HOUSTON CHRONICLE (Texas) 06 January 04 Rattlers bed down in quail country (Joe Doggett)
Big coveys and big rattlesnakes go together. This is a Brush Country wisdom that most salty quail hunters will support. And this banner "bird" season is no exception.
Reports of numerous large coveys remain common across most of the state's prime quail country -- and rattlesnake encounters are an ongoing threat on all but the coldest days. The wet summer and mild fall that produced heavy underbrush favor both species.
For example, on two hunting trips in Willacy and Kenedy counties during December, I documented five western diamondback rattlesnake sightings. The average amid balmy conditions was one per day.
That rate might be typical, but rare is the serious quail hunter this season without a tale or two of bouncing off a rattlesnake.
The western diamondback is the most plentiful rattler with the greatest distribution in the Lone Star State. According to Texas Snakes by John Werler and James Dixon, the diamondback blankets the South Texas and Trans Pecos regions and is well-represented across north-central Texas. The smaller prairie rattlesnake overlaps in the Panhandle. Not coincidentally, all of this is excellent quail dirt.
The western diamondback is a large and formidable pit viper, but the Texas rattler typically is not as big as legend and lore (not to mention wide-eyed bird hunters) might suggest. Most mature specimens, according to Werler and Dixon, are 3 to 4 feet long. A truly big diamondback might tape an honest 6 feet (not stretched) and "the most generally accepted maximum recorded length for this species is an imposing 7 feet, 4 inches."
Keep in mind that this is the research from two of the most respected herpetologists in the state; in other words, I would be skeptical of firsthand accounts of 8- and 9-footers, especially if the same source is trying to promote a "50 covey hunt" or a "180 B&C buck." Things have a way of growing around the fire ring.
Today, the best chances of encountering a 6-foot-plus rattlesnake probably are in the back pasture of a large ranch, a place the snakes can reach full potential without interference from random traffic. In short, big leases and big snakes go together, a sobering fact for the high-dollar hunter.
But a 5-foot western diamondback rattlesnake with healthy girth and bulbous head and busy tail is a legitimate monster -- especially if the outraged snake happens to be between your feet as you step eagerly toward a pointing dog.
Diamondbacks tend to be high-strung and irritable and account for the majority of the 1,000 or so venomous snakebites on humans each year in Texas. Most are not fatal, but the ordeal is, by all accounts, excruciating. And, of course, hunting dogs are at ongoing risk. A "de-snaking" program should be mandatory for any pointer or retriever used in rattlesnake or cottonmouth country.
Several weeks ago, South Texas dog handler Adam Lively had an English pointer bitten by a rattler; the dog survived only because Lively was quick on the draw with medical aid.
The western diamondback with long fangs and large venom sacks is capable of inflicting a potentially lethal bite, but the venom of other, smaller rattlers (such as the prairie rattler) is drop-for-drop more potent. The big rattler is most dangerous because it hits so hard and packs so much juice -- nature's classic overdose.
According to Werler and Dixon, a young diamondback might deliver a hotter blow than a mature one; this presumably is because each drop must count for the small snake to promptly kill prey. One study of North Texas diamondbacks showed the toxicity of the venom from two juveniles less than 1 year old was 6.6 times greater than that of adults in the same area.
I guess if you're going to get nailed, try to pick a 4-footer rather than a 2-footer. Better yet, avoid the whole issue by wearing tall, heavy snake boots and/or chaps and pay attention before reaching after a downed quail or retrieving a spent hull.
Midwinter is a dangerous time because cold-blooded reptiles often are most active from midmorning through late afternoon -- the hours many bird hunters are in the field. The day might dawn cool, even cold, but by 9 or 10 a.m. the rapidly rising temperature can start pulling snakes into the open.
Snakes can remain exposed for lingering hours to the relatively mild rays of the winter sun (blistering summer sun is too intense for prolonged exposure). A common sight during January and February is to see a rattlesnake sunning on a heated sand or caliche road or coiled on top of a cushion of grass. The thick sacahuiste and saltgrass clumps along the lower coast are prime sunning parlors.
This same snake basking in the warmth might be sluggish and slow to react. It might fail to rattle a warning, preferring to remain quiet and motionless. And it is amazing how well the bold diamond pattern of grays, blacks, yellows and whites can blend against a blur of brush.
Never be reluctant to look once, even twice, before stepping or reaching into cover during a quail hunt -- especially this season.
Rattlers bed down in quail country