Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Snake bites

Dang right. That always pisses them.off to no end.

Almost as bad as posting something about Q to the Fire snakes. Suckers start striking at everything.

Someone on here once posted to the effect “as I got older I found quicksand wasn’t near the problem I thought it would be”. I bought some heavy Cordura snake chaps when a guy in our club had a cottonmouth strike at him really close to a treestand I hunted (killed it with a chain on stand he was carrying). These days the chaps are used only when running a chain saw. Yeah the snakes are out there but not nearly the problem I thought they would be. YMMV

Local doctor says most bites in this area are on the inside of the foot. Lots of folks get bit while moving their sprinkler while barefoot.

Well that clears me for sure…..

If you find a comfortable pair of snake boots, I think you'll be pleased. They're great for the thorns, chiggers, ticks and snakes. I've owned a lot. Just hit and miss on waterproof and comfort. Some have been amazing and some not so much. Either way I won't go stomping around the areas I frequent without them. Or without a thermacell!

No kidding. I have a pair that was supposed to be waterproof. I don’t think I’ve ever had a pair leak more than they do.

Gaiters and flip flops likely won't be the best option. Just that. For your summer activities.

Snake boots are like seat belts, you are really going to want them when you need them. I live in SC and we have four kind of poisonous snakes. You probably have the same four kind in AR. I have com across poisonous snakes at least 20 times in my 50 years of hunting (very hard and frequent hunting) and I can remember them vividly because they scared the crap out of me.

My son started hunting with me a few years ago and I bought him a pair of snake books that were light and comfortable. One day, it was the middle of the summer and we were having a work day in my deer club. My son was trimming some branches and there was mother guy using a chain saw to cut some small trees for a shooting lane. Suddenly, the guy with the saw threw it to the side and yelled “get back!” Well, as you guessed it was a very large rattler and he was quite angry, I think the noise of the saw really wt him off. He was dispatched quickly, but my son came to me and was very shaken because he had literally walked within a foot or two of the snake. Prior to out heading out that morning for the work day I told him not to worry about the snake boots because we didn’t have time to find them and we should be “okay” without them. I remember feeling naked that day without mine in, especially when I was in thick cover. I would have never forgiven myself if f he had been bitten because a bite is extremely painful and damaging to muscle tissue.

The pair I use are Rocky lightweight Gortex and I love them. They are not overly hot, they are very lightweight and they have been absolutely waterproof. Additionally, I don’t think I’ve had a single instance where a deer has alerted to where I have walked in in my boots. I think i paid about $140.00 for them. I like them so much I wear them even when it gets colder and there is little chance of seeing a snake. Speaking of cold and snakes, one moonlit morning it was about 30 degrees and there was frost all over the ground. My brother and I were on a log and crossing a fast moving stream. I turned on my flashlight to make sure I had my footing, and there, in the center of the log, was a massive mocassin curled up. I have no idea why he was there…maybe getting what warmth he could from the log, but he looked painfully cold and before I could shoot him he sort of fell into the creek.

By the way, I’ve had several pair of snake boots with laces and hated everyone. Get the kind that slip on. Also, my current Rockies have been good but I have had other Rockies where the sole came off prematurely, so save your receipt.

Get the boots and then you can watch for birds or other animals and not have to worry about things. The lightweight Rockies or other brands are almost like tennis shoes in your feet.

A brief observation re statistics on death by snakebite. Like "gun violence", the death statistics don't tell the whole story. A snakebite can mess up the victim big time, maim, cripple you for life. No small matter.

Son works surveying/testing buried pipelines in the summer. Had plenty of snake encounters. Ran into a big mess of rattlesnakes one time right on the pipeline. They have no choice but to follow the pipeline, snakes or no snakes. He had to go back afterwards alone and retrieve wire that they trail behind them. Right over/through that den area again, solo.

Company he works for provides gaiters/chaps, but as much as he disliked his snake experiences, his hardhead wouldn't put wear them. He wears danner hiking boots which should protect him down low. I am pretty sure he is going to wear regular gaiters this year, which would provide some additional protection. He said the snake gaiters/chaps were too hot.

I would like to think a high quality pair of gaiters made of dense nylon over jeans would provide reasonable protection .

I have had a pair of pull on Camo Rocky snake boots for 5 years or so now, they are waterproof. They come up to just below my knee. They have been durable. IIRC I paid $130-140 or so. YMMV but I would get a high boot were I to be doing your job. I used to have a pair of Redhead bass pro zip up snake boots, I called the company one day and asked if they had tested them against bites, the lady said she didn’t think so but they had not received any complaints. Also where I live I killed a timber rattler crossing a logging road in late December one year.

I would buy a pair of comfortable snake boots, good insurance.

Yeah they really do come in handy when hunting in Texas. Lots of stuff besides snakes that can puncture you.

I have several pair but my favorites are Danner Pronghorn lace up/side zip snake boots. Can get a good fit with those and very comfortable.

In 2019 the wife (now ex) was bit by a Copperhead. Dang ugly experience. Extremely painful. We were a long ways from the hospital too. Her leg swelled up pretty badly and they considered a procedure where basically they filet your entire leg open lengthwise. Either that or remove the leg. Fortunately when we returned home there was some subject matter expert that she worked with. It took almost 2 years to recover from it.

SOB.

That's what I have here, is copperheads.

Killed about 15-20 last year alone.



4 of my 5 dogs have been bitten by them. Despite the snake training... they are always sniffing around and get bitten before they know the snake is there. If they can see it they get away and alert me, but that doesn't happen all the time.

I have snake chaps...Turtleskins, I think---something like that. They're light but hot as heck so I only wear them when I plan to do lots of walking.

A snake bite can be a financial disaster. I'm more afraid of treatment costs than the damned snakes themselves.

Damn copperheads around here in late fall are always looking for a wood pile to hang out in. When in the blue they really get nasty. And they don't rattle.

Not only the bite that messes you up but the medical bill will as well. Two summers ago, a 17-year-old was bitten by a copperhead snake in Hillsborough the next county over from us.

The family got the Duke Health bill a few weeks later for $225,000. The antivenom alone cost $200,000.

This is the scary part of being bitten by a venomous snake. Suffering through the bite and the treatment, the possible digit or tissue loss, and the cost of treatment. Death is a possibility, however low a percentage that may be. However, all that other stuff is a certainty if bitten.

I like the plastic zip up kind, keeps dew off too. They were all I used when I quail hunted.

A solution in search of a problem.