Weatherby Nation

I was talking with Zonie about some of the snakes we have in Texas, and have to contend with when hunting or just being out period.Anyone have any experiences they would like to share?
RogerRoger
Faster horses,younger women,older whiskey,and more money.

Roger:  I have 3 friends that have been bitten by rattlesnakes. One got close to a small baby at night and got scratched on the ankle, turned red no injection.  Second got nailed in the hand by a Pacific diamondback while trying to get his son away from the snake, went to hospital.  Third caught a Mohave Green rattlesnake and kept it in a fish tank and got bit almost killed him, very aggressive snake with neutotoxins, very very nasty snake that you don't want to get bit by, probably the worst of the rattlers you get bit go to the hospital right now.  The western diamondback are very bad also.  None of them are good. 

Another guy in know very well a licensed exotic snake breeder sold a cobra to another experienced snake guy got bit and died.

I have had quite a few run ins with rattlers and my thought is kill them where they slither. Probably not a good attitude but Eco system be damned I hate rattlesnakes.  Other snakes don't bother me and just let go.    Ron

Ron, Roger.

Do you guys ever wear some sort of gator around your ankles for snake bite protection. When my dad served in Africa they wore them. He told me watch the ground puff adders and the trees for mambas. One of his army mates took a hit from a spitting cobra, "nasty buggers" he called them.
 WE have one species of rattler up here in Ontario and its on the protected species list, so if you have to kill one you don't tell anybody.

Jamesone shot

Just kilt a Mojave green last year while deer hunting  a 4 footer shot it with a T/C contender in 22 mag one shot to the head, I skind it and tacked the skin to a board....I too hate snakes.

James:I do wear them on certain places but not as much as I should because they are so hot during spring turkey season when I see snakes most.I got a pair of tall snake boots once but they were worse yet for being hot and rubbing blisters.
Guys:I will look up the green Mohave as I don't know anything about them,yet.We mainly have Western diamond backs but also some timber rattlers that get massive,they are also protected.Yeah,right.
RogerRoger
Faster horses,younger women,older whiskey,and more money.

Its a good point to bring up.  Field and Stream just had an article about it.

While 2 of my buddies and I were hiking in we passed a copperhead sunning  itself by the lake right next to the path.  It was only after 2 of us stepped near it that the last guy in line saw it.  We were lucky not to be bit.   That was about 13 yrs ago and now that i'm out early in bow season again, i need to be more cautious, especially out there alone.

When I was stationed in NC, my boss stepped on a rattler while scouting state land.  He was lucky to have stepped on its head and killed it.  I have to say it was some good eating!!NBHFC
Connecticut

James & Petey :  I don't wear gators but I suppose it's not a bad idea in West Texas.  I wouldn't know a copperhead if I was looking at it, seen a cottonmouth in Alabama. That's a nasty little snake, I've seen rattlesnakes take to the water here in some canals they swim very good.   Ron

I must have brought home a hundred snakes to play with in my youth, and I have always found them to be some of Nature's most interesting animals. An uncle owned a small piece of property just north of Houston, and we enjoyed fishing at his ponds. One day while standing at the edge of the water the movement of a water mocassin, or cottonmouth as some call them, caught my eye as it appeared near my feet. It had a small catfish in his mouth, and it was bringing it to the bank so that it could eat the fish. As its mouth was busy holding the fish, I felt comfortable standing motionless just a foot or so away as it slowly worked the fish into position and I watched it swallow that little six inch catfish until all that remained visable was the tip of the fish's tail. Then I just backed away and continued fishing a little farther down the bank. It was awesome to watch. I caught a rattlesnake one time when I was young, but it was large and very unhappy with me, and it scared the crap out of me before I turned it loose. It was very strong and he struggled hard to bite me. I swore never to be so stupid again. Snakes are amazing creatures and they deserve our respect. A little common sense goes a long way when you are in snake country. Simple things like watching your path and keeping your hands out of places where snakes might hide will protect you most of the time. Blazing a quick trail through tall grasses and being careless when stepping over logs and rocks is generally unwise unless you use caution. With the exception of a few pythons in south Florida, no snakes here want to eat you, so they will avoid you when they can.

On the dark side, we now have evidence that large constrictors such as pythons are breeding in Florida, as well as King cobras, a large and agressive and very venomous snake. In a few decades we will be looking at snakes in a whole new light here in the US.I will believe corporations are people when Texas executes one.

Ron:Copperheads are kind of a mottled brown, most we see are not over 2 ft and slim.They are not as poisonus as rattlesnakes.You are sure right about cottonmouths.They are very agressive.I have not seen one in a long ti
Jim:You are a brave man.

Roger



Roger
Faster horses,younger women,older whiskey,and more money.

(Jim:You are a brave man.)

No not realy I did not get as close as one might think ?
about 15 or so feet. and a 10" contender is mighty accurate!....

Roger, When I caught the rattlesnake I was terribly stupid, not brave. I caught it by hand and risked my life without any reason. That is just dumb. Catching the snake was easy, but the second I grasped it in my hands I became truly frightened. I had handled dozens of non-poisonous snakes prior to this, and some had been a bit agressive, but this snake was different. He was about three feet long and about as thick as a man's wrist. His needle sharp fangs were dripping venom just an inch or so from my hand, and he was trying very hard to get me. Terrified is not a strong enough word. Neither is stupid.

I was able to release the snake unharmed, and I learned a big lesson about thinking  before acting that day!I will believe corporations are people when Texas executes one.

I ran into a few Copperheads when I lived in TX - they were generally pretty nonaggressive and you could dispatch them with a garden hoe pretty quickly. You keep your grass cut way back around your house in the Hill Country or you will have visitors following the other small critters raiding your garden. I woud advise snake boots for hunting in grassy areas in TX or the south in general - keeps the chiggers and ticks back also. In the SW the are a variety of rattle snakes that you need to be careful of fortunately except for the Mojave they are pretty nonaggressive. Eastern Diamondback is supposed to be the big nasty of rattlers in the US. I have only viewed them at the zoo.

Sweetwater,Texas is having it's annual rattlesnake round up which will end on Sunday afternoon the 14th of March.Worlds largest rattlesnake venue.Might be able to find info on the net.living 50 miles away,I've been a many of time.They have a great gun show going on at the same time as the round up too.Very interesting to watch the different shows that they put on with the snakes.Great way to spend an afternoon as well.If your close you should check it out.

224KING:Thanks for the heads up.I have been to several hunting expos where they have a pen filled with rattlesnakes and the handlers do some crazy things.One gets in a sleeping bag and the other one fills it with rattlesnakes.They usually have a photo album showing what has happened to them and others after getting bit.Loss of fingers and looks like the meat on hands, arms, legs etc is just rotting away.
RogerRoger
Faster horses,younger women,older whiskey,and more money.

Here in Florida, we only have four venemous snakes to deal with.  There is the Eastern Diamondback - gets to over 8' in length, but is actually a shy snake unless cornered or irritated.  It will try to move off, or at least hold it's ground.  Not nearly as aggressive as the Water Moccasin / Cottonmouth.  Our Cottonmouths are bad tempered, extremely aggressive water snakes that are difficult to identify due to the wide variation in color patterns.  The most ill tempered of all is the Pigmy Rattlesnake.  It only gets to around 18", but is all business.  Then we have the coral snake, which is shy and is rarely seen, but not uncommon in Florida.  Coral snakes here have been known not to bite at all when picked up.  Other times, there are reports of vicious and repeated bites.  Coral snake bites are often fatal, as they are related to the cobra family.  Some say there are Copperheads here, but only in the very northern parts of the state and they are rare. 
Another thing we have going on here in FL is that some exotic species of cobras have been caught down in Dade County.  Apparently there was a serpentarium down there in pretty rural area that went bust for some reason.  Word has it that the workers simply left the facility -snakes and all there when it closed.  Must be some truth to it, because a TV filming crew recorded the capture of two different species of cobras in a couple of days just a few miles from that facility - about 5 years after it closed.  Scary stuff - thinking that cobras may well be breeding in this state!

RR