Almost stepped on a rattler today

[OS OK]

It sorta gives ya the shivers just thinking about stepping on a rattler...

This one is missing the business end of his head due to a pass through of the .45ACP.

[bayjoe]

I was working in Iowa and my wife killed these 2 by our front door
And we live at almost 6,000 feet elevation

[Riverpigusmc]

Here is Deep South Texas, we have some big and not so big rattlers. We also don't have the cold weather needed to drive them into a den, therefore they are a year around problem.

There is only one snake country rule: Don't put your feet or hands anywhere your eyes have not gone first.

This. And snake boots. My house is surrounded by woods, I have coral snakes and eastern diamondbacks in my yard at times

[TCLouis]

bayjoe
6,000 asl ain't even high enough elevation to be snattlerake free.

[bob208]

a while back I was moving some tin. picked one piece up an there was a snake about 1 1/2 feet long. looked a little strange deep copper color arrow shaped head with a deep copper spot on its head. yep a copperhead first one I ever ran into in the wild.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup there down there but pretty rare. One good thing about the UP is its just to cold for poisonous snakes and spiders. doesnt break my heart. I cant stand them!!

I have a friend that used to host an outdoor show on a PBS station here in Michigan. He had been assured that there were no rattlers of any kind here in lower Mich. by our DNR. My friend was fishing under an old bridge on a gravel side road when he almost stepped on a rattler. He killed it with a rock and bagged it up. He drove 25 miles to the local DNR office and put the bag on the lobby desk and asked the wide eyed officer to identify just what this was. It measured almost 40" long with a now flat head. This incident happened 10 years ago back in `08.Robert

[LandSurveyor]

In my business, and especially here in the Deep South, this is all too common. To this day, I have a rattler skin in my office.

Snake boots are good advice but they can be expensive and not necessarily the most comfortable boots for walking. My last pair came from a site called snake boots.com. They have a good selection. Gaiters are less expensive and you can wear them over your favorite footgear. Look for the kind with a "tongue" over the instep. The hard plastic kind bang on the instep.

The ones I came across at work usually succumbed to a bush ax but a pistol with snakeshot is better. Avoid rim fires, even 22 magnum. Not enough shot for effective pattern density.

Smaller shot is better. Less chance of ricochet and again, pattern density. Don't worry about penetration; at the 10' max effective range, even the tiny shot will do the job. My favorite is the commercial 9mm with the blue cup. They appear to hold #12s and a lot of them. 38/357 and larger calibers seem to be loaded with #9s.

I believe Speer still sells the shot cups in several calibers.

Whichever you opt for, try them in your gun to see if it delivers an effective pattern.

Finally, awareness is your best defense and remember that many people get bitten because they saw the snake and then messed with it. If possible, back away and go elsewhere. Don't go after the snake.

[jmort]

"Avoid rim fires, even 22 magnum. Not enough shot for effective pattern density."

Absolutly not true. I had a dedicated Rossi single shot .22 mag rifle as my dedicated snake/pest gun. Out of the approximately 100 rattlesnake I killed, it accounted for about half. The .22 mag in a rifle with CCI shot will destroy a snake's head. Body shots were fatal, but not immediate. No further action needed. When I used a round-point shovel to kill ths snake by severing the head, I always had to do some follow-up head chopping so the dogs were safe. The round-point shovel is perfect for snake killing and picking up the left-overs.

[Down South]

I've terminated many rattlesnakes and copperheads in the woods around here through the yrs. This is the time of the year here they start moving, I assume looking for a den for the winter?

[nicholst55]

Rules to avoid snakes:

1. LOOK where you're going - walking, about to walk, sit, or whatever. A snake may have already taken up residence there.
2. Wear snake gaiters when out and about.

I quickly developed these two rules when we lived at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ. AZ has 13 species of rattlesnakes, and Yuma County has 6 out of the 13. They are prevalent on and around YPG, and can get ANYWHERE. During the 3 years we lived in our last house, we killed one rattlesnake, and had two relocated from our small yard, right on the edge of the desert. Those are just the ones we saw! The guys who worked out on the gun positions and other test areas saw rattlers nearly every day. One of my coworkers had one in his office. The Biologists assured us that we had all walked over the top of snakes without seeing them.

[rancher1913]

around here they don't rattle any more. somehow along the way there was one or two that did not use their rattle for whatever reason and all the ones that rattled got killed so now we have a goodly number that make no noise until they strike. we are working on thinning their numbers.

[CLAYPOOL]

2001 - near Bad lands South Dakota, Shooting Prairie dogs. 35 back to Kadoka, 60 or so to rapid City. ( Snake Med's there). Buddy walks down 2 track. standing there he says do you hear that rattler behind you. I said sure. lets go bet him. I say, go ahead he's been back there all morning. By the way you can see the ground there in short grass Prairie... He ain't bothering me...

[CLAYPOOL]

Can't see the ground

[wgr]

Here in Indiana they are protected( rattlers)that is . will plain high leather boots stop a rattler bite

[Dale53]

This thread brings to mind a situation I ran into a number of years ago. I and my family were staying in a cabin at a Northern Ohio State Park. We were hiking along a popular trail not far from our cabin. We saw some agitated people just ahead of us. When we got to the area of the small gathering, I discovered a small child backed up against a big tree, terrified. There was a medium size copperhead snake coiled and ready to strike the boy. There were several adults, including his father that were paralyzed with fear watching the thing unfold. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I quickly, as in QUICK, looked around, saw a branch off a tree close by. I grabbed the branch, jumped and smashed the snake killing it instantly.

I had to really control myself. I really wanted to slap the adults, but didn't. I kept my mouth shut, but it was not easy. I could hardly believe the inaction on the part of those adults. MY aged grandmother would have taken that snake out INSTANTLY! I mean that.

Oh well, all's well that ends well, they say...

FWIW
Dale53

[Riverpigusmc]

around here they don't rattle any more. somehow along the way there was one or two that did not use their rattle for whatever reason and all the ones that rattled got killed so now we have a goodly number that make no noise until they strike. we are working on thinning their numbers.

feral hogs will eat a rattler in a second...and feral hog population is exploding...and the rattlers are learning....

[jmort]

Here in Indiana they are protected( rattlers)that is . will plain high leather boots stop a rattler bite

Protected means kill it and do not talk about it.
There are a lot of snake boots and lower leg protectors that will keep you safe

[LandSurveyor]

"Avoid rim fires, even 22 magnum. Not enough shot for effective pattern density."

Absolutly not true. I had a dedicated Rossi single shot .22 mag rifle as my dedicated snake/pest gun. Out of the approximately 100 rattlesnake I killed, it accounted for about half. The .22 mag in a rifle with CCI shot will destroy a snake's head. Body shots were fatal, but not immediate. No further action needed. When I used a round-point shovel to kill ths snake by severing the head, I always had to do some follow-up head chopping so the dogs were safe. The round-point shovel is perfect for snake killing and picking up the left-overs.

I guess I never thought of using one with a rifle. For a while, Marlin, I think, made a smoothbore bolt rifle called a Garden Gun. I don't recall if it was in 22M or just LR. In my case, carrying the pistol was a matter of convenience since I was carrying other equipment and a long gun would have been unhandy.

[Idaho45guy]

I used to be a park ranger and patrolled 130 miles of the Snake River on the Idaho/Washington border.

Part of the job included dispatching rattlesnakes that showed up in recreation areas.
No firearms allowed so I had to use a shovel. Killed a few.
One time, me and another ranger were on jet boat patrol way down river. We we're inspecting a riparian area that was about ten acres of tall grass and sage brush. There was a trail that went around the edge and we stayed on it to avoid the snake filled grass.
We were half way around when we got an emergency call and had to get to the boat ASAP.
We could backtrack on the trail, which would take 15 minutes, or cross the field in two, if we sprinted. In shorts.
We chose the field.
Got to the boat and I had fang drag marks down my shin from a rattler trying to get me.
Still have the scar.

[Love Life]

My brother and I brought a baby rattler home when we were kids. Mom gave us a whooping with a wooden spoon. We still tried to catch them after that, but never brought one home again!!