"Rattler! Hunting the most feared creature in North America" by Russell Graves
The weather was a bit cool the night before, but in late Match, the panhandle sun sliced through the cold front and warmed the rigged badlands of North-western Texas. Walking with my friend Todd Nelson, we explore the craggy rock outcropping looking for signs of one of the most misunderstood creatures in all of the Rolling Plains.
We do not have to look long before we find what we seek: At the bottom of the small knoll we stand upon, Todd spots the serpentine shape of a snake. The snake is so well camouflaged I do not immediately spot it. Instead, I study the rocks trying to pick out the irregularities in the shapes to no avail.
"Look between those two biggest rocks," instructs Todd. I squint and see a foreign shape among the broken aggregate, and soon pick out the triangle shaped head of a western diamondback rattlesnake. The diamondback's camouflage is impeccable. Its swarthy coloration and symmetrical back pattern works hides the snake quite effectively, which helps make it an effective and deadly predator.
I ease in close to shoot a few pictures while Todd readies his gear. Soon he reaches down and snatches the snake a few inches behind the head with a set of snake tongs. He deposits the snake in a bucket and we begin looking for another one. In the few minutes we spend on the knoll, Todd catches five fat rattlers and a sleek western coachwhip.
Todd will store the rattlesnakes until he markets them to a buyer that comes around in April. Eventually, the snakes provide some meat, the skins and rattles become assorted consumer products from belts to jewelry, and some specimens are delivered alive to biomedical manufactures of antivenin and other venom-based pharmaceuticals.
Rattlers have been the subject of many myths and misconceptions over the years. Legend says that when you cut off a rattler's head, the snake will not die until the sun goes down. Although the story is not true, it is testament to the deep-seated fear many people have of snakes.
The western diamondback rattlesnake belongs to a group of snakes known as pit vipers. This name derives from small openings or pits just in front of the eyes and below the nostrils. These pits serve as heat detectors, enabling snakes to determine the location of warm-blooded prey, thus making strikes more accurate and hence more deadly.
Inside the mouth of a diamondback are a highly specialized tongue, and a pair of fangs that deliver venom. The tongue, long and forked, is a scent detector for testing the chemical composition of the air. It sends data to a pair of receptors in the mouth known as Jacobson's organs. These organs process the scent and pass the signal to the brain. During hunting forays, a diamondback constantly flicks its tongue in and out of its mouth, searching for prey as well as threats to its survival. Compared to the species it preys on, the long-range eyesight of the diamondback is poor. Highly evolved senses of temperature and smell are its keys to survival.
The diamondback's fangs remain folded flat in its mouth in sheaths until they are used in a strike. The hollow fangs inject venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. The venom is a potent blend neurotoxic and hemotoxic agents containing more than 70 different proteins. These proteins affect the nervous system, causing paralysis, and break down tissue in a pre-ingestion digestion process.
The bite can be fatal to humans, but modern medicine has made death rare. Fewer than 2 percent of strikes result in fatality. Untreated, however, bites can cause extensive tissue damage and severe swelling.
When threatened, a diamondback will anchor the rear 2/3 of its body to the ground, wind itself into coils, and raise the anterior portion of its body off the ground in an "S" shape. Locked onto an intruder with a piercing gaze, the rattler emits a warning buzz from its tail and investigates the air with its tongue.
Another myth held that a rattler's unblinking stare "charmed" small animals into a hypnotic state. Studies have proven otherwise. The diamonback's defensive posture will last as long as the snake senses that a threat exists or until it yields ground and simply crawls away to safety.
Because rattlesnakes are ectothermic (dependant on external warmth to maintain body heat), finding their haunts is relatively east. Todd looks for dens in the early fall and late winter when Indian summer conditions bring warm daytime temperatures after a cool night. After the sun sets, the air cools quickly and the rattlesnakes seek the safety and warmth of a den. In the den, rattlesnakes huddle together to share body heat while soaking what hear they can out of the surrounding air and ground.
Once the sun rises, the snakes exit dens to lie on sun-warmed ground and rocks. Therefore, when conditions are ripe, snake dens are easy to find. After a cool night, wait until late mourning or afternoon and search around rocky outcroppings that face the sun, or around old houses.
The tools for becoming a snake hunter are surprisingly few. Actually, all you need are a good pair of snake boots, and a bucket with a closeable lid, and snake tongs.
For the snake boots I recommend a lace-up boot with a 16-inch top instead of cowboy boots. Bass Pro Shops sells Redhead brand snake boots, which can also double as turkey hunting boots.
To tote snakes, a 5-gallon bucket with a closeable lid fits the bill. To build a snake bucket, simply cut a 5x5-inch square out of the lid. Cover the hole with a 6x6-inch wide by 1-inch thick piece of lumber attached with a hinge. There is no need to put a hasp on the lid to keep it closed; you need to be able to quickly flip the lid open when you are ready to insert a snake.
When selecting a pair of snake tongs, get the kind with a closeable jaw. Snake hooks may work for moving reptiles, but with dangerous snakes such as diamondbacks, you want to grip them with snake tongs and control their movements more than hooks allow.
Snake tongs are inexpensive and you can find them at retail outlets such as Forestry Suppliers for $55 to $80. The price variation reflects length, and I recommend longer tongs to keep the snake away from your body as much as possible.
Once you have caught a passel of snakes, the obvious question is what to do with them. Preserving your catch is easier than you might think. For starters, skin the snake as you would a deer, coyote, or any other creature. A word of caution: a dead snake can still bite, so cut off the head and dispose of it before skinning.
Once the skin is off, scrape the meat from inside the hide using a spoon or dull knife. Once the skin is de-fleshed, soak it in a mixture of 1/2 cup borax to a half gallon of water and refrigerate it for 24 hours, "stirring" two to three times during that time.
Once the skin is well soaked, remove it from the borax solution and stretch it out on a piece of plywood with the flesh side down. You can staple the skin to the board when you stretch it out, simply let it lie unattached. Put the skin away to dry in a cool place for a couple weeks.
Once the skin is dry, you can treat it with a tanning solution. I have heard some use a 50/50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol and antifreeze and let it soak for a day. To dry the skin, hang it up for about a week so the solution can drip off. Alternatively, you can buy commercially made tanning solutions such as Snake Tan from Van Dyke's Taxidermy Supply and follow the manufacturer's instructions.
If you are adventurous and want to sample snake meat, slice across the snake's body and cut the meat into bite-sized chunks. The meat can be prepared in a number of ways, but perhaps the most practical is to simply bread and deep-fry as you would fish fillets.
Whether your intent is to catch snakes to sell, process the meat and hides, or just study them, I think you will find it is a great way to spend some time afield. Snake hunting is dangerous and not to be approached casually. Their lightning quick strikes and unpredictable nature makes hunting rattlers one of the most dangerous pursuits in Texas. Don't fret though. With a little preparation and a healthy dose of respect, snakes are the perfect quarry for the adventurous sportsman.
