On a recent pronghorn hunt in Wyoming I experienced something new to me. As I walked through the sagebrush a rattlesnake started buzzing. That is nothing new, as I have run across a few buzzworms on the ground while pronghorn hunting. This ill tempered worm was up off of the ground and was somewhere inside of a large silver sage that was three or four feet from me. I have heard that they will sometimes slither up inside a sage but this is the first time I have ever experienced it. I kept my distance and circled the sagebrush but never saw him. I could see the ground clearly and could see the lower part of the sage clearly. He must have been a couple feet off of the ground and up in the center of that sage.

I have always had an unhealthy lack of fear of snakes (except for a Black Mamba that slid past me about ten feet away!), but the thought of a rattlesnake bite between the belt and knees had me uneasy for the rest of the hunt.