Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Wyoming Rattle Snakes - how much danger?

My wife and I went for a stroll today in one of the areas we will be antelope hunting in the Buffalo area. Being from the north east this was a new experience.

I showed off some dance moves, I called it the "Rattlesnake 2-step". Scared the crap out of us. Walking along a hill side and heard the rattle, never really heard it before, but reacted before I realized what it was and after a quick 2 steps or so I was 8-10 feet from a coiled rattler with about a 2 inch rattle. While walking out later another one slithered away, actually on that one it may or may not have been a rattler, same basic color but didn't get a good look.

So, how common and how dangerous are these things during August archery antelope season? I have zero experience with these things. Are they common around here? Are they dangerous, well aside from getting bit, or do they run rather than fight? Are snake boots worth it? Would snow-shoe gators protect us or would they get right through that, then pants, then my leg?

Has me second guessing archery hunting, at least there.

Idaho has the same Prairie rattler as WY. They can bite but as long as you're a bit careful they aren't anything to worry about. I sure wouldn't spend the money for boots. They're timid and you will often see one crawling away. If it coils, just back up a step. They can only strike 1/2 their length and most aren't all that long, at least not compared to some of the southern snakes. Most are under 4' so there's a total striking distance of under 2'. I've been kicking around the Idaho desert for 70 years and have only seen a handful. Only a few of those coiled and rattled. Most just crawled away.
Just keep your eyes open and have a good hunt.

I am in Buffalo right now, and was wondering how many were around here.

I've got quite a bit of experience with them in Idaho and Montana, as well as SW Wyoming. We're lucky around here as far as snakes go.....they're about as shy and timid as snakes come. People do occasionally get bit, but it is really rare if you're not a drunken teen and messing around with it.

I have never felt the need for snake proof boots of gaitors. I have never not gone hunting for fear of them.

You're fine, as long as you use common sense around them.

I wear snake boots here... it is a LOT THICKER and you cannot see a lot of what you are walking through. Up there it is really open. As long as you pay attention to where you put your feet you will be fine.

I wear them because I DO NOT want to watch where I put my feet... I want to look for game.

Wyoming Rattlers bite the same as Texas Rattlers or any other. Venom is venom no matter the manner of injection.

Just don’t mess with ‘em.

Gotta disagree, to an extent. Venom is not venom.

The midget faded, along with the Mojave and a few other rattlesnake species have venom much more potent, and much higher in neurotoxins than other species. From what I understand, the prairie rattler and Great Basin rattler are relatively low on the toxicity scale, and they're certainly shyer than other rattler's I have been around. They're still dangerous, but not as bad as some other species.

Prairie rattlers aren't aggressive and like most snakes, just want to be left alone. Like Reloder28 said, just don't mess with 'em. Watch where you step and you should be fine.

Another piece of advice which will serve you well when antelope hunting on the prairie is to look before you sit down. Not only for snakes but mostly because of prickly pear cactus. I've spent some time with my pants around my ankles pulling cactus spines out of my rear end because I sat down to glass without looking at the ground first.

I don't know what techniques you'll be using to hunt antelope, but if you'll be doing any stalking, you'll often be crawling. Kneepads and leather gloves make crawling in gravelly cactus country a little easier.

Good luck with your hunt.

I forgot to add that there are bull snakes out on the prairie. They are not venomous but do look very similar to a rattler and will coil up in a strike posture and emit a hiss or rattle type of sound when threatened. But they're harmless so just let them be, too.

Don't wear snake protection. Just be a little more vigilant while your crawling thru the brush. They don't want noth'in to do with you.
The ones you should worry about, are the skin shedding ones. They don't always have the ability to rattle, and they could be blind for a short time.
I was walking thru the grass one time and heard a bumble bee humm. Looked down and found a baby rattler not 6" long, with only one button. Stomped on him and found a mouse inside he had just eaten.

They’re not aggressive... they’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone...you really have to get them angry to get them to strike at you...

We must have a different gene pool here in eastern Colorado of prairie rattlers. I have come upon them ten feet away. They coil then cut the distance in half,coil again and if waiting long enough they are 2-3 feet away. Dove season is always challenging with them abou tand tall weeds/grass. Most aggressive rattler I have come across is the side winder in Nevada.Nasty little buggers

Yours are all Democrats that really are out to get you.

Ran into 3 in one weekend hunting chucks this spring. It's one thing when they are in the open and you can see them, totally another when they are in knee deep grass. Not a big fan of rattlers.

While the snake will not go on the offensive and attack you he will bite if accidentally stepped on or disturbed, feels threatened.
Boots or snake leggings are a good idea in the south east in the warm seasons as they do blend in with the ground colors are are very difficult to see.
I'm a bit colorblind to those color combinations of camouflage and it is very difficult to see one in his native environment.

G

the one coiled that rattled, was in 4 inch grass on a slope that was some sage, some low grass, some open gravel. Even at 8 feet when I knew he was there, he was damn near invisible.

Scared my wife from wanting to tag along archery hunting, scared me enough to worry about going to get my camera again (I had set it on a fence post just before finding the little guy)

The second ran at our approach, which I am fine with!

You might spend some time on hands and knees and prone. Gloves and kneepads are much more useful than gaiters or snake boots for me. Once you have had your 'close encounter' it is difficult to not be worried about the next one


mike r

Like others have posted most of Wyoming is less brushy than the south and areas like South Texas, where snake boots are warranted. I think the Black tail must be at the same level of aggressiveness as the prairie rattlers. We have stepped over these and they hardly even woke up. Sidwinders and Timber Rattlers are very active in comparison. When they come towards you I think it is curiosity rather than aggression.

A friend who works ranches in South Texas had his vision compromised by a stroke and he has had several strikes on his snake boots as a result. When you can't see them is when there is a problem.

I realize there is a huge difference between being struck by a rattler and dying from it, but the Wiki page on snake deaths just consumed an hour!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_snake_bites_in_the_United_States

I tried to paste the chart but it turns into a huge jumble... some interesting facts from their chart from 1950 to the present.

From 1950 to present they list 73 deaths by snake bite and 54 of those were rattlers.

Nine were exotics

Six by copperhead

Two by cottonmouth

57 males and 16 females.

13 were professional snake handlers killed by their keepers and I added one in there that died during the Brownsville Round-up.

20 died handling snakes at church services

So that means 53 deaths by wild snakes in almost 69 years.

In 2018 an 18 year old committed suicide by monocled cobra in TX.

Looks like your chances of being killed by a snake are mighty skinny if you do not go looking for them. There are no deaths listed for WY and only one in CO. Florida, TX, WV, TN, and a few others make up the vast majority. I saw a statement that a quarter of the snake bites in the US happen in TX, but cannot find it again. I also recognize the fact many instances in past decades would not get reported the way they are today and many are not included.

Sorry for the sidetrack...

The Crocodile Hunter would reach down, grab it.

I live in Buffalo and have hunted around here for 30 some years and have never seen one when out hunting. I've seen them other times, but not nearly as many around here as in eastern Montana where I grew up.

Death by rattler may be rare but I know two people that have been bitten. One nearly lost his leg below the knee. The other was me.

Forgot my boots on a dove hunt and was retracing my path around a copse of trees next to a hay field that had been cut, baled and the bales picked up. Thought I had walked into a yucca plant at first, then realized where I was and that no yuccas were anywhere around. Got a fang next to my Achilles tendon and one in my Nikes. Foot swelled up like a football and walking was painful for over a week. The first day just setting my foot on the floor was nearly intolerable due to extreme pain.

Not recommended at all. Wear boots and watch where you walk.