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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[NJnuggetpirate]

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..

Nice choice nothing like the 410 buckshot

 

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[IDdesertman]

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.

I'd have to agree 100%. I know there are different types that can be more temperamental, but I have encountered a whole lot of rattlers over the years and never considered any of them to be all that aggressive. Them rattling is not aggressive, that is how they tell you to stay the h*** away from them, and if you do you probably won't have an issue. I have poked at quite a few with my metal detector and fishing pole too, and rarely do they do anything other than move backwards. I know folk are fond of shooting them, but I would say that in the time that it takes to draw a pistol and shoot them, you can easily take a few steps backward and be in the "safety zone".

 

[MadMarshall]

Rules for hiking alone!!!
1.Always tell someone where you are goning.(more detail the better)
2.Give a time when you expect to be back..
3.Don't play with or tease critters!!
4.If you leave the trail mark your path (Rock Cairn) it easier to get turned around in the woods..
5. always expect the worse..
6. Do not rely on cell phones as an emergency device ever!!!
It is of my opinion that there are more serious common dangers then rattlesnakes and other wildlife.. Killing things because you are scared or just don't like is not acceptable ever! And I know for a fact that common sense out weighs a gun any day of the week. The majority of animal encounters can be walked away from( I have yet ever needed to kill an animal to protect myself )..But I think the truth is people like killing rattlesnakes and other creatures to make themselves feel powerful and in control not because of any real threat. I never go hiking or camping with a gun and I have been in some very remote places. But I go to find gold and enjoy the wildlife and scenery. It is amazing that after I spend a few days camping or working an area how the wildlife seems to accept my presence and become more confortable beining around me. Nothing is more awesome then having a few regular guest at my camp to help pass the time.. On the Yuba every night a doe would sleep in the tall grass behind my tent and in the early morning I would drink my coffee and watch her eat only a few feet from me..And recently I had the pleasure of some river otters playing in the rapids not 5 feet from me..I think if I had a gun I would not be so lucky in my guests!! To bad guns do not kill fear but instead enable it!!!!!


Live and let live!!!!!! Let god decide who and what needs to be called home!!!!

 

[NJnuggetpirate]

Rules for hiking alone!!!
1.Always tell someone where you are goning.(more detail the better)
2.Give a time when you expect to be back..
3.Don't play with or tease critters!!
4.If you leave the trail mark your path (Rock Cairn) it easier to get turned around in the woods..
5. always expect the worse..
6. Do not rely on cell phones as an emergency device ever!!!
It is of my opinion that there are more serious common dangers then rattlesnakes and other wildlife.. Killing things because you are scared or just don't like is not acceptable ever! And I know for a fact that common sense out weighs a gun any day of the week. The majority of animal encounters can be walked away from( I have yet ever needed to kill an animal to protect myself )..But I think the truth is people like killing rattlesnakes and other creatures to make themselves feel powerful and in control not because of any real threat. I never go hiking or camping with a gun and I have been in some very remote places. But I go to find gold and enjoy the wildlife and scenery. It is amazing that after I spend a few days camping or working an area how the wildlife seems to accept my presence and become more confortable beining around me. Nothing is more awesome then having a few regular guest at my camp to help pass the time.. On the Yuba every night a doe would sleep in the tall grass behind my tent and in the early morning I would drink my coffee and watch her eat only a few feet from me..And recently I had the pleasure of some river otters playing in the rapids not 5 feet from me..I think if I had a gun I would not be so lucky in my guests!! To bad guns do not kill fear but instead enable it!!!!!
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZJUGteCt5A&list=UUv-ig5HP3v0FHPfWnuFefMA

Live and let live!!!!!! Let god decide who and what needs to be called home!!!!

I agree that's very well said with a great speech like that you should be in politics lol

 

[Jeanne]

Thanks Clay Diggins. I've never heard of Snake School and I doubt if it is available around here. We have a very old Catahoula that we used to get immunized for rattlers when we lived in the desert and about a year ago we got a Shih Tzu who is way too curious about everything and considers everything a toy so I guess the best thing would be to leave them home.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Hey Jeanne, I looked around and it does seem the Idaho Humane Society has a snake avoidance training class every spring in Boise. The Fish and Game usually has one in the fall in Boise too.

At $30 to $40 for the training it's a bargain. An hour or so of training and your dog will be safe from their own curious nature.

 

[2cmorau]

yuup , my biggest worry when out detecting are my dogs, even thought i give them yearly rattlesnake vaccine, i am at times hours away from a vet, depending on the circumstances, leave them in camp with someone but most my hunts are with myself and the dogs , (great conversations) since most my hunts tend to be morning or evening, i have left them in the truck to prospect a location and feel out the area and then let them out. My youngest lab has had two encounters with a rattlesnake, both times from chasing a chipmunk and another was a squirrel, and so I always try to keep this in mind when an area is teaming with the little nut gathers.

Closest encounter with a rattler was in Nevada with a friend in Austin, I was looking at my bud and shouting out to him see how he was doing not paying attention were i was walking, had a hard time hearing him (boots making too much noise and cold morning still some small patches of snow on the ground) so stopped walking to listen what he was trying to tell me, that’s when i heard the little bugger, right next to my boot maybe 10 inches away, and because it was a cold morning I was lucky, just walked away with my loop next to my boot, shooting a rattlesnake never made sense to me, now a rat different story don’t get me started with the rats and fleas and the plague of the century
It’s best not go out alone, caravan if ya can highly recommended, I would hate to break down with some of the places i have been, without backup vehicle, but hooking up with someone seems to be difficult, everybody has responsibilities
lot of good advice posted here

 

[Fullpan]

This is for Kuger - talks about new policy caving in to enviro extremists to not kill nuisance predators:



My turn: ?Good news? is bad news on mountain lions Mountain Democrat

 

[DizzyDigger]

Yep, and they've outlawed using hounds to even run the cats and bears.

A "Pursuit Only" season allows the houndsmen a chance to exercise their
dogs, but the critter isn't killed. Most times these houndsmen work the
roads nearest to the towns, and the potentially dangerous cats and bears
get run back into the hills again. This is about the best deterrent there is
for these predators, yet, the CDFW has their head up, once again.

Another few years when more hikers have have been turned into scat
piles and maybe, just maybe they'll figure it out that Cougars and Bears
could care less about PETA and being kinder and gentler.

 

[NuggetN8]

Recently I was working around my favorite creek for prospecting and I nearly stepped on one that was sleeping. If I hadn't been trimming branches on the trail I probably would have! I cut a branch and it landed on him and woke him up. He slithered off really quick lol. One other time I found one sitting in a tree on a tree branch. He was just a baby. Here's a pic of him.

 

[DesertNuggets]

Recently I was working around my favorite creek for prospecting and I nearly stepped on one that was sleeping. If I hadn't been trimming branches on the trail I probably would have! I cut a branch and it landed on him and woke him up. He slithered off really quick lol. One other time I found one sitting in a tree on a tree branch. He was just a baby. Here's a pic of him.
<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=864144"/>

Great... Now I have to worry about them being on trees.

 

[NuggetN8]

Great... Now I have to worry about them being on trees.

Yep =\ lol. He was about 4ft off the ground too.. Not sure how he managed that one because he was pretty small.. That was the first one I had ever seen. Didn't think they could climb up a tree.

 

[Gravelwasher]

Thats a great pic N8!! Maybe a bird picked him up and dropped him..lol We are lucky to have rattlers as the only poisonous snake here, most snakes make no noise.

 

[goldenIrishman]

I grew up in the South West and so I'm used to rattlers. I let them be if possible and only kill them when there's no other choice. They're just trying to live their lives in the way that nature designed them to is all. In fact it was because of rattlers that I moved back to the South West. I spent 7 years in Georgia and a good percentage of the snakes out there do not have that built in warning system! Copperheads and Cottonmouths are much more aggressive than ANY Rattler I've come across. I don't like "Sneaky Snakes" with an attitude!!!