Tennessee Rattlesnake

[Reggie Bishop]

We grow them big down here you'all! 6.5 foot Timber Rattler!

https://i.imgur.com/3qOHJYJ.jpg

[Eric Eis]

Glad to see it Dead...:shock:

Reggie you can keep those guys down your way.! :eek:

[Bill Murphy]

Is there a good amount of edible meat on those guys? Is it tasty or marginal?

[Jim DiSpagno]

Ditto now make some boots from it.

[Bill Murphy]

Jim, I have enough boots. I want meat.

[Jim DiSpagno]

Bill go to Arby’s, they have the meats. LOL Jim

[Dean Romig]

There is meat on a snake about like there is meat on an eel or a fish. Plenty of good meat!

Tastes just like chicken....

Snakes like that don't scare me..... as long as I see them first.





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[Reggie Bishop]

I am in East TN. The rattler was killed in Middle TN in Cheatem County by a homeowner who found it in his yard. He supposedly called TWRA and got permission to kill it since it is a protected species. Rumor has it he tried to kill the ole boy with a LC Smith but failed after numerous attempts.

[Dean Romig]

In his haste he grabbed the wrong gun.... He should have grabbed his Parker!





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[Jay Gardner]

A snake that big has to have quite a bite. Would snake boots be enough to protect from a bite and would they be tall enough?

[Dean Romig]

They sure wouldn't be tall enough. They can strike 2/3 of their body length in height.





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[Jay Gardner]

That's pretty much what I was thinking. Also, with that much mass I would think a snake that big could almost break a leg, certainly knock someone down. And the amount of venom....

[Rick Losey]

Tastes just like chicken....

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who is the comedian that said

"the next time someone says doesn't that taste like chicken, it damn well better be chicken" :corn:

[Mark Ray]

A snake that big has to have quite a bite. Would snake boots be enough to protect from a bite and would they be tall enough?

I believe good snake boots would turn the bite, and unless the snake was on top of a mound or bush or something then tall enough. I have seen many dogs cattle and people and horses snake bit, and very rarely see a bite above about 10 - 12” above the ground. I have been hit hard twice, both snakes, a western diamonback and a Botswanan puff adder hit ankle high. Tha rattler, a healthy 5 footer felt like being hit by a wild pitch (maybe a change-up), the puff adder more like a fastball. I did not see or hear either snake before they struck. Interstingly, the rattlesnake hit me on a whitewing dove shoot in Mexico, on a 100 degree day. I was wearing shorts, and a pair of cabelas 8” lace up hunting boots, not snake proof, but they successfully turned a direct strike.

Was wearing a pair of all leather gokey snake boots in Africa.

Needed a change of shorts both times.

[Daniel G Rainey]

The taste of rattlesnake depends on how it was cooked and how much you have had to drink.

[Tom Flanigan]

OMG guys. So much venom about that poor rattlesnake. In my early years, I hunted them for a sepentarium. I found them exciting and they certainly have their place in the environment. The serpenmtarium kept the snakes alive and milked them every two weeks or so for the venom which was used to create antivenin to treat rattlesnake bites.

I caught and sold many and never came across one that was aggressive unless it was cornered and felt it needed to protect itself. About half the snakes never rattled until you tried to pin them to pick them up and put them in the burlap bag I carried. I only killed one and that was because a bar owner wanted a skin to hang over the bar. I felt bad after I killed it. I did eat it and it was a bit tough and looked and tasted a lot like calamari to me. Good but not a lot of flavor. It didn’t taste like chicken Dean. It tasted like rattlesnake!

I came to admire those snakes and had a healthy respect for what they could do if you let your guard down or became careless. We used to let them loose in my back yard and play with them before taking them to the sepentarium. My buddy was handling a copperhead and got a bit careless. It sank a fang into his index finger. He spent a couple of days in the hospital and his hand swelled and turned blue.

I can understand killing a rattlesnake in one’s yard. But I would have caught it and taken it to a remote area and turned it loose. But someone not well versed in how to catch and properly hold these snake should never try that. The timber rattler is a diminishing species and should never be killed unless there is a real need to. One in a yard needs to be addressed but I would have preferred that someone from DNR had come and removed the snake to be placed elsewhere. I have a soft spot for timber rattlers.

This is me in my younger days with a pretty timber rattler.

[Tom Flanigan]

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;244127]They sure wouldn't be tall enough. They can strike 2/3 of their body length in height.

I have never been struck but I believe a strike from the ground would rarely be over about a foot above the foot. I used to wear leggings made out of screen but then stopped using them. The biggest risk for me was in climbing rocky outcroppings. You couldn't always see where you put your hands and that involved a degree of risk since the rattlers liked to sun on the ledges, if the weather was right. But it made hunting them more exciting.

The fangs won't penetrate leather boots. They are hollow and not really that strong. They can break easily. A new fang is grown if one is damaged.

I once took a guy with me that wanted to see how I caught the snakes. He got out of the car and strapped on a handgun. I told him that I don't kill snakes so there is no need for a gun. He replied that it wasn't for the snakes but for him if he got hit in the chest or face. He didn't want to suffer. I made him keep the gun in the car and told him that if he got hit, I was not dragging his body out. He can walk out and then shoot himself at the car. I was a bit obnoxious back in the day.

[Mark Ray]

One in a yard needs to be addressed but I would have preferred that someone from DNR had come and removed the snake to be placed elsewhere. I have a soft spot for timber rattlers.


Here are a few that I have had to “address” over just the last 3 years, within 50’ of the house. The first one shown was on the doormat of my attached garage. One snakebit dog, and a bride that is less than thrilled, have led to a directed effort to thin our locl population!!

[Mark Ray]

Yeah thats a Fox gun in the last pic.......I’ll try to do better next time...

[Tom Flanigan]

Timber rattlesnake populations are way down. It's pretty rare when one shows up in a yard. In fact most people in my town of Pawling, NY don't even realize they are in the area. They are in selected higher elevation pockets of rocky outcropping and ledges and are not found where normal people go.

You Texas boys have different species of rattlesnakes that are abundant. You might have a Timber rattler or two but I imagine they are very rare down there. It's a different story in Texas and a lot of the west. They can show up anywhere and I wouldn't shed a tear over one being killed near a house. But I must admit I do cringe at the thought of rattlesnake roundups.

[Bob Kimble]

Tom, Are rattlesnake roundups still held in NY? We still have them in PA but they are supposed to be returned to their den areas afterwards. Years ago, I caught them in similar areas that you hunted. Ledgey outcroppings near water. I sold them for $1 or $2 if it was a big one. They were milked but I don't know what became of them after that. Like you, I was more concerned with my hands on the ledges.

[Tom Flanigan]

As far as I know, there are no more rattlesnake roundups in NY. I think that's mostly a Texas thing now. Those boys do it up big, lots of barbeque, beer and lots of rattlers brought in.

I used to get around $40 for each snake. But it had to be pinned and caught with an S hook. No tongs were allowed. The sepentarium would carefully look over each snake and if it had marks from a tong, the wouldn't buy it. Tongs can cause internal injuries.

[Bob Kimble]

I used tongs but had to be gentle putting them in the burlap bag. Your price was a lot better. It was in the 1960's when I caught them.

[Tom Flanigan]

I pinned their head with the S hook, placed my foot gently on their body so they couldn't thrash and then picked them up by the head holding the body with my other hand and placed them in the burlap bag. I had a big wooden box with a lock on it in the car and I would place them in there to take home and keep them in the box when I took them to the sepentarium.

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

The problem here in the mountains is when you are walking the side of a mountain the snake can hit you waist high some places are that steep and rocky, do most of my steep walking in the winter, gary

[Tom Flanigan]

If you get hit in the chest or above by a rattler you are in big trouble. I always carried antivenen with me. It's expensive but worth it. Fortunately, rattlesnakes in my area of NY are very rarely found in areas that people frequent. You have to go to higher elevation rocky outcropping and ledge areas to find them. They are concentrated in a relatively small area. They are exciting to hunt. I haven't done it in a long time but I plan to get back into it when I retire. I won't sell them this time, but just do catch and release. Just like I do with wild trout.

[Robin Lewis]

When I was a boy we had lots of timber rattlers around. There was a den on the hillside above our hose and in the spring and fall they would be going or coming at the den area. I killed a few in the yard with the mower and shot a few too; something I would never do today because their numbers have declined. In the late 1960's when I was away in the navy some yahoos came in and found the den and put dynamite in it. Now, rattler sightings are few. There are still a few crushed in the area roads but nothing like it was when I was growing up. Back then we never went through thick ferns or berry picking without a lot of care. They are beautiful reptiles, especially the yellow and black ones.

[Reggie Bishop]

[QUOTE=Tom Flanigan;244234]As far as I know, there are no more rattlesnake roundups in NY. I think that's mostly a Texas thing now. Those boys do it up big, lots of barbeque, beer and lots of rattlers brought in.


There used to be, and I would imagine still is, a rattlesnake roundup in Opp, Alabama. It was a pretty big event at one time.

[Russell E. Cleary]

This one was a six-foot Diamondback Rattler. It was swimming down-stream, right in the middle of the Wekiva River, Central Florida, like it owned the place. We met it as we paddled up-stream. The snake looked as blown up as an inflated inner-tube, so high it swam on the surface.

We drove it to the bank, and on solid ground cornered it and “captured” it. Yes, blunt instruments were used.

I took it to a local taxidermist to have it stuffed. He said he would not do the job because such a mount could be too terrifying for someone surprised by it -- a cleaning lady coming into a room, for example. It could turn into a medical event, and he did not want to be a part of a lawsuit that might result. Rather, he said, he would skin and tan it, which was done.

It has been 40 years now, and no repercussions. Just a two-dimensional representation and an indelible memory.

[Dean Romig]

I'd have tsken it to another taxidermist.






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[Mark Ray]

I'd have tsken it to another taxidermist.






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A bunch of years back, we had a hunting lease on the shores and feeder creeks of Choke Canyon resevoir here in South Texas. The little house we had there had a really narrow front porch, and we chose to put our “beer fridge” on that porch. It was an old traditional fridge with a little freezer on top. In that freezer, we kept a “frozen” 6’ rattler in full “ready to strike” position. SO, when a newbie to camp was sent to “fetch ice”.....it was a total spectator sport for the veterans, as one startled step back, and the victim was out of porch, and typically on his back in the front yard!!! No lawsuits, but a couple of energetic tussels ensued!,!

[Todd Poer]

I would need a change of underwear after that prank would have been pulled on me. First you say it , then you do it. I'll bet there were some pretty good payback pranks after that one.

[Tom Flanigan]

I did something similar but probably more intense. I knew a guy named Vinney who lived in a tenant house on a farm that I hunted. He was probably in his 60’s when I knew him. He was truly illiterate and he signed his name with an X when I did his tax returns. I would attest that it was his X and sign my name. Vinney always wanted to go with my brother and I when we hunted rattlers. But he could never get up the courage. He was a nervous type guy and shook a lot which was probably due to his alcoholism.

Vinny spent most nights in Caverlery’s bar. My brother and I hatched a scheme which seems very mean in retrospect, but we were kids then and were foolish. I had put a live rattler in a small box and placed it into the freezer to kill it without harming the skin which a bar owner wanted. When I took the snake out, he was curled in a perfect striking position. We ran warm water over it and it looked alive. My brother and I decided to play a trick on old Vinney. He had a van with a high console in the middle. We took the snake and placed it on the console facing the driver’s side. Then we went into the bar and had a beer with Vinney. I said to him, “Vinny, I need a big favor. I have classes tomorrow and I can’t get up to the sepentarium to drop off a couple of rattlers. Can you drive them up for me? They are in a locked box, I put it in your van.”

Vinney wanted no part of it but I told him they were locked in the wooden box and couldn’t get out. Besides, I said, I already put them in the van. After I bought him a couple more beers he agreed. My brother and I followed him out of the bar and stood in the street waiting for the fun. He got in the van and began to start it. All of a sudden, he let out a blood curling scream. It was an awful high pitched desperate scream. He jumped out of the van and leaned on the outside of it clutching his chest.

My brother and I got scared. We hadn’t expected him to scream so loud or clutch his chest. We went over to him and told him it was a bad prank. He looked at us and just said “you bastards!’ I was sorry we did it but my brother and I did laugh about it afterwards.

[Tom Flanigan]

Funny thing, we were talking about snakes and yesterday a copperhead showed up on my driveway. It's the only one I have ever seen in Maryland. It wasn't a big snake but he did his best to bite me with many tries. A very aggressive snake when I tried to catch him. I kept him a while and then took him and released him in the woods. If it wasn't for my dogs, I would have been glad to see him. The copperhead is a beautiful snake.

[Todd Poer]

Yep copperheads in the wild for most part don't get to big like some rattlesnakes but they are mean and much more likely to bite when cornered or messed with than most snakes. They are a snake I worry the most about since they are quick to strike if jostled and you can step next one and not even see it in some foliage. We have a bumper crop of chipmunks this year and hawks are big on the prowl, wondering when the copperheads will start showing up. Pretty certain they are around but its just rare to see them unless your looking for them.

[Tom Flanigan]

My experiences with the copperhead is the same as yours. They are much more aggressive when being caught. They strike multiple times, whether you are in range of their head or not. Back when I was catching rattlers for a serpentarium, we took some copperheads and they were far more aggressive. A rattlesnake typically waits until he thinks he can get a hit. And they become rather docile if you keep them for a few days. Not so the copperhead. Rattlesnakes can lull you into a false sense of security. Copperheads never. I liked catching rattlesnakes, but for sheer drama the copperhead wins out. It was incredible how many times the copperhead on my driveway was striking. All it took was a wave over him with my hand too far away for him to get me.

[Bill Murphy]

Flanigan, where were you while the rest of us were at the Northeast Shoot? I haven't seen you since you dropped off the earth a few years ago. We missed you and I missed you. I talked to a friend in common with Jeff Mulliken today who says he and Jeff are planning a feeshin' trip this year some time. I won't fish and can't hunt, but I would like to see you guys again. By the way, I was in Mount Airy today travelling from our Poolesville swap meet and father's day shoot to another gun club and then home.

[John Dallas]

Just a wimpy 7 footer? How about this?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/7-meter-long-python-swallows-indonesian-woman-111050649.html

[Tom Flanigan]

Flanigan, where were you while the rest of us were at the Northeast Shoot? I haven't seen you since you dropped off the earth a few years ago. We missed you and I missed you. I talked to a friend in common with Jeff Mulliken today who says he and Jeff are planning a feeshin' trip this year some time. I won't fish and can't hunt, but I would like to see you guys again. By the way, I was in Mount Airy today travelling from our Poolesville swap meet and father's day shoot to another gun club and then home.

Thanks Bill. I will be at the Vintagers but hope to see you before then. I am busy getting the Maryland house prepped for sale. But I am taking some time each day working on Damascus. I'm getting closer to nirvana. I wish I knew you were in Mt. Airy. I would have loved to see you. Jeff and I will be fishing and hunting this year. And I hope to get back to Saskatchewan in September for a couple of weeks. I'm going with a mutual friend and you are welcome to come along. I'm going to start my annual trips there again. I will see you soon for sure.

[Todd Poer]

Just a wimpy 7 footer? How about this?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/7-meter-long-python-swallows-indonesian-woman-111050649.html

I really never thought or needed a handgun, but if I lived in Florida I would get one to carry in the back country just in case you come across a python. Shoot on site and don't think twice. They are such bad news and are really taking a toll on native wildlife.

I know this is a reach and have no proof but I wonder if some of the reasons gators down there are becoming more aggressive toward humans is reduction in natural prey in competition with pythons. Maybe a coincidence and its just because gator numbers have rebounded and people are just bumping into them more but hardly ever heard of all these gator attacks and python numbers supposedly increasing.