Rattlesnakes

[RobG]

They don't acknowledge friendlies.

I've been hiking around them for more than 20 years. My wife saw one Saturday and didn't panic. Grow a sack Ken

 

[RobG]

To all of you that kill the snakes.

Does your state have a season on them?

A public forum may not be the best place to talk about killing snakes. (if it is illegal in your state)

Is it ethical to kill a snake that doesn't have an open season? Does that make you a poacher? It is wildlife.

Not trying to start an argument from anyone. Just curious of your thoughts, after all, laws are laws.

Montana doesn't - I was surprised many (including Texas and Colorado) states do.

 

[noharleyyet]

I've been hiking around them for more than 20 years. My wife saw one Saturday and didn't panic. Grow a sack Ken

Plenty of heartache stories from those things Rob...and you're welcome to examine my sac anytime.

 

[Big Sky]

Just another reason why I love Montana. I'd love it even more if there were no rattle snakes. Since that's not the case I'm doing my best to eliminate as many as possible. Nobody and I mean nobody dislikes them as much as I do.

 

[RobG]

Plenty of heartache stories from those things Rob...and you're welcome to examine my sac anytime.

They are indeed quite serious and expensive - I've read of bills over $100,000. However (from wiki) "A majority of victims (~ 72%[65]) are males, often young and intoxicated. Approximately half of bites occur in cases where the victim saw the snake yet made no effort to move away.[25]"

Shooting them with a shotgun is probably safe but...

 

[CabinFever]

Myself I figure they do a lot more good than harm,.

What good do they do?

 

[Dinkshooter]

^
They eat meece and stuff like that.

 

[Lv2hnt]

"Snakes --- why'd it have to be snakes?" --- Indiana Jones

Last time I had an encounter, I bumped into 2 speckled rattlers within 10 minutes while swapping out a trail camera card at night here in Arizona a couple months ago. Yeah, I jumped!!! Let 'em be that night --- not always so charitable ...

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/arizona-rattlesnakes.shtml

 

[Big Sky]

So do cats. Not that I like cats much better than snakes, but if I were forced to pick between the two, cats would slightly edge out snakes. Plus cats don't scare the pudding out'a me.

 

[Dinkshooter]

And fun to take pictures of!

 

[npaden]

Mine had yours beat like a stick on the rattle count! He was a pretty big snake but nothing to really give you a size perspective.

It was getting pretty close to dark though so my picture didn't turn out very good.

 

[Lv2hnt]

Great pic, Dink!

 

[katqanna]

Just another reason why I love Montana. I'd love it even more if there were no rattle snakes. Since that's not the case I'm doing my best to eliminate as many as possible. Nobody and I mean nobody dislikes them as much as I do.

Big Sky, I lived on Kauai for a few years and loved that they didnt have any snakes - they had imported mongeese that had killed them all off. I love mongeese.

 

[twodot]

always on the outlook around the yard here.

 

[LopeHunter]

No issue with snakes that are not a danger to me. A black snake can live in my yard and am okay with that. A rattlesnake encountered as I hike through the woods is not an issue. A copperhead near my campsite is another matter as is a cottonmouth near my duck blind. Snakes are a valuable part of natural balance and I like natural balance.

 

[243 AI]

A guy I know keeps a rattlesnake in a large glass display case at his business for customers to look at. He is a snake expert and has had this particular snake for 15 plus years. He feeds it one mouse a week...

I read about a study done on how many mice rattlesnakes in ID eat and it was about 2 mice per week. At that rate, especially since snakes aren't active year-round, it would take a bazillion snakes to actually do any damage to mouse populations. Rattlesnakes don't get a pass from me.

Heck, one coyote likely eats more mice in a few days than a rattlesnake eats in its lifetime.

 

[JEL]

This one surprised me today when I was watering the cows. Stepped right over it then heard the rattle. Cows were there so I dispatched it.

 

[millerkiller77]

I hate snakes. Non venomous get a pass, but rattlesnakes always die. The black one dispatched with a backpacking 10/22, the other one I used a shovel to toss it in the hole while a 24" rock auger was grinding through granite. I wonder if that made the drilling spoils "contaminated "?

 

[perma]

I’ve only ran into one rattler when hunting. Truth be told I’m deathly scared of snakes but that one didn’t phase me. But I know there’s gonna be a day where I’ll belly crawl into one when I’m pronghorn hunting…..

 

[Scott85]

Unless they are super close or in a house all snakes get a free pass.

I’ve never understood the mindset of waking through their habitat and running into a snake and think I must kill it.