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Yeah Ben...thats what everyone always told me...but with my luck....


I used to hunt them for their hides in Washington...Pacific Diamondbacks. Killed hundreds over the years.

I even had two get out from under the .38 bird shot! One had his head pinned and the gun was no more than 18 inches from it. Blew a crater where his head was, unpinned it...but somehow the pattern went around him
Out of the dusty crater came a perfectly healthy rattler,head intact, and he was open for business!

The other I just walked up on, he held still and I shot him...no problemo.....I opened my gun and was reloading that chamber when my partner yelled " Look out!" and I heard his gun go off. The snake had regrouped somehow and was having a go at my leg...caught a couple #8s on that one ( he was that close to getting the job done...)

Nash carries two pistols and every snake gets 12 rounds.

No exceptions.




Dave

Nash and Ben are so cool they remind me of me.



And you.

you won't call in many coyotes if you start shooting snakes, just take your boot and stomp them to death

I've shot enough critters with .22 shot shells to know that there is no way I'd ever intentionally go up against a 3' + ratter with it. If you do, the range better be measured in inches and not feet. Closer than I care to get.

The G19 has tallied up 6 rattlers, one copperhead and one water moccasin this summer. You don't need shot shells, just aim better.

In Georgia many moons ago I shot a big ass moccasin in the face with a .22 hollow point from six feet...figured it would all be over then with no drama....

Wrong again...it acted as a major motivator to him.


And you can take a wild guess what he was then motivated to do....

I never use shot shells either.



Dave

We try to make everyone that is not use to dog town "dangers" aware. It's kinda like a warning label on your box of ammo, "DANGER"
I've been shooting dogs for years and have only seen a few rattlers. Just look before you crawl up on a mound to lay down and shoot. They wont come after you, until you piss them off.

I have never seen a snake while hunting prairie dogs. We did have some at Ft. HOOD Texas.
I will carry my Model 66 S&W with wadcutters.
If I see a Coyote it will be a miracle.
I am going to try and burn out my Ruger#1 220 Swift.

Whelennut: I have been dealing with Prairie Dogs and Rattlesnakes for 50+ years now.
I prefer to carry my Smith & Wesson Model 651 in 22 Magnum - loaded with bird shot!
Here's a tip for you - if you Hunt near or from your vehicle then drive around in a small circle once or twice as you are parking. This gets the snakes "moving".
Then don't "leave" your hearing protection on while YOU are walking around!
This allows you to hear Rattlesnakes better.
Rattlesnakes rarely come toward my Prairie Dog set-up spots due to the commotion (vibrations?) humans make -so make some noise as you set up (stomp around) and try to set up in shorter grass areas.
Take it from one who HAS been bitten by a Rattler you DON'T want to be bitten by a Rattler!
August is a top month for Rattlesnake bites (I was bitten on August 22nd seven years ago) so be cautious and stomp a bit.
Enjoy your Hunt and let us know how you do.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

That is a big azz snake!




I've seen plenty of rattlers while bowhunting muley's but only one during the day and that was crossing the road.
The others were all on roads at night trying to stay warm.

As others have said, if you watch where you are walking and putting your hands you shouldn't have any trouble.

whelennut,

did the rancher request you kill the rattlers you were warned about?

Probably just me, I'm one of those folks that likes snakes, but if I was a rancher with a prairie dog problem, I'd want every snake around to keep living and eating the dang things.

I'm with the few folks that say if the snake is outside striking distance, it gets to crawl away.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely against killing them. One place I lived, I killed or removed 21 in the 5 years I was there, just from the 'confines" of the yard. Ate a couple of them too! If they're in an area where my wife or dogs (or even myself) is in danger, they don't get to stay.

A prairie dog town is another matter.

Enjoy your hunt,

Geno

Valsad: Do not take this as a personal attack.
You policy is ignorant!
Take it from someone who, HAS, been bitten by a Rattlesnake - YOU do not want to be bitten by a Rattlesnake!
NOR... do you want to be responsible for allowing a poisonous snake to go on about its business and later bite someone else and have them go through the agony and damage a Rattlesnake bite will instill.
Reconsider your ill advised policy.
I kill every Rattlesnake I come across - period!
And I strongly recommend you do the same.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I am going to wear a Colt Diamondback 22lr.
I have owned it for over 40 years and it shoots very well. I hope I don't need it, however.
Hopefully the shooting starts later this morning after the cowboy shows me where he wants me to setup.
I promise some pictures.
whelennut

It's OK Varmintguy,

I'll not look at it as a personal attack. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

I'd no more kill every rattler I see than shoot every dog I see running loose because more than one chased me at times and wanted to bite me.

Or shoot every hawk I see because they got some of my chickens once. Same goes for raccoons.

Or shoot every bear or mt. lion, etc, I see because someone else got attacked by one.

If something is an immediate danger to me or my loved ones, two or four legged, then they get the axe.

I can certainly understand your reluctance to let them live though, and I might change my mind if I am ever bitten.

Respectfully,

Geno

I don't much care for the idea of leaving a mobile land mine on the ground for the next poor soul to step on later down the road. Or me for that matter.

They don't get a pass. Ever.

Spot on Geno......

The only "ignorant" one in this conversation is VarminyGay when he says not killing every rattler you see makes you personally responsible if said snke bites someone at a later date.....





I take that back.....it's not ignorant....it's f*cking stupid....







On a lighter note....if I were to kill every snake I saw I'd have to start packing a garden hoe with me cause I can't hit chit with a handgun.....


PS....that's "hoe" not "ho"......

Varmintgay tried that argument on me years ago. Said if I let a snake go and it bit a sacred child, then I was directly to blame.


I told him if thats the case, I should pull over every stupid driver I see, drag them from their car and shoot them. They kill a LOT more children than snakes.

VG must have a big ol butt hole cause he sure pulls some doozie's out of there.....

FWIW I had a rattlesnake (apparently) come to a predator call, a high pitched cottontail hand call. He arrived just as I quit the stand. He was within 6 feet of me and coming my way, and seemed agitated or mad from the get go.