kraigwy my friends on the ranches I grew up around felt the same way about rattlers and livestock. I never quite got to that point, I only killed them when one of us was cornered and I couldn't get away. Prairie rattlers being fairly mild mannered it didn't happen often. Bull snakes were the aggressive ones. Since most folks couldn't tell the difference the rattlesnakes got unfairly blamed a lot.
On the upside, when I was a teenager, there was one incident where a fairly nice looking young lady who couldn't tell the difference was completely convinced that I had saved her from certain death. She was amazed I would pick up the "mean rattlesnake" and take it where it couldn't chase her down and attack her. My buddies were also unable to see the difference between the two species at least long enough for (as I remember) three hugs and one kiss (on the cheek, geez, I wasn't
that much of a jerk!). You just never know where a little knowledge might come in handy
