Janet with her .22 rifle
The 3' Rattler
Randy, Wayman & Murray
See the fangs?
Rattle 
Not Rattle Snake, Rattle Snacks! We will never forget our 2010 celebration of 4th July. It all began with a phone call to our hosts Wanda & Randy around 7.40pm the night before. Their neighbours Wayman & Janet had just seen a rattlesnake near their back patio, and knowing Randy has been catching snakes since he was a young lad, they contacted him. We jumped in Randy's truck and hightailed it to the next ranch, just a few minutes away. We have never seen so many deer in so few minutes as we did on that short drive.
Arriving at the house, Janet was sitting quietly on the back porch while her 22 rifle was still smoking nearby. With one shot, she hit the 3' rattlesnake in the neck - a mortal wound. It was still a wrigglin' and a rattlin' when we got there to check it out, and still capable of a venomous bite. We all kept a safe distance. The guys enjoyed prodding it to see it lunge and rattle.
With great ceremony, Wayman cut off the snake's head, skinned it alive, and nailed the skin to a board. Randy took the head to preserve it and display the fangs, and the snake meat became a new menu edition for the church picnic for 4th July. Wayman filleted it off the backbone, seasoned it and Janet used a beer batter to cook it in. Sure enough, as we were entering the hall for the picnic, Wayman held out a plate of small bites of battered rattlesnake. If you hadn't been told, you would think it was a cross between chicken and fish. At least that was my impression. Not bad at all.
Janet & Wayman have lived in their current ranch house here in the Hill Country of Texas (West side of Austin) for 9 years, and this is only the 2nd rattlesnake they have encountered. They live right on a creek, so they see lots of other snakes, but thankfully, not too many of the nasty rattlers. Rattlesnakes only bite in defence, resulting in 5.5 human deaths per year in the USA, and the victims are usually males between the ages of 17 - 27; alcohol or delayed medical attention are common factors. In spring the snakes come out of hibernation and are on the prowl, so bites to cattle are common then. An annual Rattlesnake Roundup is held at Sweetwater, about 50 miles West of Abilene & about 5 hrs NW of our current location. The snakes are common around barns and ranches in the area and the young emerge in great numbers in spring, so this is one way they actively cull them. They creat a tourism attraction at the same time - it is like a fair - and attracts over 30,000 people each spring. The longest snake caught this year measured 68". Glad he is gone.
Arriving at the house, Janet was sitting quietly on the back porch while her 22 rifle was still smoking nearby. With one shot, she hit the 3' rattlesnake in the neck - a mortal wound. It was still a wrigglin' and a rattlin' when we got there to check it out, and still capable of a venomous bite. We all kept a safe distance. The guys enjoyed prodding it to see it lunge and rattle.
With great ceremony, Wayman cut off the snake's head, skinned it alive, and nailed the skin to a board. Randy took the head to preserve it and display the fangs, and the snake meat became a new menu edition for the church picnic for 4th July. Wayman filleted it off the backbone, seasoned it and Janet used a beer batter to cook it in. Sure enough, as we were entering the hall for the picnic, Wayman held out a plate of small bites of battered rattlesnake. If you hadn't been told, you would think it was a cross between chicken and fish. At least that was my impression. Not bad at all.
Janet & Wayman have lived in their current ranch house here in the Hill Country of Texas (West side of Austin) for 9 years, and this is only the 2nd rattlesnake they have encountered. They live right on a creek, so they see lots of other snakes, but thankfully, not too many of the nasty rattlers. Rattlesnakes only bite in defence, resulting in 5.5 human deaths per year in the USA, and the victims are usually males between the ages of 17 - 27; alcohol or delayed medical attention are common factors. In spring the snakes come out of hibernation and are on the prowl, so bites to cattle are common then. An annual Rattlesnake Roundup is held at Sweetwater, about 50 miles West of Abilene & about 5 hrs NW of our current location. The snakes are common around barns and ranches in the area and the young emerge in great numbers in spring, so this is one way they actively cull them. They creat a tourism attraction at the same time - it is like a fair - and attracts over 30,000 people each spring. The longest snake caught this year measured 68". Glad he is gone.
Bear Grylls lives here! Rattlers for dinner.
ReplyDeleteAt least they cooked the snake before eating it.
Do you watch his show?
Fun and games, indeed.
Wow! I love the body language on Murray in the picture where he is staying his distance and leaning a little backwards as well!
ReplyDeleteI would have stayed a long way away too.
exciting for you both!! Love Mumma packing her gun and shooting it in one go! Go girls!!