Rattlesnakes not rattling?

[cosmiccowboy]

IMHO a lot of it is how fast you are moving. I'm typically a slow mover looking for anything out of the ordinary. I grew up accustomed to a lot of big snakes in big country...I was 5 years old when I started hunting with my dad south of Fowlerton and it wasn't unusual at all to kill a half dozen rattlesnakes in a weekend over 4' long.

I had three older sisters and my dad was very involved in PTA. band parents, etc with them and somehow he invited the high school football coach to come quail hunting with us when I was about 11-12.

My dad got a huge migraine headache and told me to go ahead and take the coach hunting since I already knew the ranch, what to do, and was already driving...he told me to make sure I gave him the snake lecture...

I did the whole spiel...just shoot them in the road when they flush. go SLOW...there are a LOT of big snakes...DON'T run after them...there are a lot of quail and you don't need to chase one covey...

He TOTALLY blew me off because i was a young kid...

First covey we jumped (It was a GREAT year) we jumped out of the truck, I shot one, he shot three times (missed) and then took off at a dead run after them. I picked up my bird and by that time he was at least a hundred yards out in the brush still shooting and chasing the scattered covey...

I followed his trail and it was just one of those days...I killed 5 BIG rattlers before I ever caught up to him...one I killed right over one of his boot tracks...

When he finally stopped and I got there he was like..."what were you shoottin at BOY?...the quail were all up here!"

I told him I was shooting rattle snakes and he basically called me a liar till I back tracked and showed him all of them and especially the one he practically stepped over...

LOL he never got out of the road the rest of the day...

[TxAg]

It's called natural selection. There have always been snakes that don't rattle and now that hogs are thriving those snakes that don't rattle are the ones that are surviving. I had a rattlesnake hit me last year at the lease and he never rattled. If it weren't for snake boots I would have been in bad shape. No cell service and about an hour and a half to two hours from town.

For me, the jury is still out on the rattlesnake/hog thing, but you've explained the evolution correctly. Theoretically, the ones that rattle most often get eaten. Rattle less, more likely to live and spread your genes. It's not the snakes can reason or communicate to each other to "not" rattle.

[panhandlehunter]

Exactly. I'm not saying the snakes are smart enough to purposely not rattle. I don't have a whole lot of experience with buzz worms but I know that my old lease had a bunch of snakes and even more hogs, and you would be hard pressed to find a rattlesnake that rattled.

[Greywolf in Hawaii]

Oh sorry that's my fault. I sent a memo to all rattle bugs saying I was going to be in Texas hunting and their rattling scars the beejeevies outa me so if they could hold off till further notice I'd appreciate it.

So I send a ok to rattle now memo?

[aironeout]

IMHO a lot of it is how fast you are moving. I'm typically a slow mover looking for anything out of the ordinary. I grew up accustomed to a lot of big snakes in big country...I was 5 years old when I started hunting with my dad south of Fowlerton and it wasn't unusual at all to kill a half dozen rattlesnakes in a weekend over 4' long.

I had three older sisters and my dad was very involved in PTA. band parents, etc with them and somehow he invited the high school football coach to come quail hunting with us when I was about 11-12.

My dad got a huge migraine headache and told me to go ahead and take the coach hunting since I already knew the ranch, what to do, and was already driving...he told me to make sure I gave him the snake lecture...

I did the whole spiel...just shoot them in the road when they flush. go SLOW...there are a LOT of big snakes...DON'T run after them...there are a lot of quail and you don't need to chase one covey...

He TOTALLY blew me off because i was a young kid...

First covey we jumped (It was a GREAT year) we jumped out of the truck, I shot one, he shot three times (missed) and then took off at a dead run after them. I picked up my bird and by that time he was at least a hundred yards out in the brush still shooting and chasing the scattered covey...

I followed his trail and it was just one of those days...I killed 5 BIG rattlers before I ever caught up to him...one I killed right over one of his boot tracks...

When he finally stopped and I got there he was like..."what were you shoottin at BOY?...the quail were all up here!"

I told him I was shooting rattle snakes and he basically called me a liar till I back tracked and showed him all of them and especially the one he practically stepped over...

LOL he never got out of the road the rest of the day...

That'll learn him.

[tkuehn5410]

I think the rest of the rattlers have become educated after hearing of this thread from a friend of a friend who is really a snake lover and not a bow hunter.

[Loreva13]

IMHO a lot of it is how fast you are moving. I'm typically a slow mover looking for anything out of the ordinary. I grew up accustomed to a lot of big snakes in big country...I was 5 years old when I started hunting with my dad south of Fowlerton and it wasn't unusual at all to kill a half dozen rattlesnakes in a weekend over 4' long.

I had three older sisters and my dad was very involved in PTA. band parents, etc with them and somehow he invited the high school football coach to come quail hunting with us when I was about 11-12.

My dad got a huge migraine headache and told me to go ahead and take the coach hunting since I already knew the ranch, what to do, and was already driving...he told me to make sure I gave him the snake lecture...

I did the whole spiel...just shoot them in the road when they flush. go SLOW...there are a LOT of big snakes...DON'T run after them...there are a lot of quail and you don't need to chase one covey...

He TOTALLY blew me off because i was a young kid...

First covey we jumped (It was a GREAT year) we jumped out of the truck, I shot one, he shot three times (missed) and then took off at a dead run after them. I picked up my bird and by that time he was at least a hundred yards out in the brush still shooting and chasing the scattered covey...

I followed his trail and it was just one of those days...I killed 5 BIG rattlers before I ever caught up to him...one I killed right over one of his boot tracks...

When he finally stopped and I got there he was like..."what were you shoottin at BOY?...the quail were all up here!"

I told him I was shooting rattle snakes and he basically called me a liar till I back tracked and showed him all of them and especially the one he practically stepped over...

LOL he never got out of the road the rest of the day...

That's a good story!

[mooch]

yep, i've heard this also

[trad"Doc"53]

I don't have anything to add except I finally found out that I can't hear a rattlesnake buzzing. Last weekend I was helping a guy look for a deer he had shot and was easing along when I got THAT feeling. Shined the light to my left and there was a 5ft. rattler crawling along about 15 ft. from me. One of the idiots wanted to STOMP him to death,yea right! He eased up behind it and grabed it's tail and gave a little jerk. It coiled and started rattling and I could not hear it! I had experimental antibiotics when I was burned that affected my hearing and this question of hearing a rattlesnake buzz was finally answered. I DO NOT like the answer!

[hornsboy]

Been told by many old timers that the rattlers don't rattle like they used too. I think it's natural selection due to the hogs. The ones that rattled a lot got ate leaving the ones that don't to be breeders. I agree I don't think the snakes figured out that if they are not rattling they live longer.

[eradicator]

So are hogs immune to rattler venom? Surely the snakes would bite the hogs and the hogs would die/get sick/learn their lesson/etc. Sure, we know hogs will eat anything but rattlebugs have a pretty good defense system working for 'em I can live with the quail theory since eggs can't really defend themselves, but this seems crazy.

[SMOOTHboar]

The snakes that rattle more get eaten. The ones that rattle less live. Over time the snakes that are reproducing are passing on the a more successful tendency. Over time the tenancy develops into a new behavioral trait of the species. Ergo less rattling from the rattle bug.

Boom! Welcome to school. Class adjourned.

[okrattler]

I can believe it but I don't think feral hogs are the only reason for it.I've seen my fair share of rattlesnakes that never buzzed and feral hogs aren't a concern where I live.A rattlesnake here wouldn't know a feral hog if it got stepped on by one.If a rattlesnake doesn't buzz at you there could be a few reasons why it didn't.If they're just coming out of hibernation in the Spring or about to go into hibernation during the Fall they'll be more sluggish and less likely to warn you.If they are about to shed their skin or if they eat something they seem to be less alert which could also cause them not to rattle until you almost step on them.But it does make sense to me that rattlesnakes that buzz get killed leaving the ones that don't buzz to reproduce and carry on that trait to the youngins.

I don't know if that theory is true or not but I do know that if I'm out building fence or something and I find a rattlesnake that lets me know it's there I'm probably gonna let it go on about its business.If I find one that doesn't buzz it's a goner.I don't have anything against snakes anyway but the way I see it is the ones that do buzz have some common courtesy and I appreciate that.

[Little Long]

is it true the slower the rattle the more tired they are?

sorry to jack your post.

[MojoTexas]

all of this "stoping rattling" stuff is making me parinoid and im gonna go buy some snake boots lol
I personally have never encountered a rattler or any kind of poisonus snake while hunting and i have been hunting since i was 5 or 6. I dont want too encounter one but ill be prepared for when i come across one.
Ill be watching this thread

I have a pair of snake boots and in my opinion they're well worth the money just for peace of mind, especially during archery season when it's still hot as blazes and snakes are still very active. Plus they keep your lower legs from getting as torn up from thorns and briars.