How tall is he?

[mitchparker6]

How tall do you guys think he is? Wouldn't turn his head to get a side profile.

Also I'm hunting south Dakota and went out to scout the area we are hunting, and I stubbled across a Prairie rattler in the winter wheat field we are going to be hunting. Granted it was under a log in an unfarmed area of the field, but what do you guys do for rattlers? Do you guys wear snake proof everything from the waist down? Thanks for the help!

 

[Fitzwho]

Y’all enough to ground check. I would guess 15” straight line off his head (no curve taken into account).

 

[wytex]

The prairie rattlers around here are not aggressive. Wear some good leather boots and you should be fine. We give them a break and just relocate if in a problem spot.
hard to tell from the pic but looks like a nice buck.

 

[mitchparker6]

Here may be a better picture?

 

[ClearCreek]

Viewing the second photo, all things considered, he may have a hard time breaking 14". It appears there is little "curl" to the horns.

ClearCreek

 

[wytex]

I would tend to agree with clear creek now. Unless he has some curl that goes back, that can only be judged from the side view.
Still not a bad buck though. I would keep looking and keep him in my backup plan.

 

[mitchparker6]

He had about last 2 in curl back when I saw him from the side. Season is in 2 1/2 weeks and I found him on private land that we have permission to hunt. He is hanging out on about 600-700 acres of winter wheat and was with 2 1-2 year old bucks. The does were about 3/4 mile away. I live 5 hrs away so watching him isn't an option. Hopefully he stays put.....by far the nicest buck I saw in the day of scouting that I did.

 

[antelopedundee]

Viewing the second photo, all things considered, he may have a hard time breaking 14". It appears there is little "curl" to the horns.

ClearCreek

The "ears" are 5-6 inches at most, no? If you go by the height of horn above the ears, he's not as big as you would think.

 

[antelopedundee]

The prairie rattlers around here are not aggressive. Wear some good leather boots and you should be fine. We give them a break and just relocate if in a problem spot.
hard to tell from the pic but looks like a nice buck.

I tried to whack one with a shovel, but it bit the handle. 20 minutes later the handle started to swell. By the next day it had swelled/swollen so much that I had enough wood for a hoghouse. 2 days later the swelling went down and choked off all of the hogs.

 

[Gr8bawana]

The "ears" are 5-6 inches at most, no? If you go by the height of horn above the ears, he's not as big as you would think.

By looking at where the ears seem to end he might go 13".
As for rattlers just keep an eye out for them but don't worry about them, they'll let you know if you get too close.

 

[antelopedundee]

By looking at where the ears seem to end he might go 13".
As for rattlers just keep an eye out for them but don't worry about them, they'll let you know if you get too close.

The ear on my avatar lope is 5.5 inches from tip to base.