Rattlesnake Hunting...?

Question

Within the next few days, me and my cousin will be in Vernon, Florida on our Grandparents' property hunting rattlesnakes. Are there any particular baits to set out or sounds to make to attract the snake??? Can someone either give me a few tips or links on hunting/gutting rattlesnakes??? I would greatly appreciate it!!!

-Thanks, Stealth hunts near fire

Answer 1

I have hunted and dealt with poisons snakes all my life.
Rattle snake hunting is a blast, but at the same time dangerous.
I wear snake proof chaps or snake proof knee high boots when I could encounter poisons snakes.
The most dangerous snake is the one you don’t see in time to avoid.
When I was younger and not as experienced, I got bit several times, luckily my snake proof chaps and boots did their job and all I got was educated, not poisoned.

You don’t call snakes or attract them you go out and hunt them.

I’ve seen where a very large rattle snake struck my 14 year old nephew, who was wearing a pair of my hard plastic snake shields that I had just bought at a sporting good store as back ups if needed, and they were not cheap by no means.
We were hunting squirrels around the first of June, I was 400 yards away and heard the scream and his 12 gauge open up and fired until empty and then his 22 pistol was next thing emptied.
I started heading his way and again I hear the 12 gauge going again and then here comes the 22 pistol one more time till empty.
When I got to him he was loading his weapons for the third time, I looked around and asked are you being molested or attacked by Squirrels or what.
When he pointed to a log that he had walked by, then I noticed he was as pale white as I had ever seen anyone and about to faint.
I then looked at the log and under it in a depression was a massive lump of shot the h e ll out of something that I was unable to identify for he did shot it 10 to 12 times with a semi auto 12 gauge shot gun and 12 times with a 22 pistol also while it was coiled up.
When he explained it was a very big rattle snake and I asked did it bit you, he pointed to his right leg and the heavy plastic snake shield on that leg was shattered in to 3 peaces.
I quickly set him down and checked his leg there was a large red spot that looked like he had been hit with a stick, but the snake shield stopped the fangs from penetrating his skin.
When I took him home, his father my brother was told what had happened and I handed my brother the broken snake shield he asked how old were they I said just a few months old and that was the first time they were used, and I asked why.
My brother showed me two clear fang marks that had a 2 inch spread.
I wish I could of seen the snake that had that kind of fangs spread before it had been shot to H e ll, for all that was left to identity was small patch of skin of a diamondback rattlesnake no head at all, I no longer use that type of snake proofing I buy a much better and not plastic style.

I would advise you do not try and skin or handle the head, it takes only one mistake to get the poison in to your blood stream and for some time after it’s dead the snake nerves still work and still bite you.

***Note even after it is dead for some time the nerves are still working and the dead rattle snake can still move and bit you and inject it’s poison as if it were still a live.***

I always after killing the snake , I cut off its head before handling or cleaning.




The How-To:
First off, don't handle the head. It still has fangs, it still has venom, and it still may want to bite you.
Grasp the body, one person on each end. The lucky person on the chopped end should use a sharp knife to slice from the chop point underneath the snake (along the belly), just under the skin. Don't go too deep, or you'll get some foul-smelling crap on you. Slice until you reach just past the anus. You want to keep the rattles intact. Be very careful when slicing, the snake will begin to writhe more forcefully, especially when you get towards the rattle end. Make sure you don't cut your hands, you don't want whatever lives inside a snake to get into your bloodstream.
When the skin is sliced, it will be wiggling around like mad. Put it down for a few minutes until it stops.
Pick up the snake, and starting at the chopped end, begin to slowly peel off the skin. It will again go into frenzy mode. One person should be holding the 'meat' and the other person should be peeling. When you reach the spot after the anus, stop and chop through the body, leaving some of the meat just before the rattles.
The skinless body will be trashing around like mad for about two hours. It is quite weird to behold. A lot of folks eat rattlesnake, so have one person on each end hold it taught and scoop out the innards. Wash the body and put it in a thick ziplock bag. Place it in a freezer or refrigerator until it stops wiggling, then either barbecue it or give it to someone more courageous than you to eat.
The skin and rattles will need to be cleaned, or it will start to decompose and stink. Take one-half pound of salt - making sure it does not contain iodine - and put it in a gallon of warm water. Soak the snakeskin in it for 24 hours. At this point, it is ready to get tanned. The Tandy leather store has snakeskin tanning solution for about $20US, good for three or four snake skins.



The Rattle Snake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattlesnake

Rattlesnake Species
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rattlesnake_species_and_subspecies

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Rattle Snakes
http://www.backwoodsbound.com/ysnake.html

Rattle snake recipes
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,rattlesnake,FF.html

Hope this was of help.
D58

Answer 2

Well you've already had a lot of good posts with a ton of information. Just remember safety when handling the snakes, and you should definately go with someone who's done it before. Rattle snakes are a little intimidating up close, and if you panic you could get bit, which is painful and you'll spend some time in the hospital. When I've gone, we've smoked them out of their dens, then pinned their necks with a stick, picked them up by their necks and cut off their heads. Be very careful even of the young rattlesnakes, because they are silent and can't control how much venom they give in a bite, so they may inject a lot into you at once. Good luck with your trip though!

Answer 3

I have relatives in Vernon.
Now for you answer. Since you think that you need baits or sounds to attract and catch rattlesnakes, "DON'T EVEN TRY". You'll get your butts bit. Rattlesnakes, especially Eastern Diamondbacks are not to be messed with unless you know what the hell you are doing. Even if you find one crawling about or sunning itself and kill it, it can still bite you because it's body doesn't know it's dead. It won't stop moving for at least close to an hour.
If after all this and you do get a "really" dead snake look at the sites already posted. Remember "SAFETY BEYOND ALL ELSE ! "

Answer 4

You do not call snakes or attract rattlesnakes. You go find them. If they are out of the den crawling around it is near hopeless. But if they are near the denning area or still in it that is the time. Spray a little gasoline under rocks or in holes where sankes are thought to be thought to be and they will come out in a couple of minutes. We use a hand held sprayer but it can be dangerous if flames are near. A simple plastic spray bottle would work. You can also insert a length of plastic hose like a garden hose and simply pour a small of amount of gas down a hole. This is best if the hole is thought to be deep.
If the day is warm the snakes will be out lying around the den area sunning. Snakes like to den on the south side of hills and slopes. Does Florida even have many hills? If they have moved out of the denning area they will continue to stay near areas that afford nighttime shelter during the cool night. A mirror is often used to walk around rocky outcroppings and look under rocks and up under logs etc. The hand held mirror is used to reflect light from the sun up into the dark areas under the rock muck like a bright flash light to reveal hidden snakes.

Use care handling snakes. Dead snakes have probably bitten as many people as live ones. The closest I ever came to being bitten is when I cut off a snakes head and left a few inches of snake attacted. I then went to push the snake's head onto my hoe with my toe and it reached up and bit through my tennis shoe, its fang hitting my toenail and releaseing ventom onto my sock. CLOSE.

Split the belly from the neck to the anus to gut a snake. Cut off the head first and discard it out of harms way. It could kill your dog if there is one about. Watch out if you grab the snake by the tail and pull up as you skin it unless you want a mouth full snake pee. If this happens to you, you will be crawling around gagging on the ground! ANd for God's sake watch where you step.

Answer 5

Cleaning the snake and skinning it are a lot easier than implied here. With the head removed, just use a good pair of scissors to cut a straight line just beneath the skin down the middle of the lighter colored under belly until you reach the rattler. The meat will then pull right off as easy as can be. Shouldn't take more than a couple minutes at most to complete. Forget any suggestions to use salt to cure the skin. It just dries it out, shortening its life as it makes it stiff and brittle, more difficult to handle or store, and prone to discoloration and fading. Just brush on liberal coats of regular ordinary automotive antifreeze, and let it set out to dry. When dry, its ready for the presentation of your choosing.

Answer 6

Build a small cage out of rabbit wire and put some mice in it ( non accessible to the snake) .

Be careful in cleaning as the poison could mess up your day. Strip off the skin as you would skin a catfish.

Hope you don't throw away the meat, it's Delicious.

Answer 7

First off dont ,then look r snake round up Sweetwater Tx hope you change your mind

Answer 8

other snakes and mice lots of mice on a string tied to its leg

Answer 9

You probably should leave them alone you might get hit a good one and die

Answer 10

if you see a hole you think he is in smoke him out byburning leaves over the hole or shhot gas in the hole and he will come out