James Slay Greenhorn Posts:4 
| 16 Apr 2015 05:52 AM |
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We encountered a Black Southern Pacific Rattlesnake on the trail at Bautista Placer, as we headed back to our vehicle yesterday 4-15, we weren't wearing snake chaps but will be wearing them next time. Walk with caution and wear your chaps!
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ARTHUR WAUGH Advanced Member Posts:967
| 16 Apr 2015 07:08 AM |
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That time of year again, coming out of the dens.
Look close before you reach or step, will save you some grief. |
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Benjamin Crain Basic Member Posts:351
| 16 Apr 2015 07:20 AM |
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This time of year it's the babies you really have to look out for, they cant rattle and they stay near trails hunting mice. I have lucked out by wearing high boots when I was just standing there and felt something tapping my ankle. I looked down and realized I was standing on it about mid way and it was doing it's best to bite through my leather.
BTW, they make some Snake Bite Gaiters that will cover you up to your knee and they are light weight and easy to put on. In the old days we had to wear those hard plastic things that just plain sucked. Now these new light ones not only protect against snake bite but also help will keep away the cacti thorns. Just look them up online, there are many brands to choose from. |
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James SlayGreenhorn Posts:4
| 16 Apr 2015 08:21 AM |
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If anyone knows of an anti-venom rattlesnake bite kit that they would recommend, I would appreciate any info and/or links to where snakebite kit could be purchased. After a close call yesterday, I'd like to make sure and have one in my pack next time, if there is a lifesaving product out there.
Thank you very much for any and all responses, comments and info on the subject of rattlesnakes, 
James "Dudley" Slay |
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 16 Apr 2015 08:54 AM |
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My Ex-wife whom was an Emergency Room Nurse Practitioner told me a few year back that they quit making the anti-venom and instead just treat the patient. I don't know if she was correct but I haven't seen anti-venom used in years but instead they open the limb to allow swelling and put the patient on dialysis to assist the kidneys in removing the damaged red blood cells and preventing them from shutting down.
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Paul StraubBasic Member Posts:244
| 16 Apr 2015 10:35 AM |
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Check on e-bay they have about 150 snake bite kits listed. also check with places like Bass Outdoors or Cabelas, just about any outdoor or hiking supply store should have them.
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 16 Apr 2015 11:13 AM |
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You actually brought up a very good question. I am from Texas and out in the West we have more Rattlers than any other snake, though Copperheads were around a bit too. Where we used to hunt at was 45 min away from the nearest hospital but only 25 minutes away from the nearest town. We used to say if you get bit don't even bother driving to the nearest hospital, take the time to drive the extra 45 minutes to Abilene Texas if you wish to survive. But with Life Flight much of that has changed and each of us should either put there number in our cell phone or Emergency Frequency in our Ham Radios if out of cell range.
As an old Army Medic I will tell you that each bite is different and some are harmless, but you never know until you get bit. There is a guy that runs a shop Called "Rattlesnake Ranch" and sells live rattlers by the pound, he has been bit more times than he can count and he will tell you that each time you get bit your body reacts worse, you don't become more immune. When I am standing next to him and thousands of rattlers I tend to take his advice.
I have bought "Snake bite kits" since I was a child and I don't know if they work or don't. When you get bit if the venom only gets into the shallow lymph system some of the suction devices might work, the lymph node tourniquet seems to be the best way to slow the venom moving upstream, but you are not going to do anything to stop a deep bite, get to the hospital ASAP if bit.
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James SlayGreenhorn Posts:4
| 16 Apr 2015 01:44 PM |
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Thank you very much to, Arthur, Benjamin and Paul for all of your valuable comments, info and ideas on rattlesnakes and protection from them !
I really appreciate it !!
James "Dudley" Slay
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ADAM ANDREWSGreenhorn Posts:
| 20 Apr 2015 12:33 PM |
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Here's the thing to watch for...Since the Rattlesnakes in the California Mountains & Deserts can be the color of the gravel itself...Watch out for a curled up Cinnamon bun shape in the gravel. That's the ONLY way to notice them, I thought it was a curled up Cow poo at first. It's creepy how the Rattlesnakes blend in with the color of the terrain.  |
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Sonia DunkinsonGreenhorn Posts:22
| 21 Apr 2015 02:33 PM |
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Make some noise also. A startled snake will strike because it feels an imminent threat. If a snake hears you coming, it will often will go the other way, but not always. I have had sidewinders chase me. Cabala's sells good snake chaps and gaiters, but you can usually find them cheaper on ebay. I wouldn't go in the desert without my gaiters, especially when detecting because my headset can muffle a rattle or hiss. |
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Leo LorenzBasic Member Posts:486
| 21 Apr 2015 05:07 PM |
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How often do you actually see them around? I am wondering if at night time when we are camping, will they come around the tents or if its ok to where sandals or flip flops around the tents at night? Is there a certain temperature where its most likely they will not be out in the evening ?
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Leo LorenzBasic Member Posts:486
| 21 Apr 2015 05:07 PM |
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How often do you actually see them around? I am wondering if at night time when we are camping, will they come around the tents or if its ok to where sandals or flip flops around the tents at night? Is there a certain temperature where its most likely they will not be out in the evening ?
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 22 Apr 2015 11:15 AM |
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You are more likely to come across them when detecting because you are covering more ground and running your detector in nooks and crannies they like to sit in during the day to hunt mice. At night I personally have had a larger problem with Copperheads coming out to feed. But rattlers are like gold, they are where they are. If you know where a Den is stay away from the area unless you have chaps, there can literally be thousands of them near a Den area right as the weather is beginning to warm up.
A friend of mine who works oil pipelines told me recently that the Rattlers in Texas have pretty much stopped rattling or even moving when you get close because the wild hogs love to eat them so they stay silent not to alert a hog it's location.
But this time of year it's the babies that scare me, they can't rattle and you just can't see them. Oh, and dusk is the worst time of day to be walking around, it's mainly when they come out to hunt.
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ARTHUR WAUGHAdvanced Member Posts:967
| 22 Apr 2015 12:18 PM |
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As far as in camp, yep, come across a couple. Generally the activity around camp will make them move off, but not a golden rule. As for temps, if it is warm enough for flip-flops, it is warm enough for them to be out and about. When it get hot, they will seek out some shade. They will be out at night, as most of their prey are nocturnal.
If you are in known snake country and wearing flip-flops, IMO, you are testing the odds. May get away with it for a long time, but eventually.......... |
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Leo LorenzBasic Member Posts:486
| 22 Apr 2015 01:43 PM |
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Gee...yea a den of rattlesnakes...now that's a party....I think if you are fortunate enough to know where a den is located....its already too late. I am hoping my knee high boots are high enough, unless those critters can strike above the knee when walking. Do they ever hangout above ground in the sage brush branches....?
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ANDREW GONTERGreenhorn Posts:
| 22 Apr 2015 01:50 PM |
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What length of snake guards should you wear? I bought a pair of the snake guard boots that stop right below the knee. Was wondering if that is coverage enough. I live in Arizona and have heard that some Arizona snakes have attitude unlike most of out sports teams. lol
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Sonia DunkinsonGreenhorn Posts:22
| 22 Apr 2015 08:14 PM |
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When I enlisted in the Army, I was told that our combat boots were the right height to protect us from snake strikes. Some people prefer to buy snake "chaps" that cover the whole leg. My gaiters are just shy of knee high. Yes, snakes do climb trees but I have only witnessed that once...it doesn't seem to be a common thing that they do. They can also climb over a 4' block wall if they are long enough. They are very clever and don't always rattle since it draws unwanted attention to them. Rattlesnakes can also swim and I have seen them in the lake where I live and in swimming pools. Be careful when walking past a rock or ledge as they can be on it and strike your upper body....BUT it is getting hot now, and during the day those snakes will be trying to cool off under a rock, bush or in their den. They move in the early morning and late evening when it is cool. As for wearing flip flops, don't forget the scorpions since we have the bark scorpions here in Arizona and they are the bad ones....small but can make one really sick, especially someone with a poor immune system. I wear gloves and if I need to move a rock when prospecting, I usually kick it first or flip it over with my boot. I have a plastic scoop and rock hammer that I dig with too.
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Sonia DunkinsonGreenhorn Posts:22
| 22 Apr 2015 08:49 PM |
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Stanton has lots of open areas where you can see under the bushes and their are plenty of flat areas to detect on also. I wouldn't worry about the snakes too much, but just be careful. It is hot now and while we are detecting, the snakes will be cooling off underground or in the shade. They do move at night and early morning, but there will be lots of activity in camp so the snakes will avoid that. Your snake guard boots should be fine. |
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ANDREW GONTERGreenhorn Posts:
| 22 Apr 2015 09:12 PM |
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Thank you Sonia for the information. Hope we find afew nuggets while we are avoiding the rattlers
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 23 Apr 2015 09:42 AM |
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As for snakes being able to climb the answer is a BIG YES. The only person I have ever seen bit was my Grandfather when I was a kid. He was trying to climb up a rock outcropping and reached his hand up on a rock ledge and it bit him across the top of the hand. He had more of a scrape than your typical puncture and refused to go to the hospital. That night his arm swelled up as large as one of his legs and he moaned all night long. The next day when he finally went to the hospital we learned that he had a heart attack as well.
He thought because he just got scraped he would be fine, and he was very wrong. Most boots are high enough for your average snake, and knee high gaiters are perfectly adequate. Just remember that during the day they like the rocks, brush, and cactus because it provides shade and protection from predatory birds, but during the evening they get moving, and whatever you do if you get bit, GO TO THE HOSPITAL.
Now when it comes to water moccasins they love climbing trees but y'all don't have those little monsters out West.
As I said earlier I have had one try to bite through my boot because I was standing on it and that was a regular Combat Boot, but my question is can they bite through rubber boots? Frequently when I am working a riverbed I am wearing just rubber boots, they have good height but I don't know if they can get through the rubber??? Anybody have any experience with this?
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Leo LorenzBasic Member Posts:486
| 23 Apr 2015 10:40 AM |
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Ben, that's a good question. I have a pair of thick rubber hip waders that I thought to wear when working in the streams, and if it was really brushy getting into it, seems like that would be somewhat safe to wear while going through the thicker brush. Seems if a snake put his fangs into that he would either get them broken off or stuck to the boot. I wonder if there is any products that can be spread around a campsite which would keep them away.?
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Sonia DunkinsonGreenhorn Posts:22
| 23 Apr 2015 11:03 PM |
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You can buy snake repellent that comes in a half gallon plastic jug and you sprinkle it around your yard or camp. One of the major ingredients is sulfur so it smells bad. I have purchased it at Walmart and Home Depot, but I don't think it is sold everywhere. It only lasts a month (or less if it rains) and costs around $11. I heard and old tale that the cowboys used to stretch a thick hemp rope around their bed roll and a snake wouldn't cross it because the snake doesn't like the feel of the rough rope. I don't know if that is true though.
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ARTHUR WAUGHAdvanced Member Posts:967
| 24 Apr 2015 07:21 AM |
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As far as climbing in sagebrush, yes.
Back in the late 60's as a kid, I was in the sunstone area out of Plush Oregon and saw a nice thumb sized one under a sagebrush right up against the trunk. Not a limb on it for at least a foot and it was about another 18 inches of greenery. Since Mom didn't raise a complete knothead, I reached under with my rock pick to get it out and hit the trunk . Sage started rattling, and down came a 3 1/2 footer headed for a big flat rock and went under. I figure you could see about 4 feet of daylight under my shoes as I threw everything I had at it. Could not hit anything from that high up though.
Real heavy rubber boots might be OK, but I don't think hip waders will be much of a deterrent. Had a guy up by Quincy get sick and die, wife gave his shoes and boots to a friend and everytime he wore the boots he would get sick. They eventually found scratches by one ankle and asked him about it. No idea. What was he wearing...the boots.....they had him bring them in and sure enough they found a fang sticking through the leather just enough to scratch the skin and give him a very light dose. They eventually figured out that was what did in the original boot owner. He wore them when he went down to Spanish Creek below Keddie, and everytime he wore them he would get sicker. |
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 24 Apr 2015 08:02 AM |
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Since my wife is new to the West being from Louisiana she has never had to deal with Rattlers and since she is with me everywhere we go I think this post has convinced me to buy two sets of gaiters just to be on the safe side. I have never thought her boots were high enough being ankle boots, and the added height of protection for myself won't hurt either.
Just don't forget to check your sleeping bag out, and under it, before you settle in for the night, and shake your boots out before you put them on in the morning. During Bivouac training in basic training in Missouri we had a guy almost climb into his sleeping bag with a copperhead sleeping in it, lucky for him he took the time to check like he had been taught.
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Ronald Peterson New Member Posts:97
| 24 Apr 2015 06:45 PM |
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Yes, rattlesnakes are one of many concerns here in the Southwest. There are also other poisonous snakes, scorpions, one poisonous lizard, two poisonous spiders, other insects, cactus needles that can poison you, some four legged animals that can kill you, and of course the elements can get you.
A few years back, the person in front of me while out prospecting went to step down off a large rock. There was a loud hissing sound and then I saw the snakes head come up mouth wide open, nearly flat, striking the bottom of his boot. The snake then made a beeline into some rocks and then started rattling.
My advice is to carry two sidearms, one with shot shells for snakes and the other with solid lead for the four legged and two legged predators.
The first time I did some desert prospecting back in 1979, the locals gave me this advice and now I am passing it on. They told me that unless I was " WISE TO THE WAYS OF THE DESERT DO NOT LEAVE THE MAIN (paved) ROADS ". They also told me that just about everything out there in the desert would, STING ME, PRICK ME, or BITE ME.
Be knowledgeable, be prepared, be safe, and you will have fun out there. Ron |
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ARTHUR WAUGHAdvanced Member Posts:967
| 25 Apr 2015 10:21 AM |
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I generally load a .38 shot shell as the first round for the slithers, and a warning for the others, the other 5 are serious social talking points. But I'd just as soon give the slither a chance to goaway, don't need another hat band at my age.
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Dan KelseyGreenhorn Posts:1
| 30 Apr 2015 10:20 PM |
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Don't know what kind....being from Michigan other then a rattler....up 11 miles north of Quincy CA. Today step right over him before he rattled and my wife saw him...
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ARTHUR WAUGHAdvanced Member Posts:967
| 01 May 2015 05:51 AM |
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Grew up in Quincy. Probably a Western Diamondback If pretty colorful then maybe a Pacific. Huge den on Mt. Hough, and we once saw a track in the silt/dust crossing the road up there that was 7 inches wide. Mom mentioned it to and old Indian friend of ours, and he said, yes, that is "grandfather". All of the indians know of him and rever him.
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Philip BoddyGreenhorn Posts:
| 01 May 2015 01:44 PM |
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I've never heard of "antivenom" being in any kit. It is organic, incredibly expensive, and wouldn't last very long in the old tackle box.
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Philip BoddyGreenhorn Posts:
| 01 May 2015 01:54 PM |
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In the warmer to sunny-side-of-Mercury season in the deserts, snakes generally get all their groceries at night just like humans. In any areas with snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and black widows/brown recluse spiders most camping families I've know have a minimum high top sneaks to boots. Incredibly, the herpetology folks will tell you there are often 3,4, or even 5 snakes around for every one you "see."
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 01 May 2015 02:14 PM |
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Yep, we were out yesterday and did a short walk to a dig site, It's "Baby Rattlesnake" season and what you should look for is things that look like twigs or a small cinnamon role, or you could just not worry and wear some high boots. Snakes can't bite through leather boots, trust me, and the worst time to go out is to a small hike to see the sunset, they are just coming out to feed and will be on the game trails we tend to travel.
You won't have a problem with rattlers unless you just ask for it, and even though my .44mag is loaded with the first round of snake shot, don't kill them unless you have to or get bit, they really do control vermin, and if you get bit you will need to bring the snake with you so the doctor can identify it. But remember this, even if the head is cut off of the snake it can still bite you for hours after it has been cut off.
The first time I killed a rattler it was with a shotgun while bird hunting and I blew it's head clean off. I got back to camp about an hour later and skinned the snake and then cut it open to roast it and sure as hell if the heart was not still beating.
Do your best to give them safe passage and they will do the same, like somebody else said, "Knows the ways of the desert or stay on the main roads."
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Robert ScarboroughNew Member Posts:71
| 07 May 2015 07:01 AM |
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I have read about the "Mojave Green Rattlesnake" (Crotalus Scutulatus) being a different breed of rattlesnake.
Their venom is very potent and very immediate treatment is recommended.
The article said the Mojave Green venom acts on the nervous system (Neurotoxin) and there are 2 types - A and B venom.
It shuts down the nervous system. Especially the nerves for breathing. Sort of like the Cobra Venom.
The best antivenom for a Mojave Green is a product a called CroFab.
This was a Rattlesnake I was warned about a lot by other prospectors and FS Rangers when
I lived in San Diego and later on in Tehachapi.
Most of the other rattlesnakes species (like Diamondback Rattlesnakes) have a Hemotoxin type venom that breaks down the
prey blood and muscle tissue as part of the digestive process that aids the rattlesnake in digesting the prey when it
consumes the whole prey.
This Hemotoxin component is why some bites result in the loss of a finger, hand or other limb component.
The other Rattlesnake species do have a small amount of a neurotoxin in their venom. But, not in the quantities found
in the Mojave Green.
The Mojave Green ( Crotus Scutulatus) is found in Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas and Mexico.
Snake Gaiters and a walking stick can help in preventing a possible strike by one of these critters.
Most of these snakes (pit vipers) hunt by heat sensors and use the night time for the best heat differential between the
prey and the ground temperatures. They come out during the day for sunning until it gets too hot then they retreat
to the shade. They also hide from raptor type birds that like tasty rattlesnake meat during the day.
Look before you step or reach and wear appropriate protection.
Regards and Happy Snake free Trails,
Bob Scarborough P O R (Press On Regardless)
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 07 May 2015 03:31 PM |
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Sonia, people can go to their local pharmacy and sometimes feed store and buy a bag of Sulfur, when I was a kid we would pour it into a sock and then beat your legs with it to keep the chiggers off of you, and if you have ever had a bad case of chiggers you would rather smell like rotten eggs than to experience that again.
I witnessed a head on collision and both vehicles went spinning off into high grass in Texas and I went to render aid, the next day I had a few hundred bites up my legs and by the weekend the number was in the thousands to include the parts we are not going to discuss online.
Sulfur will keep snakes out and many other critters too, Sulfur really does work and you can sprinkle it all around and on your own body to keep out the pests.
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Robert DeMossGreenhorn Posts:20
| 06 Jun 2015 02:09 PM |
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ANTI VENOM ISN'T GOING TO DO YOU ANY JUSTICE. DIFFERENT PEOPLE REQUIRE DIFFERENT DOSES. DON'T TRY TO TREAT YOURSELF. JUST GO TO THE ER.
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 06 Jun 2015 05:26 PM |
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Glad to see this topic come back up again, drove over a rather large one in the Escalante Canyon last Thursday, they are differently out and about and well fed thanks to the rain.
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Joseph Loyd Buzzard Posts:553
| 06 Jun 2015 06:23 PM |
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Ben did you slam on your breaks and slide it .If not some will live depending on were you hit it.
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 06 Jun 2015 06:54 PM |
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I didn't hit it, I drove over it but it coiled up right in the center of the lane. It may have lost a fang or two striking my axles but I can't say I hit it. The one thing that did pass through my mind was how fat this snake was, I mean plump and meaty, probably pretty good eating actually.
Good sized fat snake, colors were beautiful and well marked, which leads me to believe the snakes have more than enough food this year because the rodents have plenty of food. If I had hit it I probably would have turned back for the meat and hat band. We always keep a cooler in the back.
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Leo LorenzBasic Member Posts:486
| 06 Jun 2015 07:36 PM |
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Gee Ben, I get a real kick out of your posts! Very informative as well. I would've never thought about eating one of them, but I guess I would after I've tried one first. Sounds like you could have steaked that one out.!
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Robert DeMossGreenhorn Posts:20
| 07 Jun 2015 08:14 AM |
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2 years ago, my buddy and I were flyfishing on the arkansas near north of salida. On our way back, my buddy was walking point. He yelled out STOP ( ACTUALLY SAID MORE THAN THAT). There is a rattlesnake lying on our path. I looked over and saw a 4ft rattler just sitting there. Of course the jackhole I am, I leaned in with my camera and started taking pictures. All withing striking distance. Luckily the snake was not bothered. We really wanted to get it to rattle. So once again, the jackholes we were, we took our 9ft rods and poked at it to get to rattle. Nope no rattle. So we left after that.
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Leo LorenzBasic Member Posts:486
| 07 Jun 2015 10:02 AM |
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I was out at Rye Patch late October 2014 and with a group of guys MD'ing and we went out at night. Now....I never thought about the snakes being out, and never asked the guys about the issue. They seemed to really like more going out at night because they said it was easier to focus their headlights in specific areas to concentrate directly on the area. But I am still wondering if there is a low temperature cutoff that would likely guarantee that snakes would not be out. Cause out there, it is more open and temps drop at night to 40 or 50. Would think in Arizona it would be a different story. BTW when out detecting....I would rather encounter rodents than poison snakes, thus having the propensity to execute each and everyone I find.
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 07 Jun 2015 04:05 PM |
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I just moved to the Colorado Western Slope from Texas, and now I am learning the weather and wildlife here, but I also spent a few years in Washington and Utah. Coming from Dallas it is the flattest land on earth and nothing but sprawling cities and concrete with a few lakes around town and on the edge of town. Each September 1'st is the beginning of Hunting season for Doves and we all set out to West Texas for dove hunting, and there are always rattlers, sometimes so bad that people refuse to walk. But during mid summer people tend to ignore the bigger problem which has grown all the way into Down Town Dallas and that is the Water Moccasins. Plus during the deer hunt it is usually still warm enough that the Copperheads are still out and they like to feed in camp because that is where the mice and rats are coming to find food.
Each area of the country is different and now that I am here in Grand Junction I am learning the Western Slope just the same way I had to learn everywhere else I have been. Since we moved here three months ago I have seen a badger, heard a cougar, seen plenty of lizards, seen some antelope and prairie dogs, a few mule deer, a rattlesnake, and a whole hell of a lot of introduced Eurasian Ring Neck Dove that crap all over my cars. When I went to visit my father in Utah the problem was even worse and that is because dove are not hunted here and in Utah like they are in Texas, and I fear this introduced species is going to slowly fill in for the Passenger pigeon over time, and they are a nuisance. One thing I noticed strange last week when driving down the canyon is that I spotted three squirrels with long tails, I know Colorado has some but up until now I haven't seen a single one. In Texas you have to shoot and trap squirrels on a regular basis to keep them from destroying your attic, here they are just snake food I assume.
I know the terrain so the least thing I am worried about right now is a Rattlesnake, but that being said I got a hell of a lot of Black Widows and Brown Recluses invading my home, and thank god we have a cat and a dog that detect them when they come in at night and start walking the ceiling. I like to educate people about Rattlers because if you give them space they will return the favor, I don't like killing them because they really control the varmints, but when I have to I always make sure they end up on the dinner table, most of the time they are very meaty and good eating. Just slide the meat off the ribs after being cooked and enjoy, that and they have a nice back strap that can be pan fried in an iron skillet in butter with a little salt and lime that is to die for. I don't care for it breaded and make sure when you cook the back straps people don't watch, because the meat will wiggle around in the pan as it cooks.
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Leo LorenzBasic Member Posts:486
| 07 Jun 2015 04:53 PM |
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Wow...backstrap on a snake?! and ribs too? Seems like that would be the whole darn body of the critter. But sure sounds tasty to me. I can understand the rattlers keeping the camp clean of vermin and such. But way out in the hills and canyons I dont think the vermin really matter as much as having rattlers infesting the favorite panning or detecting site. Spiders getting into the house....gee. I just got back a few weeks ago camping in the eastern Sierra's south of Carson City and several of the days it got cold and rainy and even snowed too. I had the propane Heater Buddy in the tent, which didn't actually have a floor but just a tarp, (it was actually an ice fishing hut made by Clam, but I use it in cold weather as a tent) Well during the night, after the tent got nice and warm...we noticed a couple brown spiders on the wall...and it then occurred to me that the warmth from the tent surely attracted them. Not sure what kind they were but I was thinking likely a recluse. Now I gotta rethink what I do. At night when you shine a headlamp around you can spot those spiders with their glowing eyes in the dark.
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 07 Jun 2015 06:45 PM |
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It reminds me of my days out in the field, always shake your boots and check your bed before you get into them. I can see where the spiders are nesting and if you come out to our place you can see it for yourself, the problem is I have to get underneath it to spray it out and until I buy a painters suit and put on my full face shield I do not care to have them raining down upon me as I use a pressure hose to clear out their nest from right below.
If you haven't eaten rattler you are missing out, they are actually really good. A lot of people will fry them like fried chicken but then it "tastes like Chicken", instead I like to cut the back straps off with a filet knife and use those in an iron skillet with butter, lime, and a touch of salt. It really brings out the flavor, but the rest of the snake is pure muscle and ribs and you just cook it in a Dutch oven slowly and the meat slides right off the ribs and just needs a little salt and pepper, it is really good.
But what ever you do don't try to catch one live like you see on TV, they can drive their fangs through the floor of their mouth directly into your hand, and even if you have control of the head even a 4 foot Rattlesnake is strong enough to close the circulation to your hand by strangulating your forearm and start working it's head out of your grasp. Some people can do it and make it look easy, but even a rattlesnake wrangler will tell you to never attempt to hold a 6ft Rattler, they are just too powerful.
But remember this, hours after you have killed the snake the head can still bite you and will, so don't save it to look at, just blow it off or cut it off and bury it in the dirt. People in camp will want to see the head and fangs if you bring it back and somebody can easily get bit.
Trust me, I know my snakes, as a kid I used to catch them and give them to Biology Classes that had live animals. Every year in Texas when they come out of the dens people go out in waves to catch them and they are then sold to people that eat them, and I have literally seen a cardboard box loaded into the back of a Mercedes with 40 very large Live Rattlers in it. There is not any car on earth I would be caught dead in like that. The purchaser was from China and he paid $3.29 per pound for the live snakes. Look on the Internet about the annual Sweetwater Rattlesnake Round up, if you notice most of all of those snakes are manageable size and can't strike above your chaps, the larger and more dangerous snakes are sold off for food and hides very quickly. But I should also mention, none of the snakes are bred, all of these snakes are caught every year as they come out of their dens in the wild. There is no shortage of these snakes where I come from to say the least.
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Joseph LoydBuzzard Posts:553
| 07 Jun 2015 06:51 PM |
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A true story about running over a rattle snake .I was driving down a road that is known for rattle snkes .It was late Aug.and as I was driving into camp I seen a very large snake in the road at night ,and aia thought I would run over it .That was a mistake just trying too run over it .Make it short I spent the next two and half hours getting that snake out of my engine area of my truck .My brother in law went trough the same thing .That is why I slam on my breaks just before the snake and slide over it.
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Benjamin CrainBasic Member Posts:351
| 07 Jun 2015 11:01 PM |
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Y'all will have to forgive me for my Texan, there is a big difference from running over one and driving over one where I come from.
Joseph,
I hit a possum doing about 75mph on a freeway one night and that thing got stuck in my wheel well until I could come to a stop, it sounded like broken washing machine out of balance, I had possum chunks and blood everywhere. Another time in Southern Utah I saw a trucker come through a heard of sheep at night on HWY12 South of I-70 where it is still Open Range and that poor bastard had sheep guts lodged into every crevice under his rig.
Actually brings back good memories too, there is no place on earth like the top of Boulder Mountain Utah where my father and I used to Elk hunt. Nobody back then ever went to the top so it was like a sanctuary for game and fish, and absolutely beautiful. From what I understand even today the high altitude and weather keep most people off the top that is thick with Elk and some of the best trout fishing on the planet because the mountain has never really been tapped by mankind because it is so isolated in the middle of the Southern Utah Desert, but that was before 4 wheelers so I sure more are venturing up to the top of the mountain now.
If you ever want to truly visit a mountain in North America that creates it's own weather and is so high up it in the middle of nowhere take a road trip there, just make sure you have a serious 4 wheel drive and be prepared to get stuck having to sleep a night or two on top of the high mountain plateau, it creates snowfall year round when the weather says clear skies. 11,000 plus feet and the top is enormous and mostly level. Lets put it this way, I want my ashes to be spread on the top of that mountain, there is something truly special about it. Hopefully when that day comes my family wont have to apply for an EPA permit to spread my ashes, god knows I carry enough hardware internally to require a permit just to cremate me.
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