Contributors to this thread:
I have done lots of scouting in the Gila and in the wilderness but have never seen or heard any rattlers. I am sure there must be a good population down there, anyone ever have any close calls?
I was reading a thread on another forum about having a snake encounter when you are are way in the back country and it got me thinking of what I would do, LOL I am tossed up if I would hit the In-Reach SOS button or try and make it out of there, leaning towards the button since it would probably be 3 to 4 or more hours to get anywhere.
JP JP JP. Guess I forgot to mention. You know where the canyon behind my base camp is. I had an encounter in '15 with a giant rattler at one of the rock outcroppings at the top of the canyon on Sept 18 in the late afternoon. It was hot and I saw the perfect shade below those rocks. I intruded on that snake keeping cool in the shade at about 5'. Now I'm leary of those rocks! It's a great spot to bugle or cow call from too! Sound travels great distances from there!
I came close to stepping on one in 16E a few years ago. It certainly got my attention, and like trophy, I'm now leery going through that section of trail.
So what would you guys do if you got bit and it would take 2 hours to hike out and 3 hours to get to town?
Curse at myself for being too cheap to not rent a sat phone. Probably try to find the highest ground and hope for a cell signal.
I've hunted 16C three times and never saw one. Unit 17? Like Oryx35 I almost stepped on one coiled up in a depression on a FR. I've also run one over and had one rattle at my truck when I randomly stopped to glass.
Years ago I was climbing an overgrown trail in unit 15 to a peak and placed my boot within a few inches of a snake that was about 6' long. I dropped my bow, jumped backward and counted my blessing not to have been struck. Then I realized it was a bull snake and I had almost had a heart attack for nothing. There was a boulder nearby that was was a good 5' wide, and when that snake went behind it I could see it's head on one side and it's tail on the other. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon looking for snakes.
No question I would hit the In-Reach SOS button and then start slowly working my way out trying to keep my heart rate as low as possible. Obviously I'd sit tight if that is what was requested, but a meet in the middle plan seems like it would have the best odds.
Seems like knowing what rattler bit you is important so the correct anti venom is given.
Like raceguy I'd curse myself for being cheap on sat phone and head for high ground loiking for cell signal.
I mostly hunt alone so I'd be in trouble.
I hate snakes! Remind me to never hunt the Gila lol. I’ll stick to my northern higher elevation units though I do hunt unit 2 on occasion and have seen a rattlesnake in 5b once.
I have had multiple encounters with rattlers in 36 & 37. Never been bit but have jumped 12' in a single bound when they went off. Few things in life get your blood pumping like the sudden sound of a rattle as you walk by. :)
I use to hunt 37 a long time ago but one Sept the giant rattlers were out in full force, I can recall at least 6 different snakes that were easily 6' long and super fat, I imagine the girth on them was at least 10 to12". No doubt they can really get your blood pumping, that same trip and after I had already seen a couple behemoths I was slow walking through some grass and as I was taking a step I saw the grass moving where my foot was fixing to land, then I saw the freaking snake, I also jumped like an olympic high jumper and got out of that grass as fast as possible, it scared the crap out of me!
So say you were a couple hours deep in the Gila wilderness and got bit, do you hike out or hit the button? I wonder if hiking for two hours and driving for 3 hours would cause irreparable damage to the limb that was bit compared to staying put. Would hitting the SOS button for a snake bite be considered a borderline cause? it would probably take just as long for help to arrive and the difference just being the hike out and causing damage.
In 38 YEARS ago I killed a 9' rattler I almost stepped on. In the middle of him he was so thick both hands would not fit around it. I'll see if I can did up a picture.
I saw a rattler a rancher killed in 37 two years ago that was about 6feet long and as big around as a fire hose. I’ve seen a lot of rattlers but that thing was the biggest.
It's like the perfect habitat in unit 37
I crossed paths with a 4’ blacktail rattlesnake in unit 15 last year.
Hey guys we have been hunting unit 15 for 20 plus years now. Seems to me that I run into at least one rattler every season. Most people would laugh if they ever have seen me trekking across unit 15 in my snake chaps. But have had to many close calls. So I did a little research. If you need to get medical attention for a snake bite. DO NOT go to Springerville, AZ they do not carry any antivenom. Best chances are getting to Grants, Socorro, Silver City or Albuquerque. Just an FYI for everybody.
We are running in to them nearly every year for the last 6-7 years up in 48. Last year, one was crossing the road as I was heading up the mountain on my 4x4, too late to stop when I saw him but I braked as I swung around him. He struck at the back driver tire on my way by, which prompted me to get off my bike and unload my .44mag at him. Missed all 6 shots from around 10 yards as he was headed toward the tall grass! They make it look so easy on the Westerns...
Put some snake shot in that .44. Shreds the heck out of them.
damn 9er 10yds? 6 rounds? i try to shoot when they are coiled up and a lot closer than 10yrds but thats just me
keep shooting, you will be as good as the guys in the westerns
LOL, I carry the .44mag with solid loads for bears...lots of 'em up there. We are never thinking about snakes, until one is there! And...I can pick off a domino from 10 yards, one handed. I had one shot at him coiled and it went over his head, the rest were while he was on the move. LOL
9er, if that had been a mohave rattler you could shoot all 6 shots and that SOB will still wanna fight. We crossed one on the road while quail hunting, ol'boy had every chance to flee but he wanted to bite somethin instead, so I surgically removed his head w/ 7 1/2 shot from about 5ft.
We were kayaking the gila river in 17 when we came across a Mohave rattlesnake, being about 15 miles down river with another 20 to go I doubt we could of got out in time, would definitely hit the sos button but Hell unless they brought a helicopter in that still would have been a day or two recovery
I've come across 3 in unit 17. One was coiled in a depression on a FR I was walking on. Almost stepped on him but it was a cool morning so he wasn't too active.
Another I stopped to glass a hillside from my truck while scouting prior to the hunt. I rolled down my window and heard a "hiss". I thought I might have punctured a tire. It wasn't a tire, I just happened to stop right next to a 5 footer who wasn't too thrilled.
Hunted Villa Vidal a few years ago. Elevation was around 8000' and I figured it was too high to worry about rattlesnakes. About 11AM I was driving the main gravel road and a midnight black rattler was stretched out across the road. He was about 3 1/2 feet long and very fat. Might have been run over, but was alive. I decided to run over his head, backed up, and proceeded to run over his head (I thought). Backed up to make sure he was done in, and he wasn't there. I backed up further and there was no snake anywhere. The area was open and would have seen him if he had made it off the road. I drove forward for a half mile, expecting to see a black snake in my mirror, falling off my axle. Nothing. I opened the door, jumped out as far as I could, and started looking under the truck. Nothing. For days afterward I was scared to approach my truck, figuring he was waiting for me. He was the first and only black rattler I have seen, and he looked like death waiting to happen.
Muddyboots, I live at 7500 feet and kill several almost every year up here.
Stepped within 12" of two of them in 16A at 7,800'. I never knew they were there until my buddy hissed at me about them rattling. I never noticed the sound. I poked at one with a stick for a few minutes because it was the first time I'd ever seen a rattlesnake and then left them alone and went on my way. Being from Minnesota where there are none anywhere close to where I live, I consider myself lucky to have seen them.
Never have understood the paranoia about snakes. You're in a truck in the middle of nowhere and feel the need to run them over?!
I've seen a handful over the years and without exception those that were at relatively close range gave me fair warning with a rattle and I simply snapped a few photos, detoured, and moved on.
Do we shoot every bear we see because it might hurt us?
Leave them be, they help keep the rat and mouse populations in check.
Although I keep telling myself I'm going to kill and roast a rattler one of these years because they are supposed to "taste like chicken"...
I want to fry one up too, but luckily I’ve had very few encounters. I used to work an international grocery store in Ohio called jungle Jim’s, they sold rattlesnake, head cheese, tripe.. you name it. Pretty amazing place if you’re ever in the Cincinnati area.
Snakes is the reason I am leary about June - Sept oryx hunts...
Some of these snakes don't care what month it is. That Mohave was during quail season. Buddy of mine's bird dog found a rattler in Dec east of hondo valley with snow on the ground, granted they are less likely but always be aware.
I've yet to see a snake when off range oryxing in Nov - March.
Guess anything is possible.
I’ll vouch for unit 37 having lots of rattlers. Not a fan of navigating through the oak brush due to an encounter with one
Encountered one last weekend of Oct on my sons off range. I stepped about 3-6" from him and over him first thing in the morning. My son walking behind me stopped and let me know. I still didnt see it after he was showing me where he was all coiled up lol. He was cold and I told my son the only snakes I like are cold ones.
what sucks is when you get a little older and cant hear the little devils rattle.
I rode up horse back on four different snakes this past fall and couldn't hear them rattle. Last summer ran across a diamond back that was over 5 feet long that didn't have any rattles. they looked like they had broken off at the first button.
why did I read this thread?
Loon,
Asking myself same thing now...thx! HAHA!
I have seen rattlesnakes in Southwest NM from March through late October/early November. They don't bother me and I give them a pass, unless at the house.
I have also thought about what I would do if I am in the woods and get hit by one. I think that a hike out might be worse considering how hard my heart beats when climbing out of a canyon, but I don't know. Maybe I would hit the SOS on the Spot but I really don't know how long it would take to get emergency response to my location. What are your guys recommendation?
edited due to irrelevance.
So the Lone Ranger and Tonto were out riding the plains one day.
The Lone Ranger needed to take care of business so he went into the bushes and dropped his drawers. A rattler tagged him right on the butt.
He let's out a holler and hobbles out of the bushes "Tonto I got bitten on my rear by a rattlesnake, ride into town and ask the doctor what we need to do!"
Tonto tears off, the doctor tells him to cut an X over each fang mark, suck out the poison and spit it out.
Tonto comes racing back to the Lone Ranger, who asks "So what did the doctor say?"
Tonto responds "Him say you're going to die"...
I am thinking I will wear snake gaiters this season,tons of snakes on white sands
Are you allowed to kill snakes on white sands? I have my OIL hunt this year.
On WSMR you are not allowed to kill anything except what your tag is for. No coyotes, snakes, rabbits, etc. Don't fool around with the military rules.
How many snakes do u have in ur house smarba? I don't kill every snake that I encounter but u seem to have a special spot for them.
"A special spot"? Hardly. But I'm not paranoid either.
And with regards to WSMR, we're talking about MILITARY land and MILITARY rules. So you're going to kill a rattler and risk getting tossed off the range in the middle of your OIL oryx hunt? Have fun with that.
Heard ya the first time pal.... I'll do what I want :D
I've ran into a few in unit 15 and over in AZ but never gave it a second thought. I guess if you are going to be in a wilderness setting you might want to be prepared for the worst. I worry more about lightning, heat stroke, ATV accidents and worst of all, horses. A .357 or .44 with bird shot will dispatch a snake quite nicely but if you are close enough to get bit, it won't do you much good. If one buzzes right next to you, you will become airborne and be several feet away long before you could draw and shoot. I know that from experience during my ranching days. Have a plan to get out in case of any emergency but don't worry about things you can't control and will likely never happen.
I was stationed at WSMR some years back. Unless the rules have changed there is no prohibition specifically prohibiting the killing of rattlesnakes on the range, meaning that they are not specifically protected. The post puts out PSAs frequently on what to do if you're bit by one because they occasionally show up in the housing areas. The reason they don't allow anyone to shoot coyotes and unprotected species on the Oryx hunts is for safety. Those species (coyotes, ect.) can be hunted on the range at other times. I don't know if it specifically applies to rattlesnakes also, but assuming you can only take weapons on the hunt that are meant to harvest an Oryx there may be some safety related issues with using that to shoot a rattlesnake. I would tend to agree that killing a rattlesnake would not be worth the risk of getting your hunt canceled abruptly. Besides chances are you won't even encounter any out there. As much time as I have spent there I have seen very few relative to the amount of time spent.
Let them live if you choose. That's insanity to me!
Let them live if you choose. That's insanity to me!
I saw a guy who got bit on the leg by a big rattler in southern N.M. he didn’t see it or hear it and was flown to a hospital ... all I can say after seeing his leg is you damn sure don’t want to get bit by one !! It’s not just a bite it’s big damage done ! When I see a rattler it’s like a bird seeing a worm ... it’s gonna die.
Surprise under the hood.
Surprise under the hood.
Saw one or two on a "sea cliff" at Heron this past weekend, 15-feet above the water and 30 feet below the cliff top. Was (were?) hanging out on the muddy birds nests. The passengers in the canoe were not pleased with our having drifted to within 50 feet.
