Going out alone?

[taternut]

Lately I've been wanting to go out, I've gotten invitations to go out with others but I work so often that it's hard to meet up with others. Anyways in my area rattlesnakes are well known, what do you guys use in defense to them? Also I don't use headphones so I can hear them.

 

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[Fletch88]

Snake boots and headphones on right ear only. I just can't hunt without headphones, I like to keep TH just barely audible that I can't do without headphones.

 

[midnightmoon]

I use Snake Guards.

After purchase I read that a snake may become entangled by his fangs in the material.

That is an awful thought.

What, now I've got to carry around hedge pruners to snip off the snakes?

Sssssssss.

 

[huntsman53]

Double rolled screen door wire works great for both boot protectors, lower and upper leg protectors and don't forget arm protectors (these are needed as well when digging and picking up rocks and Gold)! They are light weight and unlike snake boots or snake chaps, they are cooler as the protected parts of the body can get air and not overheat and sweat. Double roll the pieces and stitch with nylon string. Attach upper leg pieces to your' belt with string, rope or other, pull lower leg pieces up well into the upper leg protectors (i.e. so the upper leg pieces overlap the lower leg pieces by about 2 inches but ensure that they are long enough to cover as much of your' boots as possible (Rattlesnakes usually strike higher than the top of your' boots but it is best to err on the safe side). You can make one piece protectors for your' lower arms or go with two pieces to cover the lower and upper arms.

A Rattlesnake or any other poisonous snake's fangs can usually not penetrate even single wrap of screen door wire but it is best to double wrap just to be safe! Also, I am not talking about the nylon screen door wire that is used most often today on screen doors, I am talking about the actual metal screen door wire.


Frank

 

[Goldwasher]

Double rolled screen door wire works great for both boot protectors, lower and upper leg protectors and don't forget arm protectors (these are needed as well when digging and picking up rocks and Gold)! They are light weight and unlike snake boots or snake chaps, they are cooler as the protected parts of the body can get air and not overheat and sweat. Double roll the pieces and stitch with nylon string. Attach upper leg pieces to your' belt with string, rope or other, pull lower leg pieces up well into the upper leg protectors (i.e. so the upper leg pieces overlap the lower leg pieces by about 2 inches but ensure that they are long enough to cover as much of your' boots as possible (Rattlesnakes usually strike higher than the top of your' boots but it is best to err on the safe side). You can make one piece protectors for your' lower arms or go with two pieces to cover the lower and upper arms.

A Rattlesnake or any other poisonous snake's fangs can usually not penetrate even single wrap of screen door wire but it is best to double wrap just to be safe! Also, I am not talking about the nylon screen door wire that is used most often today on screen doors, I am talking about the actual metal screen door wire.


Frank

I am now picturing a Knight of the roundtable with a metal detector.......wondering where all the signals are coming from......we had a vector control person come out to our house in the spring....to spray for mosquitos....she told my wife that she got the areas she could but, couldn't get much more because she didn't have her snake boots. My kids play out here all the time and I weed eat, cut brush and all manner of things that require beer drinking and never snake boots....tater just be careful...don't put your hands own into anty blind nooks and crannies watch where you walk...and if you can do it comfortably where your headset with one earcup off your ear.

 

[mamabear]

AAGGhhh visions of snakes tangled in snake guard!!

 

[trinityau]

Hey Taternut, yes we do have lots of rattlesnakes in our area. I myself have never worn snake guards as they are too prohibitive. On a normal summer I run across probably forty to fifty, however I am out almost everyday and I am at locations that most people don't frequent. What I do in our area is hunt particular types of ground during the summer and the rest during the winter. This helps to keep the snake encounters to a minimum. I am always crawling through manzanita and because of that my odds go up greatly. I am use to coming up on them while on my knees or belly trying to dig a target out. If you will stay away from the high grassy areas, especially along rodent routes near the dry water courses, that will help a lot.

Most of the rattlers I run across are the Blacktail variety. These normally don't get too big. I will tell you that there are bigger out there. I have been told by "learned" people and read lots of books that say the common Blacktail is all we have from Sacramento and north. I don't care what they all say I have friends that will back me up when I say that we also have what are locally known as Valley Timbers or Valley Rattler. These are not your normal California Blacktail. The colors are off, the patterns are off, they are more aggressive and yes, they get really big. A friend and I were detecting fairly open ground one day and we noticed these wide drag marks in the dirt leading to holes near a pile of broken bedrock on a bench. We had also noticed on earlier trips that there were no game trails on this bench, the birds did not even land in this area. It was like a dead zone. Well one day as we were walking along the opposite side of the draw both of us caught movement to our left and up on the bench. The movement turned out to be a large Rattlesnake about eight feet long and was going back into one of the holes. By the time we got over there we both think that we both figured about fourteen large buttons before it disappeared. The rattles themselves were probably about eight to nine inches long. We were able to smell a very distinct odor from this snake also. I don't know if it was a den underground or what. We have not been able to catch a glimpse of it again. I will get a picture one day. I really doubt that I could put both hands around the middle of this snake.

I have also had a few times when I have been checking my equipment out and found something hard and sharp stuck to either my coil or coil cable. These sharp items were broken off fangs, not large but still fangs. I have no clue when it might have happened, could have been yesterday or last week.

Around the Redding area do not try to climb up and out of the side of any gulch during snake season. Continue to go up or down the gulch and find a route where you can see where your hands and feet are as you are in movement. I think the closest I have ever come to having a heart attack was a few years ago as two friends and I were going up a fairly steep bedrock course. I was in the lead and had just put my right hand down on the side wall to steady myself when I set my other hand down without looking. As soon as I felt movement I knew what was going on. Just as fast I looked I squeezed my left hand and to my horror picked up a rattlesnake with my hand around his neck. I dropped down to the gully floor still holding the snake and hollered at George and Robert. It took a split second for them to realize what had happened. I held on to the critter for a few minutes till I calmed down and found a direction I could fling it without having it fall back down into the gully. Luckily my detector stayed in place without falling as it probably would have broken something. After we all sat down for cool water we were up and moving again. Within minutes we were out of the gully and had found some diggings. I did really well that day and because of the gold I just about forgot to tell the wife what had gone on when I got home.

So yes, take care while out about in our beautiful area as we are not the only inhabitants. I try not to kill a rattlesnake unless it is near a trail, picnicking area or it is just too aggressive. Another point to remember is that some years are banner years for rattlesnakes and you will see more than in other years. Another observation that have come across is that you will see some rattlesnakes that do not have rattles for some reason or another. Keep your eyes open... Here is a picture of the Rattlesnakes that gave me grief so far this year. This year has been a banner year so far and just right in the middle of it. Thanks, TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS




Fletch88 "Snake boots and headphones on right ear only." you must be sight to see... LOL


Pvillehunter If you had a unit with fantastic discrimination it would not be so bad. LOL

 

[taternut]

Damn an 8ft snake in our area? That doesn't sound fun, lol. Is there a rough time when they start coming out? I don't know much about snakes as I kind of have a snake-phobia lol and never wanted to learn haha. So say I go out at sunrise is that lowering my chances of running into them because its still cool outside? Or either way they're out there because it is summer?

 

[Goodyguy]

I'm pretty funny looking with my DIY corrugated plastic drain pipe snake guards on.

They either scare the snakes away or else they die laughing.

 

[huntsman53]

I am now picturing a Knight of the roundtable with a metal detector.......wondering where all the signals are coming from......we had a vector control person come out to our house in the spring....to spray for mosquitos....she told my wife that she got the areas she could but, couldn't get much more because she didn't have her snake boots. My kids play out here all the time and I weed eat, cut brush and all manner of things that require beer drinking and never snake boots....tater just be careful...don't put your hands own into anty blind nooks and crannies watch where you walk...and if you can do it comfortably where your headset with one earcup off your ear.

This may seem a joke to you but a large majority of the time, a Rattlesnake will get you before you get it! Besides, you are not supposed to swing the coil near your' legs. You should be swinging it in a wide half circle pattern. Just like where "trinityau" prospects, we also have very large Black Timber Rattlesnakes here. The adults average 6' to 8' and some have been known to grow to around 10' long and they can strike a person from nearly the same distance away as their' length. A friend in West Virginia catches Black Timber Rattlers to sell and while trying to show a person an 8 foot long Rattler that he had in a 100 pound grain sack, the snake actually sprung almost completely out of the sack by launching itself with it's tail. My friend was able to catch it behind the head almost 2 feet out of the sack and just before it was able to bite the person he was showing it to.


Frank

 

[huntsman53]

I'm pretty funny looking with my DIY corrugated plastic drain pipe snake guards on.

They either scare the snakes away or else they die laughing.

Just like you, I would rather look funny than look stupid dead! Prospecting far away from civilization, you seldom get a second chance if you suffer a Rattlesnake bite.


Frank

 

[Oakview2]

Get yourself a pawnshop single action 22 with some birdshot. A shovel works great, but not great for carrying. A friend made me a snake pole out of and old ski pole, Notch the end and rivet a flate piece of sharpened iron, pins them down and pops the heads right off. Last time out at the claim ran into a large rattler and he kept hanging around where we working. Didn't bring a snake gun and ended up shooting it with a short barrell shotgun with a one ounce hollow point. What a mess, but very effective

 

[63bkpkr]

Tater, it is high time you found yourself in a Library or at least on the internet to Learn a minimum amount about rattlesnakes in our area of NorCal. They come out sometime in the spring after it is a bit warmer. Babies can be dropped sometime in June and those little farts are worse than the adults as they do not rattle and they inject all the venom they have at the first bite! There is a time of year when the rs's molt, loose their outer skin, their moods turn ugly at that time. Well, how would you feel if your skin was drying up and falling off All Over your body! Also I seem to recall their eye sight gets worse during the molt and that makes them extra perturbed, there a nice "p" word.

Along the NFAR we used to camp at a spot that had a permanent snake den and the big ones were quite large, never saw the entire snake but anything over three feet long well, one tends to have bad dreams. It does smell "very reptile" around a snake den!!!!! Good advice about watching where one puts their hands and legs. OH-big time flash here-along the NFAR you will find sections with large leafed water loving plants, likely around boulders and possibly at the edges of pools and slow flow areas. The shade from these plants is often enjoyed by the rattlesnake of the areas from about 11:30 am to say 2:30PM. I was camped at a sort of Oasis with lots of these big leafed plants growing all over and I walked through them each day to my dig site. Once I started to step down and something in my brain warned me to stop. I did, backed up and used my hiking staff to move one of those big leaves out of the way and sure enough there was ole rattlesnake laying there minding its own business but if I'd continued walking I would have almost stepped on it and most likely it would have struck. I was way the heck out back of No Where on an especially mean long trail and even though I always carry a snake bite kit with me, their venom attacks nerve endings and tissue and is painful so I'd rather not have to use the kit. My hiking staff is a touch over six feet long and I use it to lift them up and move them out of the way. They serve a good purpose by keeping rodents and insects in check unfortunately all snakes eat fish and I consider that to be a snake sin!

One year while wandering up a side canyon I saw a group of light skinned snakes I'd never seen in that canyon before or since and never anywhere else along the NFAR. One of them even made a run at me, it was the first to fall to my 44 mag shot shells, back then I was carrying just a little pop gun. So yes even .22 bird shot rounds will calm a rattlesnake right down, at least for awhile, and that gives you time to leave, drop a rock on it, hit it with a log/stick or stomp the snot out of it if you feel inclined to get in close and personal with a snake in pain. It is best to go around them or gently move them with a long pole but there are times when they just will not take no for an answer. I've had a rattlesnake take a run at me, I've had a molting rs buzz so hard at me it almost shook the ground but it had no intentions of coming at me so I left it alone. Meeting up with one as you are 'free climbing' up a hill is not good so watch where you put your hands and pay attention as you are coming up over the top of a ledge as there could be a rs sunning or shading itself, had that happen as well. I've never been bitten in 50 years of hiking the NFAR.

Oh, on one rafting trip when one member who'd been told NOT to hike the high cliffs DID, he came across a buzzing rs and chose to jump from one cliff edge to another. The drop was several hundred feet down, be careful on cliffs. Holes in the rock along cliff trails can also contain rs's. They will usually just pull themselves very tightly into the back end of the pocket and let you walk on by but pay attention to what the trail is like around you. I've had them crawl placidly within three feet of me as they made their way over to water, same along the bushes at the trails edge. We are too big for them to eat so they are not going to bite us for food but we are big enough to harm them and they will protect themselves and that is what usually happens. Be careful around downed logs along the river and in the river valleys actually, anywhere around here be careful/watchful for snakes and and listen for buzzes. Do Not be constantly on the outlook for them or you will drive yourself nuts. Now, go find out some real information on rs's from a good source. Stay safe, carry a snake bite kit and know how to use it long before you need to.................63bkpkr

 

[DizzyDigger]

Tater: All good advice, above. Being prepared, planning your hiking route though the
area with the least vegetation and watching your every step.

Like others here, I grew up around the desert and high timbered areas of S. Cal and Nevada,
and snakes anywhere in those regions can be thickeranhell at times. Mojave Green's
and young rattlers rarely rattle (even if they have 'em), and the Green's can be found just
about anywhere south of Fresno (don't know of many up north, but someone please correct
if I'm wrong). These snakes have to be SEEN to be noticed, and Green's are notorious for
curling up on top of some shrubby, 6" tall weed, and they're damn tough to see unless you are
really paying attention as you move through the sagebrush.

Tater, if you haven't spent much solo time out in the high-desert country (or any remote
areas), then I'd like to make a suggestion that could be of help to your becoming more aware
of your surroundings and the natural goings on of the life around you.

We live in a very noisy world today, especially in any city area. Traffic, sirens, cars, jets
flying overhead, etc. all add to the ambient noise levels that a huge mass of people create
simply by being all localized in one area. Now, when you completely change environments,
the noises that make up the ambient sounds have all changed completely. In the city everyone
is always in a hurry (for whatever reason), but out in the wilds things don't need to go quite
as fast. In general, Mother Nature's not in any big rush, and the pace of things overall is much,
much slower than in the cities.

Take a few minutes and "change gears" before heading out to start detecting. When we go
from big city to the woods, we're much more likely to miss something (or sound) that is
out-of-place if our minds are still mentally running with all that city racket bouncing
around in our skulls. We can't hear something if we're not listening for it, and although
we'll sense the most obvious of sounds and movements around us, the odds are high
we're going to miss that small movement in the bush, or subtle sound that means danger
lies ahead.

Just before I start hiking, I like to find a quiet spot and just sit there, relaxing and concentrating
on hearing/sensing the natural sounds of the area. I want myself to slow down mentally,
and get myself in tune with the surroundings around me. We are an animal, too, but out here
we are in the living rooms of other critters, some of which may not be very hospitable hosts.
Up here the biggest concern is bears and cougars, as there are very, very few poisonous snakes
in NW Wash. Not only do the critters up here want to protect their turf, there's a few that
would also like to invite you as the main course for dinner..

In addition, I'm severely hearing impaired with only one working ear and another one that's
"not well". I use Black Widow headphones, so being aware and in-tune with my surroundings
at all times is critical. Sometimes it's detect for a minute, then stop, take the headphones off
my ear, take a good look around while listening a bit for anything out of place.

Never a need to be in a big hurry out in the wilds. Take your time, go slow and you'll also
find more gold because you'll detect spots that otherwise might have been unseen or passed
up.

All that great advice from the other posters is probably enough to keep you safe. I also
believe that helping yourself to "tune in" to the natural surroundings, first, will give you
an extra edge when it comes to noticing the sound or motion of some deadly rattlebear
who's displeased at your trespassing in his hood.

Hope that's of help. Maybe I'm an oddball, but melting off all that noise and stress
so I can relax and safely enjoy the day makes it all worthwhile.

Mis Dos Centavos...

 

[Hard Prospector]

Early July, I was backing in the eastern Sierra and while making my way down into a steep canyon suddenly felt a "slap" on my right calf, THEN I heard the rattle. I must have stepped on the damn thing(about a 5 footer) and thank God I had snake gators on or I may not be sitting here writing this today. My Colt 45 with CCI snake shot brought closure to the event. Oh and BTW, that was the first and last time I plan on eating one(it didn't taste anything like chicken)

 

[Goldwasher]

This may seem a joke to you but a large majority of the time, a Rattlesnake will get you before you get it! Besides, you are not supposed to swing the coil near your' legs. You should be swinging it in a wide half circle pattern. Just like where "trinityau" prospects, we also have very large Black Timber Rattlesnakes here. The adults average 6' to 8' and some have been known to grow to around 10' long and they can strike a person from nearly the same distance away as their' length. A friend in West Virginia catches Black Timber Rattlers to sell and while trying to show a person an 8 foot long Rattler that he had in a 100 pound grain sack, the snake actually sprung almost completely out of the sack by launching itself with it's tail. My friend was able to catch it behind the head almost 2 feet out of the sack and just before it was able to bite the person he was showing it to.


Frank

Frank I am sorry if it sounded like I was calling you stupid or wrong...it was just a funny picture in my head and sense of humor doesn't always come across well on threads....I will point out that my goldmaster can find a 120 year old shovelhead at like 18 inches and won't let me have any metal in my boots...and would definately not like a large piece of window screen around both legs...as when you are nugget hunting the coil isn't aways out in front doing a textbook side to side sweep.
I also have a different view on snakes in the wild and have grown up around them I was probably 12 the first time i harvested my first Diamondback hatband. Anybody ever ridden a bike home trying to hold onto the writhing body of a headless 6 footer? It is not all that easy. I grew up with the Cleveland National forrest as my backyard and lived for years in the Owens Valley, and have lived in Texas, and Northern Arizona. Even spent some time camping in the woods Near Johnson City Tennesee in the summer. I have stumbled across Western Diamondback, Mojave greens, Sidewinders, Water Moccasin, Cottonmouth and numerous of their regional sub-species and am sure there have been several nearby that I didn't see, And as I said I know still live in Rattler country as long as you are aware they could be there and pay attention you will be as safe as can be especially in relation to all the dangers faced in the wild.All the advice given by the other fellows here including you comes from years of experience and in no way should any of it wash out or make invalid the advice of others I was just adding in my personal take on the subject.I like Dizzy Diggers advice....slow down....I always bump my coil or stick or shovel along in front of me and if I am going to spend a bit of time in one spot I will go around and pre poke...bump and disturb the area and look for sign before I put on my headphones and start listening to that other Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

[midnightmoon]

Lots of good info here.

I've read that rattlers may strike just once in their lifetime. And they may not be that good at it ... ejecting the venom before contact. And its strike distance is just half its body length. Distances of 4 feet or more between you & her are usually pretty safe.

I don't have a natural fear of snakes, just daddy long-legs. I would likely jump off of a cliff to get away from a daddy long-legs. I know, doesn't make sense.

I was out of Vasquez Rocks awhile back to climb a little. Parked the Jeep near some small rocks. When I got back in the car and pulled out, I forget my water bottle was on the roof. It hit the ground. I circled back to retrieve it. Where I'd been parked was a 4-5 footer, not sure, he was coiled. Apparently, he was under the Jeep for shade.

Putting it all in perspective, more people in the US die from lightening strikes each year than snake bites. [That's from Loma Linda University].

 

[Dreadnox]

Having been bitten by a rs before I can say,,, Invest in the Ratteler Gaiters. I have a set I bought several yrs ago and have had them fend off at least 3 stricks I know of while rabbit hunting and its worth every penny!!! Oh and dont rely on hearing the rattle I was hit before the snake made a sound they sleep in the sun during the day and if you walk up on one sleeping it will strick before it rattles if wake it up suddenly. Also while shedding is going on a snakes eye covers will turn a milky white and they cannot see very well so they strick at any movement more than normally would during these times each year. Oh and the snake that bit me did not suvive even tho the parametics repetedly tried revival techniques I think it was the lead poisoning! LOL

 

[taternut]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I appreciate it! A lot of you are saying carry a .22, but are you legally allowed to do that? What if it's somewhat where people go to? Also what about carrying maybe a machete since they're light weight and you can get a sling for it to carry? Or is that considered carrying a weapon in these parts? Lol

 

[nuggeteer]

taternut,
My experience is a bit different from others' here. Since moving to Redding nine months ago, I've gone out exploring and detecting all over this area. I get out about 5 days a week and hike to very remote areas. I have seen only one rattlesnake. Although it was big, it quickly slithered off when it saw me. I never bring a weapon, I always detect with headphones, and I cover way too much ground to watch where I step. Careless... perhaps. I hike and bike and spend a lot of time camping in the wilderness, and I've never had a bad encounter with a wild animal.