LOOKOUT! IT'S A RATTLER

[Hang-Man]

Ruger Rich, I can relate as I logged in an area so bad like that, I had leggings that got hit multiple times a day and have Big Scars on both hands from bites I got there setting chokers on High lead.

 

[Flymph]

I could use a new pet. LoL

I don't worry about it, probably should worry more. Not sure waders would do much anyway, but I guess it's better than nothing! Good thing the temp is getting to the point where I start hitting the coast. LoL it's fun seeing people react to those sorts of statements. Like I said, I'm just a risk taker lol

 

[Flymph]

Ruger Rich, I can relate as I logged in an area so bad like that, I had leggings that got hit multiple times a day and have Big Scars on both hands from bites I got there setting chokers on High lead.

Glad you still have your hands.

 

[DirectDrive]

Ruger Rich, I can relate as I logged in an area so bad like that, I had leggings that got hit multiple times a day and have Big Scars on both hands from bites I got there setting chokers on High lead.

Hmmm....settin choker.
Gotta reach in there !
Yikes.

 

[DirectDrive]

I could use a new pet. LoL

I don't worry about it, probably should worry more. Not sure waders would do much anyway, but I guess it's better than nothing! Good thing the temp is getting to the point where I start hitting the coast. LoL it's fun seeing people react to those sorts of statements. Like I said, I'm just a risk taker lol

The newer GoreTex waders are fairly thick fabric and "blousey" (loose fitting).
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

[WAYNO]

The worst I've ever seen for rattlesnakes was Yakima Firing Center. They were absolutely everywhere!

And in Central Oregon, the Metolius, Deschutes and White Rivers. Heard 'em scampering many times in the brush, but I sure wasn't gonna chase them down for an autograph.

But in the White River public hunting area a couple years ago during dove season, I came across a four-footer. He never said a word, and was as green as the grass I was planning on laying in for a nap. Just remained stretched out. I'm lucky I saw him. I wouldn't necessarily dispatch a rattlesnake, but we had dogs with us, so I saw no choice. 12 gauge is what I used, as that's what was in my hands.

My buddy was on the other side of the field, and he just happened to be watching me with his binoc's. When I did the moon walk, my buddy knew immediately I came across a skunk or rattlesnake. I was not expecting to see a snake.

Was not long after that, I had a bull snake coil around my ankle. I nearly fouled myself.

I've experimented with snake shot in handguns, and it's a proposition that's not always predictable. Sometimes the shot charge remains intact, and sometimes it blows apart so bad you couldn't guarantee a pellet in a snakes head at 6-feet.





WAYNO.

 

[Flymph]

It's true, I could use some new waders, finally bought new boots. I only use them in the cold months or when doing a major bushwhack. Funny enough, my brother was chased by one once. I don't know what he did, but I had never seen that before or since.

I'm not into killing them for fun, but I figured I should know what the deal is just incase. Besides, the concept is cool to me.

Never seen one on the Metolius, but I suppose they're out there. John Day and the Deschutes seem to have the most of the places I frequent.

 

[DunRanull]

Some serpents, like the "racers", do chase people and do bite tho not venemous. Being chased by a timber rattler is the stuff of major nightmares!
As the climate has warmed up in Colorado in recent decades seems like we have more timber rattlers- the "green" kind- whereas when I first moved her 40-odd years ago all we had were smaller "prairie" rattlers. We need a series of COLD snowy winters thru-out the State to thin these buggers out. Fat chance, it seems.
I was employed as a park ranger for some years. One of our tasks was wildlife control- keeping tourists and bear, deer, serpents etc- apart. We had a "snake pole" used to grasp and pick up snakes and drop'em in a bucket for transfer to BLM land outside the park. I'd have shot them out-of-hand but we were prevented by law from doing that- the damn things are protected!
Those snakes would writhe and try to come lose of that pole and I could feel just how strong they are... A good strike from the bigger ones could break a bone, I'll bet.
That said, the rattlers and other hunting snakes here do provide a good service as they hunt and eat the priarie dogs and ground squirrels which carry the various Plague viruses. It is still "rare" that humans get Plague here but it does happen and every year seems like someone dies from it.

 

[Medic!]

Usually I'm unconcerned with happening upon a rattlesnake, and feel no need to shoot it. However I am curious, would shooting birdshot through my 9mm harm the rifling?
Should I just carry something cheaper and not worry about it?

Added, how often has anyone had to defend themselves against a snake? Which pistol and caliber would you prefer for general protection in the high desert?
Can I keep any part of a rattle snake I happen to need to defend myself against?

Nothing special. I just use my carry gun.
It's suitable for all critters.

Glock 43 with 124gr +p Golden Saber dose the trick.

 

[Diamondback]

Watch out for the little ones.
They don't seem to have a fear of humans like the big ones.
I had one last year that was a "stand your ground" type little snake.
Legend has it that they will inject more venom than a large snake.

Snake Psych: The big ones are older and have more experience about what dosage to inject--some have even been known to deliberately give "dry bites" as a kind of "go away or the next one's For Real." The little guys are young and immature and haven't learned that dosage stuff yet so they go straight to "When in doubt Empty The Mag."

Also, the exact toxin composition changes with age. Most younger and smaller rattlers have a primarily neurotoxic venom, since they're hunting bugs and other small game that hemotoxins don't work so well on. Hemotoxin is slower acting IIRC too, which is another part of why the bites from the big ones are more survivable. (This is why a Timber Rattler is more likely to kill you than a Western Diamondback--timbers keep their primarily-neurotoxin charge for life rather than seeing the hemotoxin shift of C. atrox, C. adamanteus and the other "big boys". Combine with the fact that timber antivenin cannot be synthesized like that of most other rattlers, and...)

When you find yourself "named" after something, you tend to learn a bit about it.

 

[Flymph]

I remember hearing something like that about the little ones. Great breakdown of the reasoning between how snake bites can vary. It's good to be informed, and keep up on information like that. I happen to be an oppurtunistic learner. However, I'll keep weary of any snake that looks venomous, just incase.

I'm pretty sure that it was a rattle snake that chased my brother. Body dimensions, head shape, and the rattle on it's tail all seemed to indicate rattle snake to me.
We need some cold and wet winters for dozens of reasons, I suppose that's another to think about. It's pretty cool that you guys got to do that, I'd be all over it, personally. I kind of wondered why I never see any of those critters near campgrounds or in parks, I suppose that's the rangers doing.

I guess I'll keep that in mind, gotta be a good shot tho. I'm still getting used to combat sights, so I might need a few rounds (good thing my mags hold 15).

 

[Flopsweat]

Snake Psych: The big ones are older and have more experience about what dosage to inject--some have even been known to deliberately give "dry bites" as a kind of "go away or the next one's For Real." The little guys are young and immature and haven't learned that dosage stuff yet so they go straight to "When in doubt Empty The Mag."

Also, the exact toxin composition changes with age. Most younger and smaller rattlers have a primarily neurotoxic venom, since they're hunting bugs and other small game that hemotoxins don't work so well on. Hemotoxin is slower acting IIRC too, which is another part of why the bites from the big ones are more survivable. (This is why a Timber Rattler is more likely to kill you than a Western Diamondback--timbers keep their primarily-neurotoxin charge for life rather than seeing the hemotoxin shift of C. atrox, C. adamanteus and the other "big boys". Combine with the fact that timber antivenin cannot be synthesized like that of most other rattlers, and...)

When you find yourself "named" after something, you tend to learn a bit about it.

Nice. Very interesting.

Once in the '80s I was walking a riverbank with my father. He yelled something while I was in mid-step. I stopped and turned, ready to walk back so I could hear him better. He told me to stop where I was. He came up and stopped a few feet from me and went "Uh-huh, look at your footprint". A few inches from my wet footprint on a rock was a somewhat agitated and very not-to-be-messed-with looking snake. I don't remember what kind it was anymore, but I remember the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

 

[DirectDrive]

Here's a little one all coiled up like a medallion.
Not being aggressive, just soaking up the heat from the rock.

 

[U8395279]

Usually I'm unconcerned with happening upon a rattlesnake, and feel no need to shoot it. However I am curious, would shooting birdshot through my 9mm harm the rifling?
Should I just carry something cheaper and not worry about it?

Added, how often has anyone had to defend themselves against a snake? Which pistol and caliber would you prefer for general protection in the high desert?
Can I keep any part of a rattle snake I happen to need to defend myself against?

Snakes are the only animal that God has ever cursed. Remember this Bible passage:

"Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:14).

If you are a Christian, you thus have a moral obligation to put to death any snake that you ever encounter. For they are loathsome and damned creatures, that God hates.

Very hard to kill quickly too. You pretty much need to shoot them in the head. Hit them elsewhere in the body, and they will start squirming and slithering around like crazy, making follow-up shots more difficult. And even a snake deserves to be dispatched humanely.

.

 

[DirectDrive]

Snakes are the only animal that God has ever cursed. Remember this Bible passage:

"Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:14).

If you are a Christian, you thus have a moral obligation to put to death any snake that you ever encounter. For they are loathsome and damned creatures, that God hates.

Very hard to kill quickly too. You pretty much need to shoot them in the head. Hit them elsewhere in the body, and they will start squirming and slithering around like crazy, making follow-up shots more difficult. And even a snake deserves to be dispatched humanely.

.

Nah.
It was one snake in particular.
And you should know what he did.

 

[U8395279]

Nah.
It was one snake in particular.
And you should know what he did.

All snakes today are his descendants, though, so I still kill them anyway.

The only good snake is a dead snake.

.

 

[Flymph]

That's way too intense for me to reciprocate.
I don't think that threatening people with doubt in their morals or faith in God is cool either.
Seems to me from that reference that God has already done enough to punish snakes, and they shouldn't be sought out to be exterminated. After all, as DunRanull said, they have their place in controlling plague rat populations. I'm sure God sees how that is beneficial to creatures that God loves.

Tho if you do it, it's your choice...

Good advice on dispatching them tho.

 

[DunRanull]

Snakes are "cursed" by mankind, Biblical mythology to the contrary aside. God has nothing to do with it. Snakes evolved to fill a niche in the chain of life and provide the service of keeping down the bubonic plague-carrying rodentia populations. I will grant that the vipers are dangerous and need to be thinned out in places that humans inhabit.

 

[DirectDrive]

Snakes are "cursed" by mankind

I think it's more raw fear.
Fear of the Serpent.

About a third of adult humans are ophidiophobic, making this the most common reported phobia.[3] Scientists have theorised that mammals may have an innate reaction to snakes, which was vital for their survival as it allowed such dangerous threats to be identified immediately.

Gets pretty wild, with some people not able to even view a snake in video.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

My grandmother had a box of 40-50 rattles off the snakes she had killed when she lived in Lowell,OR which is on the western slope of the Cascades just east of Eugene. She used a shovel mostly to dispatch them. My grandfather was an Army Engineer and worked on Lookout Point and Dexter and later The Dalles and Hills Creek dams. My grandfather said the area was filled with rattlesnake dens and they weren't happy with the construction going on. I was born in 1951 when they were at Lowell and lived there for the first 8 months of my life because my father had been called up from the Marine Reserves for the Korean War and my mother had gone to live with her parents while he was away, I remember The Dalles with its rattlesnakes. I used to spend a month or two in the summer with my grandparents every summer and remember people in The Dalles killing rattlesnakes and hanging them in trees so their dogs would not get to them. Hills Creek dam was at a high enough elevation to not have rattlesnakes and Oakridge where I spent my summertime with my grandparents in the early 60's didn't have any either. People always seem to put rattlesnakes in Oregon as east of the Cascades but there were certain pockets of them west of the Cascades. I would suppose with the global warming their range would be expanding today.