# rattlesnakes?



## Quacker Smacker (Mar 3, 2010)

so last night while deer hunting i ran into 3 rattlesnakes in less than a 20 minute period of time, i didnt know what to do but to get out of there, what do you guys do in a situation like that?


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. You'd be surprised at how many people walk by and never see.


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## crimson obsession (Sep 7, 2008)

I would go buy a pair of snake bite hunting boots


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## Quacker Smacker (Mar 3, 2010)

i'll have to check into a pair of those boots or just not go back up there


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## Speedbump (Mar 7, 2011)

what area were you in??!?


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## Quacker Smacker (Mar 3, 2010)

the grantsville area


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

Quacker Smacker said:


> the grantsville area


theres ALOT of rattle snakes in those hills...... best thing to do would probably be to not go back up there


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## FSHCHSR (Aug 30, 2008)

I probably would have made a mess in my shorts. seriously just watch where you step and when you do see them LEAVE THEM ALONE there was a guy in logan canyon about a month ago tried to pick one up to move it away from camp got bit on both hands


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## Speedbump (Mar 7, 2011)

Seems easier and safer to just blast them.


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

Speedbump said:


> Seems easier and safer to just blast them.


That is not legal in Utah.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

> Speedbump wrote:Seems easier and safer to just blast them.





> That is not legal in Utah.


Neither is speeding.

:O•-:


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## pkred (Jul 9, 2009)

Jay walking also not legal...

Could blasting a rattler be called self defense. I have seen a couple on the opener on the front.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Usually if you see them you have plenty of time to get away from them so I doubt that self defense would work. Now if you are standing on it or holding it in your hands then you took the first offensive action so self defense wouldn't work there either. 

I could understand getting rid of them if they were around your home but when you are out in their domain why not just leave them alone or take a picture of them and enjoy that. 

Every year I hunt where you could find a lot more rattlesnakes than what we are hunting for but all I have ever done is taken pictures.


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## jpolson (Jun 12, 2011)

Critter said:


> Usually if you see them you have plenty of time to get away from them so I doubt that self defense would work. Now if you are standing on it or holding it in your hands then you took the first offensive action so self defense wouldn't work there either.
> 
> I could understand getting rid of them if they were around your home but when you are out in their domain why not just leave them alone or take a picture of them and enjoy that.
> 
> Every year I hunt where you could find a lot more rattlesnakes than what we are hunting for but all I have ever done is taken pictures.


Wow! Look at the rattle showing at the top. It's got at least 10 buttons!


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

Speedbump said:


> Seems easier and safer to just blast them.


agreed. just kill the suckers


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## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

I've been looking for an actual code on killing a rattler. Can't find a sure definition on it other than there are a couple that are protected. Its likely you saw the Great Basin Rattlesnake which are not protected from what I've read. It does state they can be killed for safety purposes. With that said, I think anything could be justified that is within reason.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

crimson obsession said:


> I would go buy a pair of snake bite hunting boots


There are snake gators you can purchase as well.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Critter said:


> Usually if you see them you have plenty of time to get away from them so I doubt that self defense would work. Now if you are standing on it or holding it in your hands then you took the first offensive action so self defense wouldn't work there either.
> 
> I could understand getting rid of them if they were around your home but when you are out in their domain why not just leave them alone or take a picture of them and enjoy that.
> 
> Every year I hunt where you could find a lot more rattlesnakes than what we are hunting for but all I have ever done is taken pictures.


Your picture Critter? Nice shot...all I ever see is one or two at a time.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

.45 said:


> Your picture Critter? Nice shot...all I ever see is one or two at a time.


Yep, every year I head to Arizona for the javelina hunt in February and a few years ago I found this den site. I also have quiet a few other pictures of them either at that site or a couple of others while hunting birds down there.

You just learn that when you are in snake country you pay attention to what is around you. The interesting thing about them is that I want a nice snake skin mounted on a board. One year I found a real nice one but he had no rattles. Talking to locals down there they say that when the snakes go dormant in their dens which are usually also home to pack rats that the pack rats will eat or chew off the rattles. Since that time I have found a few others with no rattles or very few for the size of the snake.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

shaun larsen said:


> Speedbump said:
> 
> 
> > Seems easier and safer to just blast them.
> ...


For as long as I can remeber we shot every snake we came across. I don't know if grandpa was wrong or not. I was a kid and learned from him.

Now a days I have not run into many snakes but if I do, I figure if they are not bothering me I will leave them alone. There are a lot of subspecies of rattlers and only a handful are protected. Before you shoot them you should learn how to ID them to make sure you are legal or just leave them alone.


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## drsx (Sep 8, 2010)

Since when are rattlesnakes protected?


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

In Utah the Great Basin Rattlesnake is protected. I do not know if any others are. In Arizona there are 4 that are currently protected. I also know in california there are about 7 or 8 subspecies that are protected.

Here are a few links to docs listing the protected ones:
http://www.cfa.arizona.edu/herp/LWRS.pdf page2 bottom right
http://www.bugsinthenews.com/Texas Snake Web/great_basin_rattlesnake_SLC_071504.htm middle of the first page


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## Doc (Sep 11, 2007)

Labor Day I took out an 11 year old grandson to hunt doves. We were walking back to the truck through some rye grass/cheat grass when he jumped and yelled "rattlesnake"!!! He was standing there shaking not knowing what to do trying to see what the snake was going to do. It was coiled and ready to strike, I told him, "You've got a gun". He blasted it with a 20 guage from about 4 feet away. It took the head off. I asked if he had heard it rattle (I can't hear the things) he told me no, he just saw it coiled up where he was going to step. It was 34 inches without the head and fat. The rattles were deformed with two normal ones and a third deformed one. I wonder if it was because of shedding.

I thought about telling him to let it be but there was a sense of power and control over the situation he needed to have at that point. I'm sure he will remember that the rest of his life.

He (and I) were lucky we were not bit.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Good on you Doc. I think the lesson of empowerment was well applied and warranted.

Did you eat it? They taste like chicken.


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## Doc (Sep 11, 2007)

I asked him if he wanted to, he declined (I've eaten it before). I should have skinned it but didn't, I did give him the rattles. He did eat the dove we got and was initiated to one of our hunting traditions of eating Kippered Snacks. I asked if he had eaten them before, he said yes when he was camping with us earlier, aren't they "like caramel popcorn?" I said NO but here ya go and gave him some crackers and a can (We always carry a tin or two in our packs or vehicle when we go out). Next will be when he gets his first deer and gets to eat the liver (cooked with onions of course).


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

It is too bad that you didn't take the skin and the meat along with the rattles. Don't take my opinion wrong but it the snake was 4' away from him he was in no danger of getting bit. That along with just telling him to kill it and then not using was was there is the wrong ideals to install into a young hunter. It would be no different if he went deer hunting and shot a spike and decided that it was too small and left it so that he could find a larger buck.


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Critter said:


> It is too bad that you didn't take the skin and the meat along with the rattles. Don't take my opinion wrong but it the snake was 4' away from him he was in no danger of getting bit. That along with just telling him to kill it and then not using was was there is the wrong ideals to install into a young hunter. It would be no different if he went deer hunting and shot a spike and decided that it was too small and left it so that he could find a larger buck.


I totally have to disagree with this one. I think teaching him that he had control of the situation was a great thing. If it would have been me, I would have used the meat and the skin but that is me. Shooting a spike and leaving it because it is to small is not even close to what he did. I would be more like stepping on a scorpion and not eating it, some would eat it!!
I would have kept the skin, but I also keep the hide of me deer, the bones I make knive handles out of and the feet I make stuff out of, the fat and stuff I feed to the dog. I have 15 pounds of fat and scrap in the freezer for the dog, do you save all that or do you toss it in the garbage?
Critter, do you save all of the usefull stuff on all the animals you kill? I know you don't, nobody does in America!! Guys in Africa would call you a total sinner for not eating the brains and eyes on your deer kills!!
He taught his kid a lesson and I think it was a good call, maybe he doesn't really like snake meat, he killed it to teach his child a lesson and that is fine if that meat gets eaten by the ants. That snake would have just gotten old and died anyway and nobody would have gotten to eat it anyway, it is totally different than a deer.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

hoghunter011583 said:


> Critter, do you save all of the usefull stuff on all the animals you kill? I know you don't, .


That's a strange comment to make since you don't know me.

Since you bring this up I will save 95% of any deer and elk or any other animal that I kill. I have the antlers of every deer and elk that I have killed along with a few of the hides. If I don't keep the hide I donate it. As far as the fat, with a few other ingredients it makes a useful water repellent that my dad taught me to make. I also have never just boned out a animal. I'll use the bones in soup and there is nothing like eating the meat off of the rib bones or chewing on the deer chops with the bones in them. There is also nothing better than liver and onions along with the heart. I will admit that I don't keep the kidneys.

As far as teaching the boy that he was in control of the situation that is fine but couldn't you say the same thing if he just admired the snake and let it go about its business?


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Critter said:


> hoghunter011583 said:
> 
> 
> > Critter, do you save all of the usefull stuff on all the animals you kill? I know you don't, .
> ...


Well, even though I don't know you it looks like I was right, you waste some of the animal along with ALL of us!! I guess he could have "admired" the snake but that is not what he was trying to do. If your son almost steps on a rattlesnake and you choose to admire it in all of it glory, that is your choice. I was just saying that your initial comment about wasting the snake was not accurate, comparing it to killing a spike. If you want to argue about if he should have admired it or killed it is a different thing. I wasn't there so I don't know what I would have done. I don't think killing it, or admiring it is wrong it just depends on what you think you should do in the moment.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

We observed a 34" rattler settle down in the shade of my truck one year at Otter Creek. I tried to coax him away using a branch to push him, I didn't really care to hurt the thing. Well, he got real defensive and not only started striking at the branch but also my tires. With two small children with us, I wasn't going to put up with this guy. 
The first shot took 1/2 of his head off along with one fang and one eyeball. The axe finished him. 
We (my wife) packed us up and had us to going to higher elevations hoping to get out of snake country. We placed the rattler in a box with my sons hope's that we could fry him up and also save the skin. When we reached Fish Lake we opened the box....man, what an odor, rank stinky 'ole thing. Even though I wouldn't mind, I've never had a chance to try rattler.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

.45: 
Rattle snake isn't any different than any other meat out there. The quicker that you get it skinned and cleaned and on ice the better.


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## Huntoholic (Sep 17, 2008)

.45 said:


> ...... Even though I wouldn't mind, I've never had a chance to try rattler.


I've had it twice. Fine eating, but is easy to over cook if you try to cook it in one long piece.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Rattle snake is best in nuggets sauted with butter or if you want an on the spot meal roast it over the fire.


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## COOPERD (Sep 16, 2007)

I had one this summer cross the road in front of me, I will be darned if my truck didnt just run it right over. I couldnt believe it. Dang trucks.


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## 90redryder (Oct 10, 2011)

I had a similar experience while rabbit hunting. The problem was that these ones were aggressive. I left them alone but they were pissed that I was even there. I made sure to stand out of their way but had a few strikes in my direction. After that I blasted it with a shotgun because it clearly didnt want to let me walk past it.


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## phorisc (Feb 2, 2011)

if your carrying a pistol while deer hunting you can load up some of these babies which are specifically made to take care of snakes...horseback riders use them and such.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/CCI-...+pistol+ammo&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products


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## hnt4food (Oct 28, 2009)

I have been told if you kill a rattlesnake you should bury the head because if bees get into it and sting someone they could transfer the venom. Is there any truth to this? I wouldn't think so since it would just be a trace amount if any at all


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I've been told you shoot s rattle snake and it's no different then shooting a deer out of season. 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I doubt that a bee could poison you after getting into a rattlesnakes head, but burying the head only makes good sense. You wouldn't want you dog or a child coming up to one and getting into it and being poisoned by a dead snakes head which can very easily happen.


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## COOPERD (Sep 16, 2007)

I call B.S. on the whole killing a rattlesnake is like killing a deer out of season. That is unless you heard it from your sisters cousins boyfriends nephews neighbor.


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## Jed (Feb 25, 2009)

Just leave them alone and give them plenty of room.


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## wapiti67 (Oct 2, 2007)

BS!!! I was bit by rattler when I was 16. I will and do kill snakes whenever I find them...The meat is superb nd the skins make great decorations.


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## HunterDavid (Sep 10, 2007)

reb8600 said:


> Speedbump said:
> 
> 
> > Seems easier and safer to just blast them.
> ...


That it not a law that I am familiar with...... where do you get that from? I have never heard that rattlesnakes are protected in Utah.

HunterDavid


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

HunterDavid
Unless I misunderstand it, this should cover it. It is from the guide for Collection, Importation & Possession of Amphibians & Reptiles. Look through the snakes, all the rattle snakes it shows are prohibited. http://wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks/amp ... _reptiles/ Before you say that killing them is not the same as collecting them, read this from the Administrative Rule on the meaning of collect, 
(6) "Collect" means to take, catch, capture, salvage, or kill any free-roaming amphibian or reptile within Utah.

Basically in Utah if it is not listed in a proclamation/guide book as being legal to shoot, it is probably illegal. This is also from the defininition in the Administrative Rule
(4) "Certificate of registration" means a document issued under the Wildlife Resources Code, or any other rule or proclamation of the Wildlife Board granting authority to engage in activities not covered by a license, permit or tag.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Like Reb said, as far as I knew rattlesnakes were protected in Utah unless they were deemed some kind of pest.




Where's Fishrmn on this? He's got a handle on all the codes.


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

reb8600,
Not to be argumentative, but saying that it has to be a guidebook to be legal to shoot is an oversimplification. Magpies, and crows can be shot under certain situations. They're not in a guidebook. Skunks, red fox, squirrels, and coyotes aren't in any guidebook either. Dogs, (yep the neighbor's pet pooch) can be dispatched if they are harassing, chasing, worrying, or attacking hoofed, protected wildlife. i.e. deer, elk, moose. Find that one in a guidebook.



> Utah Code
> Title 18
> Dogs
> Chapter 1
> ...


All that aside, you are correct about snakes. You could get a ticket for killing a snake.

Thanks for the vote of confidence goob. :lol:


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

Magpies, and crows can be shot under certain situations true but the shooter better be sure it is a crow and not a raven. They are covered in the Collection, Importation and Possession of Zoological Animals in section VII nuissance animals as well as squirrel. Squirrels are also listed in the mammals table as being controlled or protected.

Skunks, red fox, and coyotes are covered in the furbearer guide book. I was aware of the dogs and knew it was covered somewhere other than a guide book.


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

reb8600,
Ask goob about squirrels. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

I can't find a thing about coyotes in the furbearer guidebook.


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

Fishrmn said:


> I can't find a thing about coyotes in the furbearer guidebook.


It talks about them in the definitions under furbearer protected wildlife and on page 6 under "Do you have a license".


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

reb8600,
Good catch. I stand corrected.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Fishrmn said:


> reb8600,
> Ask goob about squirrels. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


Ah, ha, ha, ha.......yer killin' me. 

Thanks for the help Fishrman, yer the man.


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