doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT - Why I hate rattlesnakes

I've seen knife scabbards and even pistol grips covered with snake skin so I don't know why it wouldn't work on a recoil pad.
BTW:Crosschisles isn't the only one here to pick one of these critters up!
That's a Colt 38 snubbie with snake loads on my hip.
Jim

Just s few points I need to make about snakebite.Every snake bite from a venomous species does not mean that you were necessarily envenomed. Snakes will bite without injecting venom for a number of reasons,some of which are not understood.Your clothes may have absorbed some of the venom, the snake might be low on juice or he may not inject it for some other reason or you may get a small dose when in fact he is carrying a lethal amount but for some reason does not inject it. Venomous snake bites are serious business but panic is one sure way to make it worse. People have had heart attacks from fright when bitten by a non poisonous species as well as made a poisonous bite worse by with actions caused by unreasoning fear.When in snake country be damn careful where you walk and/or place your hands and be observant, they are very often next to impossible to see.I like snakes but have to agree that any poisonous ones found near human habitation need to be either killed or removed by experts to a more remote location.

Living and hunting (mostly) in Texas my GSPs get the Red Rock rattle snake shots. The local vet sez they do work, but bring the dog in for sure if he is bitten.

I killed no rattlers last year, but killed 5 the year before. Almost got bitten stepping out of the garage door one November night; I saw him just in time. A few months earlier a 5 footer was under the bird bath; that one almost got me as well. He was 3 feet from my face, all coiled up and ready to rumble. They lost the fight to my 20 ga. and nr 6 shot.

And I am very cautious, wear boots or snake boots even in the yard.

I shoot the SOBs no matter what. If my dogs show any interest at all, they get a reminder from Mr Edison to lay off.

A Copperhead did get me years ago and I still carry the marks and the grudge. But, I know my snakes and like and protect the non-venemous ones.

By the way, that Western Diamondback in the picture from Amarillo was 9 feet 1 inch long and weighed 93 pounds, according to the Amarillo paper. What a monster.

Quailnut

I must strongly disagree that the snake pictured weighed anywhere near 93 pounds. I am unaware of any rattler that ever topped 7 1/2 feet in modern times as measured by reliable officials and not in the field by excited locals. The guy holding the snake doesn't appear to be straining a bit and believe me to hold nearly 100 pounds in a manner like that you would be straining. I am a 250 pound former competing powerlifter and I tried it with 50 pounds in a similiar position and no way is that snake anywhere that size,regardless of what the newspaper said.Sort of like holding the bass out toward the photographer when you catch a 5 pounder, it looks bigger than it is,much bigger.

this is an interesting post as noted earlier we here in Australia have a few snakes in the top 10 most venomous I think the King Brown may be well up there but I thought there were some deadlier I think the Death Adder in the Northern Territory rates right up there and the Tiger Snake from the Southern States if it injected venom it would be the the most dangerous
The Tiger Snakes venom rums down the outside of its fangs rather than being injected or something along those lines
FWIW Snakes are totally protected in Australia unless they pose a threat
Considering the dangerous snakes in Australia most would sooner get out of your way they tend to not want to be around people death by Snake bite happens but isn't that common at least you don't hear about it
So what is the story with Rattle Snakes? do they tend to get out of your way or more inclined to hold there ground and have a go at you?

I'd sooner have a few more field mice on my place - the copperheads get nixed every chance I get.

Back when I lived in Pa. and much younger then, 13-16 yrs I used to hunt rattle snakes, copperheads and anything that moved. I was never bitten and not a close call either. I was not afraid of them, nor worried to much about getting bit. Some of the non -fear is just being a young person. But I did know alot about snakes. But even today I woul have no problems going back and doing it. The one gentlemen is correct in saying that you do not get injected with every bite. Sometimes a snake has taken a meal and then you do not get a full dose, or he just does not do it.

I had a fellow who I knew pretty well in Benezette area of PA. His name Bill Smith, he was like the mountain type man. He hunting rattles everyear and I would go by to see him. He would have a cage just jammed packed with rattle snakes, just piled on top of each other. Of course he had been bitten many times and had built up a resistance to the bites. I know you can do this as there is a fellow in Florida( Haas) who is world famous who has injected himself with venoum of various snakes and has built a resistance to it.

If you do get bit, the worst thing you can do is to panic, or use the old method of cutting the wound to get the poison out.

Use ice if you have it.

Actually, snake bites are rare in comparison to other forms of injuries. But naturally when when happens you hear about it.


John Boyd

Well, I guess it's time for the old story of the old two buddies, Joe and BIll, who were out golfing one day. They were on the back 9 when Joe said he had to take a leak. He dropped his 5 Iron for a minute and went into the woods and started watering the bushes. Unfortunately for Joe, a large rattlesnake happened to be there and it sprang up and bit the end of his...putter. Joe came stumbling out of the woods and told Bill what happened. "Don't panic!", said Bill, "Lie down on the fairway, don't move, and I'll go try to find a doctor!" So Bill ran as fast as he could through 8 holes of golf course all the way back to the clubhouse. "Is there a doctor in the house?!" he cried.

As luck would have it, a group of doctors had just finished their round of golf and were sitting down for lunch. There was an ER doctor, a neurologist, a nationally known snakebite expert, a surgeon, and a general practitioner. "Don't worry", they told Bill, "Just make an incision slightly above the bitemark, suck out the venom, spit it on the ground, and everyone will be fine."

"OK," puffed Bill, "Let me make sure I've got this right. I make an incision slightly above the bitemark, suck out the venom, spit it on the ground, and everyone will be fine."

"That's right" the team of doctors told him.

So Bill ran all the way back to Bill, all the while repeating to himself the instructions the doctors had given him. Finally he reached Joe. "Did you find any doctors?" asked Joe.

"Yes" replied Bill, "A whole team of experts!"

"What did they say?" asked Joe.

Bill took a deep breath and put his hand on Joe's shoulder. "They said you're gonna die."

Three times in six years my dogs have been bitten by rattlesnakes. I never saw the offending snake. A friend says the Prairie rattler is more aggressive than the Western Diamondback - we have both. I have had a few close calls in my 53 years but never bitten. I don't have experience with other poisonous snakes to compare them to so I would say they are just common here. Where I live they hibernate from late November until the end of February which closely matches quail season here. The bite incidents have all been while we were out exercising in the early Spring. I sometimes see them coiled up and pissed and sometimes crawling off, unmolested in both cases.

I tend to find them near lots of rodents. In the bar ditches (draingage ditches along the roads), Red Gopher fields, prairied dog fields. Also areas with lots of rabbits attract them.

Best,

Mike

Sometimes they inject venom sometime they don't, sometimes they stand their ground sometimes they don't....they're unpredictable making them even more dangerous!!