible to watch where You step so the turtleskins gaiters go on every time.

 

[WyoDoug]

If you told me unit A was loaded with grizzly and unit B was full of snakes I'm going head first into unit A no question. I dont know what it is but I am deathly afraid of snakes!

I would go into either one just because that may mean fewer hunters LOL. Typical road hunters are kind of skeered of grizzlies. And snakes, hell with that, they might become a snack at hunting time.