I have never heard of a snake "attacking" anyone, at least not in the USA. I simply avoid them.
Rattlesnakes are super polite unless you handle them or unintentionally step or sit on them.
I have never heard of a snake "attacking" anyone, at least not in the USA. I simply avoid them.
Rattlesnakes are super polite unless you handle them or unintentionally step or sit on them.
Most rattlesnakes Ive had interaction with showed no apparent intent to leave, only coil and rattle. One went to the top of a small sage bush to rattle at me rather than leave.
Some types have a reputation for being more aggressive than others, and I think it can be individual to particular snakes. In Az they were diamondbacks, and in the Verde there were Mojaves, which are more potent than average diamondbacks. They seem to have an attitude also. The ones I see now are prairie rattlers. One of the biggest issues is simply stumbling upon them, and they arent always obliging by sitting around in the open. Theyve been under rocks I stepped off of, in brush, and ive had two come out from under vehicles right after i arrived somewhere and got out, I didnt see them when I drove up. Simply "paying attention" isnt always enough. I certainly didnt invite the one in the house in either, and he took deep offence at me being there. My experience isnt that rattlesnakes try to avoid people. I guess they may be different in different areas.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
When out in the Hill country, 38 SPL snake shot.
Or - Angry Mob.
This is a true story. My wife and I come down our street from shopping. We see a true angry mob as in a Frankenstein movie surrounding something in the street. Shovels, hoes, rakes, etc.
I pull into my driveway and ask what's up. They tell me that a coral snake started across the street, across my drive way to the next door neighbor's driveway. All mobilized and pounded it to death.
Then there was a debate about whether it was true coral snake. "Red on yellow kills a fellow. Red on black, venom lack." or "Red touch black, safe for Jack".
I say I have a TX snake book. I run inside and get it. So I stand over the corpse, with the book in hand, reading the description, surrounded by the mob. I have one hand raised for emphasis and the other with the book
Then an older couple walks into to us and asks me if I'm a preacher!
Can't make this up. Haha! We did get lots of garter snakes. Harmless but annoying. One managed to get tangled (who knows how) in the garage door opener and hoisted into the air when my wife opens the door. There it is flopping around. Of course, I have to go get it and since it was mangled put it out of its misery with a shovel.
I will back up a bit what I said before and agree that Mojaves are assholes. They seem to want to stand their ground more than retreat. The local Black and Blacktail species are pretty docile.Originally Posted by Malamute
Where we spend time in AZ, the Mitchell rattlers are pretty chill, and the Mohave rattlers have a reputation for aggressive behavior. Since they don’t have a smell, they are harder for dogs to avoid. The Western Diamondback I shot on April,1, was very pissed off and doing his best imitation of a cobra. The Western Diamondback I saw in May was just traveling and minding his own business.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Had a guy in my platoon end up on top of a rattler during a stalk. Thank goodness for seabags. Anyway two guys grabbed an arm and a leg each and when they jerked him off of it another guy shot it. 😂 Pendleton was chock full of rattlers and buffalo.
I'll wager you a PF dollar™ 😎
The lunatics are running the asylum
Lotsa good mountain bike miles and rides w a 642 and snake shot aiwb. Felt safe too even if I fell. A pellet gun would be fine too. But limited to snakes only I’d guess.
Eta the cool thing about the snub was that I think I had 3 regular rounds after the first two snake shots.
Yeah, that’s a cool thing about snubs - they don’t care if the shot loads are low recoil.
Their venom is more potent too. The vet that treated my dog told me that. IIRC he said the anti venom doesn’t work well.
Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.
Born and raised in AZ and spent all my life in the southwest (AZ, NM, and TX).
I have crossed paths with and had near misses with rattlesnakes many, many many times including incidents near my back yard swimming pool, stepping on a large diamondback while quail hunting, having another large diamondback exit an irrigation ditch above my head (I was reclined against the side of the ditch waiting for the doves in the nearby field to return to roost), another diamondback entertaining my beagle in the back yard (different house from the swimming pool incident), being (almost) thrown from my horse when a HUGE rattler "buzzed" almost directly below his feet (my dog was bitten in that incident, and survived with no medical treatment, but boy did his head swell to large proportions!), and several other occasions when hunting, camping, fishing, and riding ATV's and UTV's.
In every case except the swimming pool incident, a large rock served me well. In the swimming pool incident, a rake was the weapon of choice. I just never felt the need to shoot a snake, although I certainly could have done exactly that, especially when I was armed with a shotgun.
Reply With Quote