He was a pretty good sized Black-Tailed rattlesnake - and I have a certain policy when it comes to rattlesnakes, especially near trails and public-use areas. One shot of .38spl CCI shotshell and it was lights out for this rattler. It was still about 4 miles to the vehicle, but I wanted to pack him out so I took off his head and loaded him in a garbage bag and down the hill we all went.
Once I got home and had the chance to lay him out, I discovered that he was 46" with his skin on, and once skinned he was 55" long - the biggest rattler I've ever killed. I got right to work getting him prepped and ready for display, and of course I kept the meat for a tasty meal at a later date. A little over a day later and the skin is already on the wall, soft and pliable as can be. Here it is compared to the big Diamondback rattler that I killed a couple of weeks ago:
I'm leaving early tomorrow morning with my family for a week of vacation in California, and I've been a little upset that I won't be able to call until next Monday, especially since I just got another bellows call from Kettle Creek Calls - the Big Pekker - and I wanted to try it out. In fact Curtis was kind enough to send me a few different calls, but I've been most anxious to try out the Big Pekker since it does a fantastic job of making a rapid bird distress noise. I figured I'd just have to wait until I came back from vacation, but then came my chance: I had to take my sister-in-law to meet a friend just north of Phoenix, and on my home I had just enough time for two stands before the sun went down. And they were good stands.
On the first one I walked close to a ledge overlooking a big dry riverbed, hoping that my new Big Pekker call would bring in some foxes. Just a few minutes into the stand and this coyote popped up directly in front of me about 40 yards away. Things got a little bloody - only one shot but I think he put his nose in it trying to bite it like coyotes will do sometimes. Not my best shot but he busted me and was trying to leave, had to shoot him on the move. Thank you Curtis and Kettle Creek Calls for yet another cool new bellows call!
And I wish I had a picture to show for this one . . . . on my second stand a good-sized bobcat came running in at around the 5 minute mark, headed straight in for a better look at what was making all that racket! It was my Kettle Creek Griz-N-Gray, and this isn't the first bobcat that I've had respond to a gray fox distress noise. The bobat stopped behind some behind some brush a mere 30 yards away, but my .223 is no brush gun and I was helpless except to sit there and have a staredown with the cat. I'm confident that if I would've had a decoy with me I could have sealed the deal, but I left both of my dekes back in the truck - dang it! He stared at me from behind the brush for about 5 minutes, and I could tell he was nervous and had seen me. Finally he decided to leave and did so through the brush - and there was nothing I could do but watch him slink off through the brush. That's okay, though - I know where he lives now. I'll go back for him, and even if I don't get him the heart-pounding thrill of our staredown is payment enough for my hardwork.
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