Eastern Rattlesnake skins.Where to get?

[2hats]

I have a set of Westerns being installed and now want a set of Easterns.Anybody know where to get?
Thanks

[Bear]

Illegal.

[ishiwannabe]

Yeah, they are pretty much protected in their entire range.

[JimB]

They are protected in some states but not all.

[JustinNC]

Yeah Easterns are pretty much protected, butttt...check out a canebreak. Same thing as a timber rattler...however the "cane breaks" have an orangeish line down their back that imho makes them much more beautiful than a timber from a mountainous region. (i.e. here in NC theyre protected as well, but the difference here would be one from the coastal plain versus one from the mountains)...not sure of their status in SC/GA/FL/etc

[JustinNC]

Originally posted by JimB:
They are protected in some states but not all.

Not ALL rattlesnakes, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a state that has Eastern Diamondbacks and it's legal to kill them.

[Bob Miller]

You can kill them in Florida

[ishiwannabe]

I stand corrected, I do know that certain states, like here in NY, it is illegal to possess them as they are protected. So even if they are killed in Florida and shipped up, I would still have a potential problem having them in my possesssion...just know the local laws and such, I guess. Better safe than sorry.

[speedwalker]

I think you're allowed to kill two a year in Pa. as long as you have the required permit.

[John Scifres]

I didn't think the Eastern Diamondback was outside of the southeastern coastal states from southern North Carolina to Florida and west to Louisiana where it seems it's legal to kill in most of them.  Here's some info from National Geographic  http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/eastern-diamondback-rattlesnake.html

Maybe you're thinking of timer rattlers which have a broader range.

[JustinNC]

Actually I think it's only protected in Norht Carolina....although it's highly researched throughout it's range. My mistake.

[JimB]

For sure it is protected in NC and SC.It sounds like Florida,Georgia and Alabama are still open.Maybe Louisiana too.There are still roundups being held in Georgia the last I heard.There are no Federal protections.It is a good point,that you need to know the local laws.These days you can't just buy and sell anything,anywhere.You can still get Easterns though and they sure are beautiful on black limbs.

[Pat B]

One problem with using Eastern D back skins for bow backing is they have large pronounced scales and you won't get a smooth finish on your limbs. Also if larger snakes are used you loose the diamond pattern on a bow back. The skins are thicker than most other local snakes skins too.

[joevan125]

I have a bow with Eastern Diamond skins with 2 on the way. They look amazing on these bows i have.

[John Scifres]

I traded a guy in GA for a bunch of easterns once.  Some of them were scary big.  I was pretty glad they were already dead.  I ended up splitting the big ones in half and doing a whole bow with one skin.  Even the smaller ones were too big to keep the diamonds on my skinny limbed osage selfbows.  They ended up being X's instead of diamonds.  Still they were wicked cool.

[2hats]

Wow.Growing up here in the Blue Ridge Mtns,never once thought about them being protected,i know we lived next to the Shenadoah Park and of course we couldn't bother them.Well, by law any how.We had tons of copperheads then,sure wish then I would known how valuable they are now.Still hate seeing one though,every day dad would killat least a couple when went up to Grandmas house.Then,it seemed the thing to do.I quess I will have to just stumble upon a set somehow...hope not literally..

[Zbone]

Used to have a rattlesnake festival at or around  Fitzgerald GA (if I remember correctly) and the eastern diamondback was the featured cuisine of the menu.

[Killdeer]

I think Bob Morrison picked up some at ATAR.

Killdeer  

[J-dog]

If you see one in the wild count yourself lucky    ?? sounds wierd but yeah. Ran across a monster bass fishin not too long ago. other than that I have seen 4 in the wild in NC. Better snakes to make skins outta. ditto large scales = bad finish

J

[Bear]

To be honest, I think an Eastern's life would be wasted on a bow. I guess two small ones would be nice, but again, very big scales.

Most folks probably don't realize how big around eastern's are. Their coloring is certainly prettier than western's, but whats the point if you loose the pattern?