I am hearing impaired, 50% the VA said years ago, more now. I have not heard them rattle in 30 years or so. I bow, gun, and turkey hunt in Oklahoma mostly and have had several encounters. Four times I have looked down and been in striking range. My snake boots are 17 inches and I have had them just hover above the boots maybe 6 inches away.
The last time was turkey spring season and it was 93 degrees and half mile back to my Jeep. Normally if you just stay still they will crawl away. I was calling turkeys from an area with a U shaped spot with trees blocking me in and the snake, blocking my way. I waited about 20 minutes and he would just rattle and raise his head up and down, my heart was beating about 200 bpm..
Finally I had enough and devised a plan. I have an Rem 870 Supermag with 3.5 inch #5 turkey loads in it. It was facing up, so I held it over my head, turned it upside down and took a slow aim so I did not shoot my own foot off. In time, kaboooom. A 3.5 inch 12 gauge inches from your foot is pretty impressive. Blew the head off, of course,
That was on Ft Sill military base in Oklahoma. Not long after that a young Marine got bit climbing a few miles west and despite a helicopter rescue quickly he lost his leg at the knee. You do not want to get bit, especially on a hot day or day when it takes a long time to get to treatment. It is actually illegal to shoot them on base, I turned myself in, but the game warden only laughed, true story.
I once rented a house from a former snake handler. The house became vacant because one of his display snakes struck at the back of his hand and only one fang entered a vein but it went to his heart. He only live 1/2 mile from the hospital but died in the ER. Dying from snake bite is rare, but it happens.
We live rural, snakes kill lot of dogs but there is no database or any record, so most folks do not know the risk.
I leave most snakes alone, unless they get in the house, or mess with the dogs. Poisonous snakes at the house die, they make room for the non poisonous snakes to have more mice and rats to eat.
Another problem we found in family farm ponds. Water snakes eat fish. I shot a 5 foot water snake because he had 2 lumps in him, yes one snake had 2 fish in him at the same time, why? If they are eating fish, from our small ponds, they need to be thinned, so in the ponds, if there are many, I shoot the big ones. Racoons will eat them and they are always gone the next morning, just helping the food chain along.
Rat snakes. For those that have gophers, rat snakes are the best recyclable gopher tools there are. I catch snakes 4 foot or bigger and stuff them in a gopher hole, they will run them out of the area for a while. Or you can shoot them, snakes are better.
The last time was turkey spring season and it was 93 degrees and half mile back to my Jeep. Normally if you just stay still they will crawl away. I was calling turkeys from an area with a U shaped spot with trees blocking me in and the snake, blocking my way. I waited about 20 minutes and he would just rattle and raise his head up and down, my heart was beating about 200 bpm..
Finally I had enough and devised a plan. I have an Rem 870 Supermag with 3.5 inch #5 turkey loads in it. It was facing up, so I held it over my head, turned it upside down and took a slow aim so I did not shoot my own foot off. In time, kaboooom. A 3.5 inch 12 gauge inches from your foot is pretty impressive. Blew the head off, of course,
That was on Ft Sill military base in Oklahoma. Not long after that a young Marine got bit climbing a few miles west and despite a helicopter rescue quickly he lost his leg at the knee. You do not want to get bit, especially on a hot day or day when it takes a long time to get to treatment. It is actually illegal to shoot them on base, I turned myself in, but the game warden only laughed, true story.
I once rented a house from a former snake handler. The house became vacant because one of his display snakes struck at the back of his hand and only one fang entered a vein but it went to his heart. He only live 1/2 mile from the hospital but died in the ER. Dying from snake bite is rare, but it happens.
We live rural, snakes kill lot of dogs but there is no database or any record, so most folks do not know the risk.
I leave most snakes alone, unless they get in the house, or mess with the dogs. Poisonous snakes at the house die, they make room for the non poisonous snakes to have more mice and rats to eat.
Another problem we found in family farm ponds. Water snakes eat fish. I shot a 5 foot water snake because he had 2 lumps in him, yes one snake had 2 fish in him at the same time, why? If they are eating fish, from our small ponds, they need to be thinned, so in the ponds, if there are many, I shoot the big ones. Racoons will eat them and they are always gone the next morning, just helping the food chain along.
Rat snakes. For those that have gophers, rat snakes are the best recyclable gopher tools there are. I catch snakes 4 foot or bigger and stuff them in a gopher hole, they will run them out of the area for a while. Or you can shoot them, snakes are better.
