I'm not sure there's ever a time in AZ when you might not see a rattlesnake unless there's a foot of snow on the ground and it's 0 degs. One year way back I was hunting javelina just west of SR77 & the San Carlos res. It was either late Feb. or early March. So one morning after a rather cold night, I was working my way thru the bottom of a canyon and came to an area that had lots of tall, thick brush and large rocks that I had to meander thru. I was pushing my way thru sort of sideways, using my shoulder to deflect the branches and happened to look down. There, spread lenghtwise sunning itself on a big flat rock, was a 3' rattler, and as I put my right foot down about 10-15 inches away, it lashed out. I was fortunate it wasn't coiled because the strike came up a bit short. But, as I jumped back, I screamed like a little girl, just thinking I had been nailed. A few seconds later, a guy yelled, "Are you Ok?" He was on the canyon rim above me and heard my little scream. Before I could shoot the snake, it disappeared into a crevice between the rocks, which was likely its winter den.