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View Poll Results: Do you feel rattlesnake hunting is a legitimate form of hunting.
Yes 63 75.00%
No 8 9.52%
On the fence need more info 13 15.48%
Voters: 84. You may not vote on this poll

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Old December 18, 2012, 06:36 AM   #51
treg
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Sounds like another attack from the apartment dwelling food comes from the grocery store types.
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Old December 18, 2012, 08:54 AM   #52
Art Eatman
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rickyrick, it sometimes helps to point out that only hunters and gardeners are do-it-yourselfers for their food. When we get our food from a grocery or a restaurant, we've hired somebody else to do the dirty work.
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Old December 18, 2012, 09:52 AM   #53
CurlyQ.Howard
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Having been told what a rattlesnake bite did to an English setter as well as what a huge sum of money and vet care could not undo, I'm all for hunting and killing every rattlesnake.
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Old December 18, 2012, 10:13 PM   #54
MLeake
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Curly, your grasp or ecological balance is breathtaking - in a sad way.

Can rattlesnake hunting be legitimate? Yes.

Is it, always, everywhere? No.

Kill 'em all is normally very poor wildlife management.
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Old December 18, 2012, 10:46 PM   #55
huntinaz
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My "hunting" them consisted of driving dirt roads at night and then shooting them with 38 shot capsules. Wasn't much of a hunt but it was fun and they are good eating.

In general, I probably let more go than I kill. Around the house they get the shovel.
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Old December 18, 2012, 11:04 PM   #56
Daggitt
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Only had one incident. Found a bunch of babies under the dog food bag. Euthanized them and still wonder where Mama went.
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Old December 20, 2012, 02:26 PM   #57
CurlyQ.Howard
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MLEAKE, Obviously, you cannot begin to understand what that rattlesnake did with just one bite. This setter bitch was a top 1-2% dog, and the owner's breeding line depended on it to the point that he invested ten thousand $ or so trying to save it (let alone how it suffered). And, since any rattlesnake can poison anybody or any animal that it chooses to bite, I'm all for exterminating each and every one of them. Can you prove to me that the rattlesnake lives where no non-venomous snake can live and hunt vermin? So what purpose does the venomous snake serve? Maybe for scientific research. If so, then let the rattlesnake live in a lab environment so its venom can be used for research. Besides, haven't you ever watched True Grit? Need I say any more?
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Old December 20, 2012, 02:56 PM   #58
MLeake
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Typically, we find out what niche a critter had filled after the fact, when we see the results of eradication.

The Laws of Murphy and of Unintended Consequences tend to teach unpleasant lessons.

Meanwhile, snakes kill dogs. My in-laws lost a dachsund to a rattler a few years back. They could just as easily have lost the dog to a red-tailed hawk. Should we hunt hawks to eradication?

Emotional, irrational responses to threats are how we normally like to define antis. Obviously, those responses are not limited to antis...
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Old December 20, 2012, 03:19 PM   #59
rickyrick
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I'm mainly concerned with actual hunting of snakes to be sold by the pound and made into merchandise. While many hunters remove nuiesence snakes for people, I'm talking about the same format as most other types of animals....going to private lands leased for hunting and procuring the snakes. I must insist that the western diamondback population is not in any distress. The population is bountiful and healthy. Their numbers vary by climate, hunting them as a whole has negligible impact. I can assume that there are some farms with lower numbers due to hunting, but that's only a guess.
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Old December 20, 2012, 03:37 PM   #60
erikk
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The only good snake is a dead snake. Any snake, any time. I'll set traps & poison for rodents
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Old December 20, 2012, 05:03 PM   #61
JWT
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Rattlesnake roundups are fine. But I tend to let em alone. Did have one in my garage and had that removed and I'm sure released not too far from here. I'd rather have a few of them than the damned pack rats. Snakes don't chew up wires, and spa covers etc. Nor do they pack pieces of cactus and other debris in every cranny they can find.
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Old December 20, 2012, 09:37 PM   #62
CCCLVII
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I shoot them when they are near my home of near my grazing land. If I was out hunting deer or some thing I would leave it alone if I saw one. I just don't want them to bite one of my grand kids or one of my cows. I don't mess with non-poisonous snakes.

I use a form 3 Short barrel 12ga for the snakes. It carries well on the hip and packs a real punch.
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Old December 20, 2012, 09:42 PM   #63
CurlyQ.Howard
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Killing a rattlesnake is the equivalent of defusing a bomb. Nothing emotional; just a quick, clean kill.
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Old December 20, 2012, 09:49 PM   #64
sam colt
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rattlesnake

I have no problem killing them, snakes make me hurt myself by running into things to get away. And from the snakes side it's the one sport were the prey has a chance to win.
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