Be Careful Here in AZ!!
General Topic
Shot all summer in 115 degrees down here in Phoenix, on some state land close to the the city. Never saw a snake, likely cause it was too damn hot, even for them.
Well, even though my elk hunt is over, I am tuning a new arrow setup last Friday. A couple arrows into my set I get some weird feeling like I am being watched. I turned around and this bugger was about 2 yards away looking at me. AND he had the audacity to act all pissed, like I scared him! Dude, you were coming up on me man!!
A couple expletives, and I tested my 30 yard pin at 3 yards...and it's apparently dead on.
Be careful out there!
Nice shot! One less to worry about!
Looks like a Mohave, that's the really bad one! Thanks for taking him out so there's one fewer for me to worry about.
I let them be when out hunting or hiking unless a poisonous snake is in the middle of camp. Plenty of critters for snakes to go eat that I like less than snakes. Glad you are safe and did not get bitten.
Great shot! I hate those things! I've had encounters with several of those here in NM.
I'd have to cry myself to sleep after that. Give me bears, wolves and any other "scary" animal out there but the snakes can stay the hell away, haha!
wow he/she will make excellent limb backing on somebody's recurve or longbow.
oz
Just for grins....is there any value in that snake if it's alive? Would a snake/reptile farm want to buy him?
Yeah, not sure if it was a Mojave or not. I'll have to go check if it's still there today. Usually, if there's more white in the tail and big scales on the head, it is one. I'll see this afternoon.
I probably would've let him alone if I crept up on him. But the punk slithered up to me, and then acted like it was my fault! Haha. He wasn't wild about sharing my shooting range either, so let him taste some carbon.
JL, not sure really. They make anti-venin I believe synthetically now, so not sure what animal control would have done if I called them. Maybe would've taken him in, but they're all over down here, so not sure how valuable he would have been to a club or something.
Rattler rescue center?
I thought head shots were unethical in archery! ;0-
Well placed arrow congrats
Best thing about rattlers is they are fairly self aiming...... just weave the arra or muzzle around a bit and........
That is a Western Diamondback. Notice the diamond pattern extends the length of the snake. A Mojave diamond pattern starts to fade and changes patterns on the bottom 1/3 of the snake
lol, true TD, very true...but wasn't about to get that close!
Trophyhill, I've heard the same, also if there is more white than black in the tail. But also read the most for sure way in the field is if there are big scales on the head. Westerns just have little ones, but mojaves have a few big ones like plates.
https://www.snakes.ngo/mohave/
Regardless, it'd mess me up if I did get bit by either....so I guess one less out there now!
Good shot, no stained drawers, all is well !
lol, drycreek, I never said that!
NICE SHOT! I hear they taste good?
First day ever in Az. a few years back, I was trying to hike the Black Canyon trail north of Phoenix. One lunged at me from the bank above and landed smack dab in the middle of the trail. He was pissed. Wasn’t like the prairie rattlers I was used to in eastern Mt.. Felt like potential prey lol. Turned around and went back to my car.
Did you keep the skin?
I`m with Nick....I can`t deal with snakes.
Hard to tell, but I'm thinking it's a red/ruby/brick diamondback - and a healthy one at that!
Wow that thing is a giant!
Left it’s own trail...Damn!
That's one good reason I live where it snows 6 mos a year.
Outstanding shot! I don’t think that I could have held steady enough to make it!
Good shot! And THANK YOU! ;-)
Sounds like it was an aggressive bastard- you did the right thing!
Trapperkayak- I hope you don’t live in the green area of NY!
Went back last night to shoot and a coyote had messed with him a little. He was a western diamondback, and not a mojave, as far as I could tell. Length was creeping on 4ft.
I should've skinned him when I shot him, but snakes still squirm even after they are dead, which weirds me out.
I hope you used the snake skin for covering the back of a bow.
That's not a Mojave. You should have taken him with you. To keep them from moving after you kill them, grab hold of each end and stretch him. You will hear what sounds like you are cracking yer knuckles, pulling the vertabrae (sp) apart. Plus, that is some mighty fine eating you let go to waste.
They do taste good, and that was a nice skin you left there!
2 points, what about snapping the neck or cutting off the head? I assume it's nerve/brain impulses causing the muscles to continue moving, so maybe cutting that connection would stop it?
I sure would like to keep the next one for skin/cooking, but man it's creepy all writhing around like that.
Another reason to never step foot in Arizona!
Barrett- a friend of mine sent me a video clip of a Rattler he killed and skinned in New Mexico this year. Chopped the head off and it moved(coiled) 2 hrs later when skinning. Have the video but not on YouTube, so don’t think I can post it.
Yeah, cutting the head off doesn't stop movement. Theres an old wives' tale about cutting a snakes head off, it wont die until sundown.
Careful there too.... folks have been bitten by dead snake heads!
Very true all. The field I shoot in is pretty barren and don't think many idiots are out there, besides yours truly. I disposed of it in a big rock pile and covered it up, so should be good.
Was hunting mulies a week ago in SD with snow on the ground. Watching a group of deer from a rock pile for half a day, as my son crawled in amongst them. Got pretty warm by afternoon and this bugger crawled out of the rocks I was sitting on and gave me heck!
Rut Nut, no, but the red area still has some, in Cicero swamp just out of Syracuse, Masasauga Rattlers. I live 25 mi east of there. Haven't spent much time in the Catskills. Never saw a rattler in NY, and I probably won't unless I actually go looking for them. I have encountered four, one in WA, one in OR, one in CA, and one in ID. Actually stepped on the one in WA. The other two I stepped right next to. The one in CA, I went to pick up a stone off of a pile, and the pile buzzed. I 'flew' away... friend of mine stepped up on a stone pile in Oregon, and the whole pile buzzed with a nest of them. He flew too.
Supposed to be Timbers I there too, but who knows?
Made a very similar shot on a very short-tempered prairie rattler in North Dakota about thirty years ago. He kept slithering back to block me when I tried to just go around him.
Tasted pretty good when my partner and I had him for lunch. I was surprised that there was so little meat, though. He was about two and a half feet long, but much slimmer than your AZ rattler.
Hunted the western edge of the badlands there almost every year for about sixteen years, and there may have been two of the trips where we didn't see at least one rattler. That one was the only one that "needed killin' ".
Hunted an area here in IN for a dozen years or so that was supposed to be thick with timber rattlers, but never saw a sign of one.
I always gave snakes a pass if they were out in the wilds, but did kill a copperhead on our archery range once. Too close to many people and kids.
I ate the one from OR too, but it was tough. It was a slim one too. Didn't taste that great...didn't really prepare it well.
Jeff- that's exactly why I wear my snakeboots even when it gets down into the 30's! I was told they will sometimes even come out on a warm, sunny day in WINTER. Only time I will not wear snake protection is if the highs that day are near freezing.
Trapper- yeah, that map was just for Timber Rattlers. I was under the impression that the Massaguas were much more concentrated around the Erie area...........................but I see from a map that there seem to be 2 more isolated areas further east into NY, one of which could be the one you are referring to. In any event, BE CAREFUL! It only takes once to be in the wrong place/wrong time! : (
I can see why the Timbers would be in PA. Hiked the AT there and it was the rockiest stretch of trail I ever encountered. Nothing but scree-like stuff everywhere, and bigger stuff to hide under - ledges, etc.
Trapper, the only 2 Timber Rattlers I’ve ever seen were nowhere near rocks. The one that bit me was in a little swampy(grassy) depression with a trickle of water running thru it.
Basic western diamondback. Very common throughout the southwest. They seem to be a little more frisky than some of the others I've encountered like mojaves, blacktails, sidewinders, and speckled rattlesnakes. Get pretty big along the Colorado River but a 6 footer is a huge one. An eastern diamondback can get big too I gather.
Rut Nut scratches them behind the ear....
I'll stay away from PA altogether if they are that common...:/
LOL Mule! ONLY with a .410 load....................................... ;-)
Killed one. No more. I've caught them and moved them to remote areas. In the Missouri Breaks I stop the truck and kick dirt on them until they move off into the brush.
Never understood killing a rattlesnake because it scares you. They are a useful part of our wild land.
This might help you understand................. ;-)
30 yard pin. Yep. You were were in imminent danger.
pdk, I shot him at about 3 or 4 yards, so I figured if arrows are anything like bullets, my POI should be similar up close as it is at 30. Seemed to work out.
Yes, I could've walked away...but....harkening back to SouthPark..."..it was coming straight for me!"..
It's not sporting unless you get close enough to use your 60 pin.
60 pin???
Why, that'd be downright unethical..... so I'm told...... maybe if angle compensated.......
lol, depends on your FOC guys..of course. As long as it's over 30, you're good...lol
