Rattle snake

[megasupermagnum]

salt, pepper and paprika...roll the chunks in flour and fry like you would a fish. Watch out for the bones.

We have a bunch of rattlesnakes along the Missouri river/Lake Oahe. I've met people who have hunted them there, and say they taste great. The problem I've had is I can't seem to catch the things. Normally you don't see them, they only seem to come out in the evening. Every time I find one they quickly turn and try to get away. The Missouri river bank is nothing but cracked mud with a million places for them to hide. The time of year snakes are out is also the busiest fishing time, so there's no reasonable way to shoot them. I can't seem to get within stick range. Maybe one day.

[douglasskid]

Had a large timber ratter on driveway yesterday. Not the first one, but hopefully the last!

[sloughfoot]

Very well said

[sloughfoot]

Very well said
QUOTE=contender1;5447815]To the OP,, I'm glad your granddaughter was not bitten & all is fine. I've caught some big rattlers in Texas myself.

My business is dealing with nuisance wildlife. ADC work.
I get calls on snakes.

Sadly,, too many people have phobias about ANY snake. As noted before here,, the black rat, (black racer, indigos, whatever the local name for that basic species is,) is a non-poisonous species, and actually helps us by eating rodents. And they are one of the few species (here in WNC) that can climb walls & get in overhead places. In general,, they don't mind being inside people's homes & can be quite docile.
Yet,, I get calls from people freaking out about a skin they found in their house. People talk about moving out, selling the house etc. They fail to understand that if you have any form of woods or space for wildlife,, you can & will have all kinds of opportunities to have such critters. And mice are potential disease carriers, as well as rats. Yet the black snake will eat them. PLUS,, the black snake can ALSO kill & eat the poisonous snakes.
Now,, the Australian variety,, is a totally different species.

But in general, the black snakes DO NOT NEED TO BE KILLED. Just remove them & relocate them. But if they are in your house,, you have a FOOD SOURCE such as mice, rats, birds, squirrels, or even bats that they are after.

Rattlesnakes,, while dangerous,, generally do not like to be too close to activity/people. Yes, I do know that in many of the western & south western states they can be more numerous & more active. But in many places,, due to habitat loss, & such, they can be a PROTECTED species,, and are not to be killed.
Here in WNC,, the timber rattlesnake is protected under the "Species of Special Concern" clause of the FEDERAL Endangered list.

Killing them in SOME cases could be a FELONY.

For those folks who "kill all snakes," or whatever,, do you really want to get a felony & lose your gun rights & voting rights over such a trivial thing?

Self defense,, if avoidable,, avoid them. If it's absolutely un-avoidable, then self defense is sometimes acceptable to the LEO's.

Copperheads & water moccasins are not endangered on any lists as far as I know,, and as such,, if around people or presenting danger,, then if you must,, kill them. In my job,, when I get a copperhead,, legally I could relocate them. However,, I'd have to have written permission from the private property owner to relocate them to that piece of property. Nobody wants to accept them, and since it's illegal to put them on State or Federal property,, I kill those. We do not have water moccasins in my area, so they are not an issue for me.

But I guess I get tired of the lack of education by the public in general on snake identification.
Every snake is poisonous according to them.
Every snake is a copperhead to them.
All snakes should be killed to them.

We, as gun owners WISH people would get a proper education about firearms,, so that more folks would understand us & not be so emotionally against them. Yet, many gun owners fail to accept the fact they too could use a little education about snakes & such.

Both snakes & firearms can be dangerous OR non-dangerous. And often, guns are used for good, and snakes do perform a good service to us.

My wife used to be in the camp of; "If you want me to leave,,, just bring a snake in the house. I'll pack up & leave." Well, out of respect for her,, I've only HAD to bring one snake inside for one overnight stay. A python. I sold it the next morning. Yet,, over the 30 years we've been together,, she has learned to accept the FACT that we live in the country, we have snakes around (as well as all other wildlife) and she is no longer so anti-snake.

Education is the key to solving both the snake issues, as well as gun issues.[/QUOTE]

[HWooldridge]

We have a bunch of rattlesnakes along the Missouri river/Lake Oahe. I've met people who have hunted them there, and say they taste great. The problem I've had is I can't seem to catch the things. Normally you don't see them, they only seem to come out in the evening. Every time I find one they quickly turn and try to get away. The Missouri river bank is nothing but cracked mud with a million places for them to hide. The time of year snakes are out is also the busiest fishing time, so there's no reasonable way to shoot them. I can't seem to get within stick range. Maybe one day.

I have killed several with a 3 foot long "stick" cut from a hickory hoe handle. My son and grandson came running into the house one day telling me I needed to get a gun for a rattler in the yard; I grabbed my stick instead (it was closer) and beat his head flat. Never got the chance to coil - that one was about 3-1/2 feet long.

[405grain]

Back when my Grandparents had a cattle ranch in Oklahoma my younger brother went to visit them one summer. He was high school age at the time. There were three water ponds on the ranch, and one day grandpa told my Brother; "There are cottonmouths hanging around the water holes and the cows can't get a drink without danger of being bit. Here's a brick of 22's and a rifle. (a single shot bolt action) Go on out there and shoot them snakes."

My brother went to the task that morning, then returned around noon. He said to Grandpa "I've got some good news, and some bad news." Gramps said "What's the good news?" My brother said "I hit a snake with every shot. Used up the whole brick." Then Grandpa said "Well that's good. What's the bad news?" My brother told him that "I only made it half way around one of the ponds!"

[Armorer77]

I lived in TX for 6 years , killed 2 copperheads from my porch . 1 stump tail moccasin coming across the river towards me .

[Catshooter]

If it's poisonous and I can, I kill it.

Tell that "everything has a place in nature" crap to the parents of a small child that dies from a snake bite. Or the young man who suddenly has $89,000 in hospital bills just for the anti-venom alone.

[megasupermagnum]

If it's poisonous and I can, I kill it.

Tell that "everything has a place in nature" crap to the parents of a small child that dies from a snake bite. Or the young man who suddenly has $89,000 in hospital bills just for the anti-venom alone.

I'll play devils advocate. Here is a study done on the deaths by venomous snakes in the USA from 1989 to 2018. 101 deaths occured by various species. That averages out to 3.48 deaths per year. 83 were male, 14 were female. Only 7 deaths in those years were young kids over a time period of 29 years.
https://scholarlycommons.henryford.c...PCC%20%5B39%5D.

I'm pretty sure more kids die every year from mosquito and tick bites. The fact that nearly everyone who dies of snake bite is 30-60 and male sure tells me snakes only bite when you screw with them. Kids, elderly, and females are somehow practically immune to snakes.

[45_Colt]

I'll play devils advocate. Here is a study done on the deaths by venomous snakes in the USA from 1989 to 2018. 101 deaths occured by various species. That averages out to 3.48 deaths per year. 83 were male, 14 were female. Only 7 deaths in those years were young kids over a time period of 29 years.

The reason for the low death rate is due to anti-venom. Really need to include the months on end folks spend in the hospital after being bitten. Along with further recovery time once home.

45_Colt

[HWooldridge]

A childhood friend of mine was bitten on the thigh when we were in 4th grade. His dog had cornered something under the doghouse but Robert didn't know it was a snake so he knelt down to look. The rattler then popped him above the left knee. This was before EMT services were available so his parents rushed him to Brooke Army Medical Center in their car.

He didn't die but lost a great deal of flesh and had to have a couple of skin grafts - the whole process took so much time that he was held back a grade from missing school. He recovered and was healthy afterwards but suffered a lot of scarring - from both the bite and the grafts; he limped for a few years until everything stretched out. Fortunately, his dad was in the military so most of the cost was probably covered - but I was in the 4th grade and didn't think much about that at the time. All I knew is that it made a mess of his leg - the final scar was about the size of a dinner plate.

[contender1]

I understand the emotional thoughts about people injured or whom have died as a result of a snake bite. I personally know a very good friend who got hit by a timber rattler about 30 years ago. And yes,, he had a rough time with his recovery, due to the time it took to get him to medical care. He and (2) other guys were hunting rattlers at the time.

In my business,, I've dealt with several copperhead bite cases too. In fact, my son's MIL was bitten on the finger last June.

I'm NOT saying sometimes killing a poisonous snake isn't justified or necessary.

I am saying people need to be educated about the different species AND educate themselves about habitat, & what snakes do. We humans often put our own bodies in places a snake happens to be WITHOUT thinking that there might be a snake or other dangerous critter there.

How about bee stings?

Another common thing that can also cause serious health risks & even death. Many people are allergic or even small kids can die from multiple stings.

I'm just saying EDUCATION is the key to preventing a lot of problems. It will NOT prevent all of them, but it sure can reduce things a LOT!!

[Eddie Southgate]

Any poison snake found hanging around my house will soon be a murder victim.

[nicholst55]

My wife found a 2'+ long shed snake skin in our back yard yesterday, and she is NOT pleased by it. She has a severe loathing for ANY type of snake. We lived on Yuma Proving Ground, AZ for five years, and had encounters with more than our share of rattlers. IIRC, there are around 13 different species of rattlers in AZ, and 5-6 live in Yuma County. Fortunately, neither of us has been bitten, and I sincerely hope to keep it that way.

[Winger Ed.]

Years ago, a buddy killed a rattle snake on his property.
I asked him if he was sure it wasn't one of the protected kind.
He told me he wasn't sure, but if it was, it wasn't protected enough.

[atr]

When I was young and working construction up in the hills on the central california coast we would get up early to beat the heat and start. As we unloaded lumber from the stack we would always find rattlers resting in the lumber pile. In the cool mornings they were sluggish so it wasn't to much of a problem to solve.
I grew up along the American River between Sacramento and Placerville (hang town) and we caught a lot of diamond back rattlers when out hunting or fishing along that river. The rattlers also used to hang out under the wild black berry bushes so we were always careful when picking berries.
The do make good hat bands and if cooked with seasoning they taste fine. Joseph Oregon has a festival each year, or used to, where they cooked lots of rattle snakes killed on their annual snake roundup.

I am glad the young lady did not get bitten.
best
atr

[.429&H110]

Back when dirt was new, my grandmother lived in Deland FL. There was/is "no shooting" in city limits. When she saw a snake, BANG!, the sheriff would show up and write her a $5 ticket. She said it was worth it.

I have here a eight foot piece of 3/4 pvc with paracord loop through, I fished ol' coontail #10 out of the oleanders last week. They don't mind until the noose is drawn tight. Neighbor says the skin peels off inside out, no luck so far, the skin tears.
That would be 10 rattlers in this yard in three years, my big gopher snake was hit by a car.
Lizards eat the squash flowers, snakes eat the lizards, roadrunner eats the snakes.
My bug guy said if he poisons the crickets, the scorpions will leave. It's a zoo.

[Cast10]

Down here in Texas, we got lots of bell boys! Two words for ya; SNAKE BOOTS.

Couple of years ago, I was hit 4 times on the ranch by rattlers. It was a wet year and grass was high all over. Always be on the look out for snakes. Oh, another good set of words, Shot shells in your favorite handgun!

[wgr]

Well i have a bad breathing problem and can not hear much of any thing, So most things move in tall grass are in troble

[sparky45]

I understand the emotional thoughts about people injured or whom have died as a result of a snake bite. I personally know a very good friend who got hit by a timber rattler about 30 years ago. And yes,, he had a rough time with his recovery, due to the time it took to get him to medical care. He and (2) other guys were hunting rattlers at the time.

In my business,, I've dealt with several copperhead bite cases too. In fact, my son's MIL was bitten on the finger last June.

I'm NOT saying sometimes killing a poisonous snake isn't justified or necessary.

I am saying people need to be educated about the different species AND educate themselves about habitat, & what snakes do. We humans often put our own bodies in places a snake happens to be WITHOUT thinking that there might be a snake or other dangerous critter there.

How about bee stings?

Another common thing that can also cause serious health risks & even death. Many people are allergic or even small kids can die from multiple stings.

I'm just saying EDUCATION is the key to preventing a lot of problems. It will NOT prevent all of them, but it sure can reduce things a LOT!!

I get it; but HOW on Earth do you educate a Snake?