crotalus

Whoa!!! Nelly. That is one sweet gun, very nicely done up. I'd call 'er "The Sasquatch".

Thanx for the compliments, glad you're enjoying the pix. The Chiricahuas are a very special place, really enjoy going there. The turkeys are Gould's, the lizard I believe is a Yarrow's Spiny (Clark,Desert, Yarrow's... they all look the same but some very subtile differences ) and of course our favorite Coues's WD doe. Plenty 'o deer and turkey. The Gould's appear to be doing very well; everytime I go into the Chiricahuas I see them. Water is scarce but the summer rains are off to a great start, cannot wait to go back early next month and there should be much more water. Didn't see any rattlesnakes, dang it, wanted to see some Banded rock rattlers but it was a bit to warm. Anyway enjoy... thanx again. Ernest BTW, there was a brush fire close to Fort Bowie that my "Uncle Jerry's" ghost may have had a hand in

Amazing video... could you refresh my memory about your research/work with the owls. I understand you may not be able to give specific locations but what mountain range were you working at. Again, thanx for the video and great job! Ernest

Wow!! That's the real "chupacabra"...

During the "saturation patrols" have any of the "employers" been nabbed? Last I remember Az voters made it a "crime" to knowingly hire illegal aliens and pulls the business licenses of those which do so, the so called business death sentence. The law has withstood the attacks of several lawsuits and upheld by a federal judge most recently. I would use the same rational, if one is busted in a whorehouse crib; you cannot claim ignorance of not knowing that prostitution was going on all around you. There is only one reason to go the red-light district and that's to pay for sex. Just like if you drive by a known pick up spot for illegal day labors and pick up an illegal alien take them to a job site, are you not guilty of transporting illeagal aliens? Cut off the the supply of money and "criminal activity" will cease. I think it's total BS that the people doing the illegal hiring aren't getting dinged or at least I'm not hearing about them getting nabbed as well. Until the law is equally applied I reserve judgement on these "antics".

As always, some great pix, Jim. Thanx for sharing! Ernest

Yee Haw! Ata baby... those things are sweet. Congrats on "breaking the curse", at first I was think'n azpackhorse had it right but ya mentioned Ventana Canyon and the scary drive up "the window" and I know of personally that there are several Gilas up there. Brother-in-law ran into them whilest building some of them sweet homes up there; he had to drive a cement pump rig up there and he mention the creepy ride up there and seeing Gilas off the road. Sweet going, thanx sharing the pix.

Sorry to hear about ya friend josh, I understand that the pain is pretty intense and you're nauseated and sweating like a fool. Not to mention your blood pressure is dropping... but no one in "modern times" has ever died of a gila bite. Not yet anyway. One thing is that gilas don't actively pump venom, it flows from its venom gland into the wound caused by those nasty little teeth that happen to be grooved for a better directed flow. Bulldog grips to boot, once they latch on it can be hard to remove. BTW, did ya know there is a new diabetic med that is based on gila venom. Cousechaser3 that's is mightly respectful of ya, I really hate to accidently kill any venomous herp. and actively avoid them as well. I rescued one down south during Oct muley hunt, took it off the road and dodged cars in the process. People thought I was some freak or something. Here's a warning, it's illegal to harass, capture, etc any Gila Monster. So you could get tagged by a AGF officer... sometimes it's difficult to tell a poacher from a good sammie.

Really nice pix, thanx for the post! I've seen several in SE Arizona. With them spending as much as 90% of their lives underground, everytime you see one it's very special. With all the urban development our state is undergoing, these sightings will become far and few between. These poor things are being snatched up(not literally) or rolled over all over Tucson and surrounding areas. Here's some pix of one I encountered a couple years before that huge development west of the Willow Springs Ranch north of Tucson. Sad thing is that even more is being planned for this area...sigh.

Mr. Dogman68, I'm glad you posted those comments. What happened up there was something very special, like I said those "last two pix speak a thousand words". You nailed it on the head when you said " You don't have to kill in order to have hunted"! Every time I take my daughter and son out for a hunt, I stress those exact words. Mucho respect for you and your family; your kind of honesty is fading quickly but it sure is nice to know we still have men like yourself and Josh to continue the legacy of every hunter. Thanx again for sharing a very special moment. Ernest

HA!!!!!!! Sweet wetmule, I was thinking the same thing. I'm not a Cat hater but that was a bread crumb if you ask me. Aye, Lee that is one sweet Mojave and that thing looks pissed! What's the story on this pix? It is one of the best ones I've seen in while.

Oooooo, should of never posted this string. CPS is going to be all over you like flys on _ _ _ _> All in jest... Dude that is freak'n awesome. The second and third pix are great! What a very blessed child. That's the stuff dreams and memories are made of. Very special legacy you are passing on and then the fact you didn't "be-ouch" slap the lion makes me appreciate the post even more. Thanx for a fine post. Ernest

Welcome back, good to have ya back in Az. Just in time fer the heat wave...Wow, from -24 to 124. Good to have you back in country.

Great pix Amanda, thanx for posting. If you look at the Black-tailed and Timber there are some similarties but the Timber has some very distinct chevron markings compared to the diamond-like patterns of the Black-Tailed. The Black, well once you see one you'll not forget it, even its immature snakes are very distinct. Great pix again, post 'em if you got 'em! Can never get enough of them snakes.

I don't have any nice pix of an Az Black but I know someone who has some sweet pix of just about every kind of rattler... but don't know if Coosefan has any time to post 'em. Also, Amanda posted a video of an very stout Az Black-tailed that looked mad as heck and then deceided to slither past the videographer that even made me jump as I watch it. Maybe we can post that again just to show how unpredictable these things are. BTW, an Az Black and Az Black-tailed are two differnent snakes. The adult Black-tailed is much more purdy... "Hemotoxin which destroys musle tissue" actually, hemotoxins act on blood (cellular and clotting components) and myotoxins act on tissue, in particular causing necrosis of muscle tissues. Hemo=blood and myo=muscle, hemotoxins will cause secondary tissue damage because of the lack of blood flowing(no oxygen and being digested make a good aweful mess) into the envenoming site. Immature snakes still do not contain the amount of venom a five foot rattler has, so control or not, a few drops vs 1-2cc of venom is by far less dangerous. One warning though as cousechaser3 stated our state has a good number of small very dangerous rattlesnakes so size is not your friend/enemy it's the amount of venom and classes of venom injected that matter. There is one particular rattlesnake, the "Tiger Rattlesnake" that does not get that long but packs one heck of a mixture of venom, with neurotoxin being the meanest. Again..."But if your screwin with em dont count on it" all bets are off and you are looking at a cool $150,000 medical bill. Just take some nice pix and leave them alone. Aye, AZP&Y, that is some cool gadget. For the price of a descent GPS you get some peace of mind, $169.00(plus subscription) that will payout in no time. That is very cool thanx for the heads up. I forgot to add this link for some really nice pix useful in snake id : http://www.reptilesofaz.com/herp-snakes.html

Hmmm...purdy nice pix of snakes posted . Az Ranger, you raised a very important question. What do I do if bitten by a rattlesnake and I'm by myself. Well first of all the cell phone is your friend, secondly don't go into a known snake populated area without a buddy; but if you must and you're out of cell phone range, too bad. Would I walk to the nearest road to get someone's attention, maybe? Depends on the symptoms being exhibited and the severity of the bite. Two miles can seem like 1000 when you're in intense pain and probably vomiting and going into shock. Secondly the urban myth that "little rattlesnakes" are more dangerous than a large one is just that... an urban myth. The reason I believe this rumor gets spread around is that immature rattlers have a high incidence of neurotoxin venom component than a say a large five foot rattler. Giving rise to a perceived increase in serverity of symptoms. A five foot rattler will pack one heck of a dose of venom and I would rather be bitten by a small snake than a larger one any day. The larger snake will have more myotoxin/hemotoxin components to their venom=more tissue damage. Does a immature rattler have less control of its venom? No science to prove that it does but it sure will get your attention if it thinks you are going to eat it. So bottom line, never go out on warm days by yourself, if a snake doesn't kill you the sun will or maybe even a drug smuggler. Plus the cell phone can be a life saver, but always get to an emergency room as fast and calmly/safely as you safely can. Remember "time is tissue", that is, once bitten you have a limited amount of time on your hand before the tissue damage becomes extensive. Antivenom will only slow the progress of the damage not reverse it. Stay safe, leave the rattlesnakes alone and continue to post those sweet croat pix. iHunt that's not the Black River in Arizona right, because there are no timbers in Az, perhaps it was a black-tailed rattlesnake. NoFX, that is a big 10-4 on that advice, thanx for that post very informative and some great info. Ernest

Wow! Jim, absolutely amazing story. Thanx for sharing it and the great pix. Man it was hot that day too... what was the temp in them thar hills? Major kudos to you, the mark of a true sportsman... it's all about the hunt not the killing. Ernest

Man, good to hear. I thought maybe ya were in some sort of fist de cuffs with a Puma concolor One of these days I'm going to do a lion hunt. I have a pelt and skull already from a witnessed road kill and it was super fresh none the least but a real lion take down would be in my dreams. "I was up in 20-c a couple of weeks ago and someone killed a rattler out sunning itself and the temps were butt cold." Doh! must of been an Az black.

Glad to have ya back Scottyboy. I'm guessing BORSTAR is in the works..."2 weeks of EMT training"? Really great pix of the baby. She is adorable. Anywho, it's nice to have ya back. I've still got an appt with those "glyphs" haven't made it out yet but plan to as soon as possible, maybe I'll wait until it warms up a bit more down here and make a snake trip outta of it. Ernest

OMG dude!!!! You're killing me Story...Story.... it's like waitin to see if ya wife-girlfriend is pregnant . Hope ya doing fine but by the looks of that terrain bet you've a heck of story. Just think... at these there weren't any snakes around. Ernest

Casey, that is a dream come true. All in one hunt...dang! Major congrats... Mike and Troy ya'll are killing me. I was a little down then I read your postings and LMAO!!! I keep going into the Sportsman Warehouse to spot ya but only get to see pix of the infamous Casey and drop fifty bucks. Even my 7 y.o. son knows who ya are. Anyway thanx for the post and only a fews days left to score the dream so get out there! Ernest

Pictures??? otherwise I'll have to file this story under the "Monster Quest" forum... All joking aside Jim, all I can say is "you the man"! First ya kill me with all the cool reptile pix/stories now ya killing me with all the mammal stories. True to the saying "you won't see them if you don't get out". That country looks wicked... what kind of chaps ya wearing? I bet that stuff is chewing you guys up. Best of luck to the rest of your adventures and look forward to some "Eyes of Fire" pix. Ernest

Thank you Mike! That brought tears to my eyes... there is so much we need to be thankful for, esp. for these young men and women who've given so much and expect nothing in return but respect and gratitude. It sure is easy to loose focus and very nice to remember what really matters. Ernest

Got a sweet article on cleaning bones using a very easy and proven method. It's used to clean human bones post mortem and make them presentable in court. If you are interested PM me and I'll send it to you. I cannot post it for everyone because it's from a copyright-ed scientific journal, but I can share details. Ernest

Yep, it sucks but did anyone take note of Scottyboy's comment : "I know its kinda unusual to actually see the pics of it actually happening, but come on folks, this craps happens in the southern reaches of your state day in and day out.. EVERYDAY, ALL DAY.. BP or not, it won't stop. Its the simple principle of suppy and demand. If there is a profit to be made off of something, that something WILL find its way into the buyers hand." I really wish there was something we could do, besides rant and rave about how much these people suck. Washington is not going to stop this, in fact they may even be encouraging it(W signed off on Mexican trucks, oops can I say Mexican, freely passing through our borders, just wait until this is mainstream highway loads not just in the prime habitat we've all grown to love) Do you think cheap chicken, cheap lettuce, cheap back room labor, cheap house keeping... I could go on and on will ever disappear? No one in Washington has the kiwi's big enough to take this head on and deal with it once and for all, no matter how much of a show they put on. Will our concerns ever be a bleep on the Washington screen? If we begin taking to our weakling polictical hacks maybe, but I doubt it. It really sucks to watch our state and country for that much be torn apart buy this sorry a*@ thing we call greed. Use to be one could hunt, hike and whatever anywhere in this great border state, sigh . I see the pain and suffering drugs and greed for cheap labor cause. Day in and day out, crack babies, meth babies, no insurance costing every tax payer mega $$$'s babies, extremely dehydrated desperato's with no insurance costing us $$$ patients . It really gets old but until the "simple principle of supply and demand" is addressed we will deal with this crap non-stop. As stated before when we become a drug-free nation and are able to pay $6 a head of anything, this crap will stop. Now can we talk about hunting or at least move this string to the polictical forum? Ernest