Rattlesnake! Pics.

fat tom

fat tom

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Went to sight in my rifles today (deer season opens here Tuesday). This ol' boy crawled out of the woods about the time I got set up. Didn't have the camera so I brought him home to snap these pics. He is 58" long (adding 4" for the part I left at the club) with 10 rattles and a button. FWIW,it's a Canebreak (sp)? rattler,the predominate species in my neck of the woods. A very timely reminder to those of us taking to the woods next week to be careful where you put your feet!

MrBsguns308.jpg


MrBsguns311.jpg


f.t.
 
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Wow F/T!
I thought it was gonna' be a picture of Frank, Dodd or Pelosi?
Turns out I was right, it was!
BIG bugger wasn't he!
 
Are you going to eat him? Use the skin for a new hatband? Maybe put his skin on a set of grips?

What else can you do with a rattler?

bob
 
Do Canebrake rattlers not have heads?

Got a local rattlesnake about that size a while back. His head was curiously flat. Could'a been the rock that was dropped.
 
In answer to your spelling question, that's a Canebrake rattler, so named in reference to their presumed preferred habitat, where avaliable.


It is a regional variant of the Timber Rattlesnake.


It isn't as potent as an Eastern Diamondback, but you sure don't want to be bitten by one!

T-Star
 
I went deer hunting one morning before daylite. Got my position on my stool, sat there wating for daylite.

When it became light enough, I saw a coiled rattlesnake, not 6 feet from me.

I let him have the spot...I moved..I was nervous the rest of the morning. That taught me to look around better with my flashlight.
 
handejector said:
Good thing you were wearing snakeproof flip-flops. :D
Click to expand...
My thought exactly! I know when camp rattlers are
around, boots and shot are always in order.
I'm sure I'll have some pics in the next month
 
Another victory for the gun guys, drop that baby in a group of anti-gun folks and watch the fun as they decide how to handle it.:D
 
Believe it or not, those are considered an endangered species in Virginia and are protected. You'd probably get a call from the game warden if you took him here.
 
I almost didn't look at this post, but glad I did now. There are three kinds of snakes I hate 1) a live one 2) a dead one 3) and a rubber one. I'm one of those that my mom told me they are all poison and I believed her.
 
Deer season? Wow, you guys don't mess around!

Our deer are still in velvet! Might I assume bow season?

During our gun season (when I hunt) the snakes are all hibernating. Turkey season, well, Spring is a different mater.

Although, I've never seen a poisonous snake in the woods while hunting...knock on wood.

Bob
 
I've never seen a canebrake rattler. I've killed several timber rattlers and they do indeed look similar. Louisiana Joe and I finished off an Eastern Diamondback a few weeks ago after my daughter ran over it in her driveway. I was deer hunting with my uncle back in the 60's when we saw a rattler with it's head sticking out of a gopher turtle hole. It ducked back in the hole as we approached. "I'll show ya how to get it out," he told me. He got a siphon hose, sucked some gas from the truck, and blew it into the hole while I stood ready with a shotgun. Three diamondbacks and a timber ratler abandoned the whole as I emptied the shotgun. They fried up real good.
 
Shame, shame FatTom, shoulda just 'shoo'd' him away. (Just kiddin') I do remember around 10 or so years ago a fella killed a very big rattler in a state part and then posed for a picture with it. It was written up in the local paper where they mentioned the location it was killed. He got quite a fine over the whole deal.
I've got mixed feelings over killing snakes, they serve a purpose like everything else i reckon. I'd probably do the same tho' if in your flip-flops.
Here is something to read on their status tho:

The canebrake rattlesnake is a species of concern. Populations of timber rattlesnakes are rapidly being depleted across the species' range. The main causes are habitat destruction, snake hunting, and commercial collection for the pet trade. Several states have passed laws protecting the timber rattlesnake, but it is not on the threatened species list in many states. The species is not in serious danger but is headed in that direction unless efforts are made to protect it.

Got that from some site or another. Do put it to use in belt or hat band, don't just let it rot.
RD
 
I've killed several timber rattlers and they do indeed look similar.
Click to expand...

I don't know if I could tell them apart if I stumbled on one in the woods. If you have time, the way to tell is the canebrake is a little lighter and has that brown stripe running down its back.

I can remember the timber rattlers from visiting my grandparents in Alabama and where I grew up in Oklahoma we 3 different rattlers and copperheads to worry about when we went into the woods or mountains.

bob
 
In Ohio, rattlers are a protected species. Big grief from ODNR if you kill one. I have never encountered one. Copperheads seem to be much more common.

"shoot, shovel, shut up"

Myron
 
VonFatman said:
Our deer are still in velvet! Might I assume bow season?
Bob
Click to expand...

Hey Bob. Our gun season is the longest in the nation. Lower state runs from August 15 thru January 1. In my county,early bow season from August 15 thru August 31. Then the gun season opens for the remainder of the year. When you hunt as much as I do,it can turn into a real grind,but I still love it.
f.t.
 
I've eaten them on more than one occasion. But,somehow it's different when you're the one who killed it,dressed it and cooked it. The longer I chew,the bigger it gets. :D
f.t.
 
fat tom said:
I've eaten them on more than one occasion. But,somehow it's different when you're the one who killed it,dressed it and cooked it. The longer I chew,the bigger it gets. :D
f.t.
Click to expand...

Be careful Tom. Your post sounds like a lifestyle.
 
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