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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[63bkpkr]

Tater,
A .22 revolver carried in the open, in plain sight and not covered up is perfectly legal in the National Forest in California. That I am aware of they are not legal in Parks!!

One Must know how to use them Safely! Do not shoot where you can not see clearly what you are shooting at. Have a safe backup like a TALL hill for target practice. Carry your spent/used casings out with you as well as the box the bullets came in!! Especially with solid slug bullets Do Not shoot directly into rock or rocks as the slug could bounce back and who knows what they will hit. Bird shot is not likely to hurt you if it should bounce back as it is very tiny however, I assume you wear your sun glasses all the time as eyes are more delicate than the rest of your body so consider where you are shooting so you do not hurt your eyes.

Also, snakes do not need to be shot/killed especially if they are not threatening you, just walk away from them.............................63bkpkr

 

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[huntsman53]

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.

No problem! I was more concerned that you were making light of the dangers of getting bit by a Rattlesnake and my how suggestion on how to prevent it. I Gem and Gold Prospect and one while prospecting for Rubies and Sapphires in North Carolina, I had a Rattlesnake buzz me everytime I picked up a rock to inspect it. I spent 5 minutes surveying the whole area around where the buzzing was coming from but could not find the Rattlesnake. I backed away from the buzzing, made it back to my' truck and have not been back to that location since. It is usually the Rattlesnakes that you can't or don't see, that are the most dangerous. To make matters worse, we have lots of Copperheads around here as well and they will actually chase you down even though you did nothing to provoke them. It is apparently in their nature to do so! Most of my' metal detectors are very sensitive as well, so when MD'ing in an area known for Rattlesnakes or Copperheads and if wearing the snake bite protectors made from screen door wire, I modify my coil search pattern by extending the main rod out to it's max and sweeping the coil far away from my' body to avoid having my' metal detector pick up the screen wire. I also have a pair of snake gaiters that I wear when it is not too hot. Although I have never tried it, I was thinking that quality nylon screen door wire might work if it is triple wrapped around the legs and arms.


Frank

 

[AzViper]

I carry a small 38 with birdshot. No rattler is going to live if I have to use it, the key word is (have). As 63bkpkr said just step back and walk the other way.
I also wear knee high Gaiters, but I pick my areas during the summer months. You will not find me walking through knee high grassland.

Sonoita, Az

Southeast of Tucson, Az. A hidden gem within Arizona. The wine capital of the southwest with over 60 wineries in the southern part of Arizona.​

 

[Dreadnox]

Its not the ones you see that get you, its the ones you don't. LOL

 

[Southern_Digger]

I'm not sure about the aggressive nature of western rattlesnakes, but, in Florida, I have had to deal with the diamondbacks. My first encounter was in the Big Cypress Everglades at age 11. Hunting with dad at three miles off the old grade, I spotted one coiled and sleeping. Dad did not see it and walked right past it. Fortunately, it was frozen as temp. was below 55-degrees. He immediately dispatched it with his Marlin 25-35 cal. rifle. It was 5.5 ft. in length. I wanted to keep the skin and was mad when he gave it to his hunting buddies. They made hat bands out of the hide.

As for weapons against rattlesnakes, I've discovered good logic and a long handled shovel is your best weapon. While detecting a Seminole War fort along the Withlacoochee River in 1976, I was warned by a diamondback as I dug musket balls from along side a patch of palmettoes. Following advice from game hunters, I tapped my shovel hard on the above ground palmetto roots. This sends vibration to the ground and warns the reptile, who immediately slithered off. I never wore snake boots because they don't make them to fit my feet. Nor do I use leggings. However, most fort sites I dug were still productive because they were shielded by the Palmetto. The procedure to hunt is to tap the roots with the shovel a few times, then clear the palmetto with a machete. Move in repeat and continue clearing. I used this procedure at old Ft. Jupiter and the Tenn. Vol. camps (1838) between 1978 and 1981. And, continued using this method in the late-1980's and thereafter in SW Florida at 1850's Seminole War fort sites. In all cases, the snake heeds the warning and leaves. I will not kill a diamondback because their numbers are greatly reduced by development here in Florida. Copperheads in Tenn. are what scares me because in molting season, they will flat chase you down. And you won't hear them coming. I have encountered a few close calls while CW relic hunting... .

 

[sponge]

When your golfing too

 

[DizzyDigger]

When your golfing too

I grew up in Yorba Linda, Ca. and as a teen we played the local CC course
almost on a daily basis. Found out back then that 2 and 3 irons make great
snake hook substitutes..

 

[spillercanyon]

I have seen a number of rattle snakes in my time. I keep an eye out for them as I am constantly staring at the ground trying to read the mineralology and look for places to dig. I have had little problem with them but don't fault those who are more cautious than I, I'm not known for being real cautious in the outdoors. I do carry a gun, but it's loaded for much larger 'snakes in the grass'.

 

[sponge]

I grew up in Yorba Linda, Ca. and as a teen we played the local CC course
almost on a daily basis. Found out back then that 2 and 3 irons make great
snake hook substitutes..

Snake skin golf club covers. Im callling shark tank.

 

[dig deeper now]

I hear rattlesnake tastes good on the grill with fried potatoes this time of year, bigger the better.

 

[russau]

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.

GG you may be onto a new fashion statement!

 

[minerjoe]

I cant believe you don't know that it's legal to carry a pistol!! OMG! Listen, I know some on here are not into guns, but have you noticed the crackheads in the redding area? I am not going to carry a 5k$ detector and NOT carry a pistol. I live a lot higher than you guys, and bears are more of a problem than rattlesnakes, but I do see a few big timbers up here. You can have the heat and the snakes down there! Evenings are the worst here for snakes. I never put my hands on the next ledge, without seeing first if one is coiled up there!

 

[Clay Diggins]

I've never quite understood the public fascination with rattle snakes. I grew up with them along with lizards, javelina and horses. The only fear of rattlers I have is in combination with that last one - horses. They are mighty peculiar about the smell, sound and sight of rattlers so riding or working around horses I'm particularly watchful because of the danger from a scared horse, they are big animals.

My attitude about rattlers is to let them be. I've been face to face with angry ones when climbing and I've accidentally stepped on them. I've never been bitten and I don't intend to. I give them a wide berth when I can and if I can't I encourage them on their way with my detector or a stick. Never had one yet that didn't get the message.

I do have a rule with rattlers - if I find them in my yard, near my livestock or in my camp they will be killed without hesitation. If I'm on their territory I let them be. It's a good rule that has worked well for me all these years.

Rattlesnakes aren't evil. They don't want to mess with you. They are just snakes out trying to make a living. They get eaten by just about everything including wild cats, javelina, coyote, hawks, eagles, owls and bull snakes. I can understand if they are a mite touchy about bigger animals approaching them from above.

Rattlesnakes are quite accomplished at striking and killing with their venom. It's how they eat. If a rattler is no good at striking it's a dead rattler. The problem striking comes when their target is much bigger and taller than them. They just aren't real confident using their fangs defensively and a large target makes it even tougher.

If you've ever watched a rattler take game larger than itself you know that it's rarely a clean strike resulting in a dead animal ready to eat. Most of the time that mouse or rabbit jumps when it's struck and fangs can get tangled or broken in the ensuing struggle. That's bad news for the rattlesnake, even relatively minor injuries lead to eventual death - their are no snake doctors for that rattler to go to and any reduction in their hunting efficiency can easily lead to starvation.

Now imagine you are a rattlesnake facing a huge moving wall of flesh. Have you ever tried to take a bite out of a brick wall? The rattlesnake just isn't designed to take on anything that size. Completely outside of it's comfort zone. That rattler has to be pretty scared or pissed off to strike a target that big and potentially dangerous.

A rattlesnake can only accurately strike at about 1/3 the length of their body when coiled. When they aren't fully coiled that range is much less. That doesn't mean they can't launch themselves further but any hits past that distance are more luck than skill. Keeping your distance is critical when snake wrangling becomes necessary but those distances aren't near what you might expect if your experience is limited to TV or the internet. No matter what your level of rattlesnake knowledge that rattlesnake knows exactly how far it can strike with accuracy.

Rattlesnake size is a peculiar thing. The higher the fear level the longer and bigger the snake grows. An eight foot western diamondback is a possibility but it would be a record breaking specimen. I camped about 60 yards from a western diamondback in Northern New Mexico that was just a hair over six foot. She was a beauty and had just eaten a BIG meal so I knew she wasn't going to be out hunting for awhile. She was as big around as my bicep. That's the biggest rattler I've seen. The biggest western diamondbacks on record have been a hair over 7 1/2 feet. Those pictures of giant rattlesnakes you find on the internet purporting to be 15 foot are pure BS.

Their are bigger rattlesnakes than the western diamondback. The eastern diamondback can get up to eight foot and weigh quite a bit more than it's western cousins. The plain fact of the matter is that in the west the average adult rattlesnake is about two to three feet long. In the spring around Monarch wash these guys are found about every 60 feet and they are - just waking up - cranky. The fact is though over half of them will have been eaten within the month. It's a tough life out there for rattlesnakes.

So how dangerous are rattlesnakes? The truth is the odds of you getting bit are pretty slim if you aren't looking for trouble. The odds of you dying from a bite if you don't get treatment are pretty slim too. All the same you really really don't want to get bit. Their poison is nasty and does major tissue and nerve damage that will change your life forever.

I've considered the snake chaps. They give a reasonable level of lower leg protection. My high top boots don't rise as high as the snake chaps so they would be an improvement. In my experience the danger of rattlesnake bite is more about climbing or nearby rock ledges or reaching into brush. The bite statistics back up those fears too. The most common place for a rattlesnake bite is the hand with a close second being the face. Snake chaps aren't going to do you a bit of good in those situations. It's also interesting to note that more than 80% of rattlesnake bites involve alcohol, I'm presuming it was the person bit and not the snake that was drinking that day.

I too have been chased by a copperhead, they don't rattle a warning and they are aggressive - unlike rattlesnakes. In my experience that is where I'll put my fear of snakes. I'll continue to be cautious while in rattlesnake territory but after a lifetime of encounters I'll stick to my live and let live philosophy with rattlers. It's worked so far and despite spending a good part of my life sharing space with them I have as yet to meet someone who has been bit by one.

I do take cover though when lightning is striking. You just never know when your number is up - no sense in tempting fate.

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

great write up on personal experiences

 

[Ronzie]

This thread has given me the hebejebes.

 

[NJnuggetpirate]

has anyone ever encountered a nonagressive rattle snake

 

[spillercanyon]

has anyone ever encountered a nonagressive rattle snake

I've never encountered an aggressive rattler and I've run into dozens. I some times like to poke them with a stick to hear them rattle but in ALL instances, the snake was just trying to get away from me. I know they can be dangerous but I believe most is hype brought up is by a lot of mis-informed individuals and those trying to get a little lyme light.

 

[Jeanne]

This may be a stupid question but none of you talk about taking your dogs out with you. Do you or do you leave them home during heavy snake months? Just curious but I am more worried for my dogs than for us.

 

[Clay Diggins]

That's a good question Jeanne. It's wise to worry about dogs. They are the most likely to be bit.

Rattle snakes have a unique smell and with the buzzing and twitching they are a real attention magnet to inexperienced pooches. A lot of dogs get bit and with their smaller size the venom is much more likely to lead to death than it is with a human.

Here in the Southwest there are snake training schools for dogs. Snake training can be very effective and usually only takes a few hours. The dogs catch on quick and seem to never forget. I highly recommend snake training for any dog that will be running free in rattlesnake territory.

As for aggressive rattlesnakes? I've seen them cranky and I've seen them sensitive and nearly blind in the early spring and after shedding but I've never seen a rattlesnake aggressively pursue a human.

Keep in mind that rattlers have very poor vision but are quite good at tracking heat sources. They are pit vipers and that pit can "see" differences in temperature much like we see objects in the light. On a hot day the temperature difference between your body and the ground and air around you can be minimal. In those situations a rattler is pretty much blind and may choose an escape direction that is not what you would expect. Just step out of the way if a rattler makes that mistake. They really are trying to get away - not attack you.

 

[pong12211]

You use whatever you want for snakes.. But I suggest the taurus judge.. I hate snakes and this seems to be a good way to manage them..