Just how dangerous are Timber Rattlers?

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X-Rap said:
I remember seeing a video of a trainer down in AZ that used defanged rattlers that he would keep on ice then plant them in bushes and such. He would then walk the bird dogs through the course and the snakes would strike. I can't remember if he reinforced with a shock collar as well but when he finished with the dog it wouldn't engage beyond alerting when it smelled snake.

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Snake avoidance training works on some dogs. It doesn't work at all on others. As a matter of fact I had put my dog through snake avoidance training just the week prior to him getting killed. I put my next dog through snake avoidance training and he got bit roughly a month later. The second one survived. I think that snake training is hit or miss at best.

The rattle and the movement is just too much for some dogs to leave alone. At least it is for my German Hunting Terriers.
 
Surprisingly in 30 yrs of dogs in the bush I've never had one bit, sounds like you had a bad streak.
I checked YouTube and all current methods appear to use caged snakes which I see as a bit confusing for the dog if they associate the cage as well.

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I've found two timber rattlers in the 60" range, dead in the road about a quarter mile from the house. They're "supposed" to be less aggressive but they're still a friggin' rattler. I don't give poisonous snakes a pass on our land.


Their venom is painful, but rarely fatal to a healthy adult.
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"Rarely fatal" is a bit misleading. Sure, it might not kill you but liver and kidney damage or potential loss of limbs isn't exactly fun either. Our neighbor got nailed on his hand by a big copperhead and was out of work for six months while he recuperated.
 
X-Rap said:
Surprisingly in 30 yrs of dogs in the bush I've never had one bit, sounds like you had a bad streak.
I checked YouTube and all current methods appear to use caged snakes which I see as a bit confusing for the dog if they associate the cage as well.

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The ranch I was hunting on was thick with rattlesnakes. It was rare to go a whole day without running into at least one.
 
jmorris wrote:


That's a fatty for sure! What's the story on that guy? Lufkin area?
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^^^^^^^^^^
Ratcliff area (National Forest)....road kill.

Etoile area (out near the Lake) has a good number of Canebrake also.

They are a protected snake in Texas. ALL that I have seen in East Texas (when mature) were big snakes in terms of girth.

Young Canebrakes have an affinity for climbing (most folks are unaware) and it is not unusual to find them in bushes or low limbs of smaller trees.

Beautiful snake IMO.
 
H&Hhunter said:
Snake avoidance training works on some dogs. It doesn't work at all on others.
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Kinda the same with Bird Dogs and Porcupines. Some learn and some don't. BTDT. Still, doesn't give one a pass to kill one if they are protected by law and just sunnin' themselves on a rock.



CraigC said:
I don't give poisonous snakes a pass on our land.
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I was under the impression all snakes were a protected species in Tennessee. I've lived in states where Rattlers were not protected and there were local "roundups" where hundreds of rattlesnakes were killed and then eaten during a weekend event celebrating the killing of them. But this was where and when it was legal. Folks use all sorts of excuses to validate their reasoning for breaking the law. Still makes them a criminal when they break it. This Forum is called the High Road. Sometimes I wonder why, when I consistently see folks bragging about and recommending to others to break the law. Again. legal in your state and you have a problem, go for it. If it's illegal in your state, don't do it.
 
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I wear snake boots year round in Texas. I have seen rattlers, cotton mouth, and copper heads out and about in December, January, and February on warm days.
 
Those rattlers are impressive. I enjoy the pictures. I am used to the rattlers we have in kansas but nithing like these.
 
I've lost very good dogs to timber rattlers. Where I live , we don't have a bounty on them yet , but they do not get by first encounters. There are plenty of red fox here to keep the mice at bay. Poisonous snakes are for stomping on & Satan did that to them. Snake bites are serious!
 
Snake bites are serious!
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Early last year a Marine was bitten by a huge rattlesnake in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Despite prompt medical treatment he lost his leg.

It's costly too. A snake catcher i know was bitten on the hand by a western diamondback he was sacking. Total medical bill was $320,000. Three courses of antivenin cost over $150,000.

i kill rattlesnakes.
 
I was under the impression all snakes were a protected species in Tennessee. I've lived in states where Rattlers were not protected and there were local "roundups" where hundreds of rattlesnakes were killed and then eaten during a weekend event celebrating the killing of them. But this was where and when it was legal. Folks use all sorts of excuses to validate their reasoning for breaking the law. Still makes them a criminal when they break it. This Forum is called the High Road. Sometimes I wonder why, when I consistently see folks bragging about and recommending to others to break the law. Again. legal in your state and you have a problem, go for it. If it's illegal in your state, don't do it.
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You know what happens when you ass-u-me? Here's a concept, people can own land in a state they don't live in. :rolleyes:

If you want to have poisonous snakes around your home, go for it. Let's see how self righteous you are when it's YOU or one of your family fighting for their life because of a snake bite.
 
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Just ordered some snake guards. They come up to the knees. Is that high enough?

Couldn't find any that comes up to my chin.
 
Bang! said:
Just ordered some snake guards. They come up to the knees. Is that high enough?

Couldn't find any that comes up to my chin.
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My sentiments almost exactly. I'm starting to reconsider the Judge. Until now I was certain it had no place in my home...it's a purpose built snake charmer though. I was toying with the idea of kitchen trash cans as snake chaps but then I realized they didn't come up high enough, and heaven help the snake if he got inside.
 
buck460XVR said:
Kinda the same with Bird Dogs and Porcupines. Some learn and some don't. BTDT. Still, doesn't give one a pass to kill one if they are protected by law and just sunnin' themselves on a rock.





I was under the impression all snakes were a protected species in Tennessee. I've lived in states where Rattlers were not protected and there were local "roundups" where hundreds of rattlesnakes were killed and then eaten during a weekend event celebrating the killing of them. But this was where and when it was legal. Folks use all sorts of excuses to validate their reasoning for breaking the law. Still makes them a criminal when they break it. This Forum is called the High Road. Sometimes I wonder why, when I consistently see folks bragging about and recommending to others to break the law. Again. legal in your state and you have a problem, go for it. If it's illegal in your state, don't do it.
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It's really amusing how people will use any excuse they can find to kill something....including something that will leave them alone IF they leave it alone.

"Oh my God....it's dangerous, I better kill it."
 
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Folks this is getting pretty snarky, keep it up and I am going to close this thread. It's Labor Day weekend, everybody go get some fresh air.
 
H&Hhunter said:
Folks this is getting pretty snarky, keep it up and I am going to close this thread. It's Labor Day weekend, everybody go get some fresh air.
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I'm serious in my question about the height of the snake guards. Bow season is just around the corner. I've seen snakes strike waist high. But those snakes,cotton mouth-water moccasins and such, I grew up with and am use to. Familiar patterns that stand out to me after so many years of watching for'em. Large rattle snakes are new to me in my area. The big boy I saw was quite impressive. He blended well. I was awe struck in the grace and power of his movements. He wasn't interested in me, obviously. But, the next time I'm chasing something thru the woods I may step on him.

WestKentucky, drop me a line if you figure out the garbage can details.
 
Bang,

Your post was not the problem, you were on topic.:)
 
15" snake boots are high enough if the snake is on the ground. Hogs have moved into our area & are eating a lot of snakes & the theory is that has caused rattlers to not rattle. That makes them a little bit riskier to step on , but I really don't know what is going on. Would rather have rattles than hogs though. Watch where you sit is pretty much the most important thing to not getting bite, & stay out of the tall grass . when hunting squirrels look where you walk under the oaks ,they like squirrels too.
 
It's really amusing how people will use any excuse they can find to kill something....including something that will leave them alone IF they leave it alone.
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That's the problem with snakes, you don't always have the opportunity to "leave them alone". Most people who are bitten by snakes did not know they were there. My neighbor, who spent months in the hospital, suffers from permanent liver and kidney damage and almost lost his job, had no clue the copperhead was present. I'm sure he wishes he had had the opportunity to "leave it alone". I don't kill them for the sake of killing them, if I did, then I'd kill non-poisonous snakes too.....but I don't. I kill them because I do not want myself or a member of my family getting killed or crippled by a snake I let pass. :rolleyes:
 
CraigC said:
I don't kill them for the sake of killing them, if I did, then I'd kill non-poisonous snakes too.....but I don't. I kill them because I do not want myself or a member of my family getting killed or crippled by a snake I let pass. :rolleyes:
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Quite understandable. Similar to why many of us CWC against BGs. Still, one can kill all the snakes they see on their property and still be inviting them. Even the largest rattler still prefers to prey upon small rodents like mice and rats. Have lots of them, you'll have lots of snakes. The snakes are not there because the area/place is inhabited by humans. They are there because those humans are providing them with food and shelter. Have place where rats and mice like to live, you also have a place where snakes like to live. I tore a wooden floor outta a large grainery a few years back(30X40). Underneath it I found over a hundred shed snake skins. Many of them had the tell-tale signs of being from Rattlesnakes. The hollow area below the floor being home to mice and rats(and thus snakes) was the reason the farmer was taking out the wooden floor and pouring a concrete slab. To remove a prime source of food and shelter. The best way of discouraging snakes is to make an area less appealing to them by removing shelter and food sources. While this will not guarantee there will never be any snakes around, it makes a big difference. By the way, even tho the area below the floor was a literal snake haven, I saw only a few and never once was threatened. Once I knew they were there I took precautions to give them time to move and not to surprise them.

Are there times when one cannot help but kill a snake or be bitten? Yes, and in those cases I have no problem, just like I have no problem with the killing of snakes where it is legal. What I'm having a problem with here on this thread is the admitting by folks they readily kill them where protected and suggest to others they do the same. If you feel the need to violate, why the need to admit it on a public social forum. I have the privilege of being friends with a local retired game warden. One point he always made to me was that folks that readily feel they are above one game law/regulation, feel they are above all of them. Kids learn the certain practices are acceptable in the field because they watched dad or grandpa do it. Kids/Grandkids that watch Dad/Grandpa kill every snake they see, accept this as the norm, legal or not. We are the mentors of our youth. If we teach them laws/regs are for others, they will live their life believing it. If you can't wear big boy pants, at least keep your mouth shut.
 
It's my understanding that a snake can strike 2/3's the length of it's body.
If that's true, a 6 footer can bite 4 feet up, and boots wont help.
Talked with some loggers the other day next to one of my hunting leases.
They said there are a lot of timber rattlers present, and that they encountered some coiled up ready to strike with no rattle warning.
They said the snakes were shedding skin which was covering their eyes.
In the spring when they come out of hibernation they tend to strike more and avoid less.
When in the snake woods, during times when snakes are active, I walk hard thumping the ground as I walk. I have seen very few snakes because of this and I live and hunt in Mississippi.

Walkalong, If a cotton mouth falls into my boat, I've really messed up because I look real good before going under bushes and trees when fishing flooded timber.
I keep large tampons in the boat in case one does fall into the boat. LMAO!
STW
 
I grew up in Fl, and learned from an early age and after a few close calls to watch where I'm walking & reaching. Also lifting any thing up like a boat or piece of wood. If you can't see the ground, you may want to avoid the area- like in a palmetto thicket or beside water where the ground is overgrown. This type of caution has kept me from getting bit in the US and in places like Africa (mambas, puff adders) and Latin America (fer-de-lances, etc.) where getting snakebit is WAY worse, and likely a worse outcome- than any snakebite in the US. Between May 15 and July 10 I saw 6 snakes in back of my house. 5 of them I gave a pass to cause they were harmless- the copperhead not so much. Just because I know how to not get bit doesn't mean I'm giving that reptile a shot at my GF, neighbors, kids in the area, pets, etc.
 
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