Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire snake bite protection

some might argue that the likelihood of getting kilt by a widow maker is higher than the likelihood of getting bitten by a venomous snake?

i wouldn't much want neither one to happen to me and my kind.

we humans have become so very civilized. lol.

Here's some pics of my Rocky Hunting shoes. I'd shoved them in the back of the closet thinking I'd maybe repair them with some shoe goo. Hahaha. No chance of that. The crumbly soles just wouldn't hold.

Note the little black pieces that fell off just putting them there for the pics. And the detached sole has crosswise cracks splitting it. Basically, the black piece sandwiched in between the bottom sole and the upper shoe is what fails. You can see that otherwise, the shoes are in pretty good shape.



The bottom tread in pretty good shape. Only wore them off pavement.

Glad I live where I live. We don't have poisonous snakes in NE Ohio.

I got a pair just like them. A few weeks ago I grabbed them and one sole just completely fell apart. The other seems ok. I had a pair of rocky hunting boots do the same thing twenty years ago. These boots were only Three years old and very little use. My dad had a pair of bear claws do it to.

Those two sentences contradict each other.

The best way I have found to avoid the issue you guys are having is to only buy boots with a stitched down sole and "Goodyear" welt. Usually a bit more expensive, but I have boots that are 15+/- years old, on their second set of soles, that have never had a glued on sole separate. I guess I'm not a fan of tennis shoe construction on my work or hunting footwear.

Snakes are another issue. Usually I go with the watch where me feet are going as I sometimes hunt in moccasins or even sandals. If not those, then my boots are usually only 6" tops.

Geno

PS, I just remernbered, I do have one old pair of Vasque hiking boots with glued on sole that I got as supplied by work. They are likely 15 or so years old too and the sole hasn't separated yet. I wear them on hunts sometimes but always carry some string and duct tape in the day pack in case they fail. And have a spare pair of boots in the truck.

Third man gets hit. First man alerts snake, it prepares to strike at the next, the third....

Youre getting the sucker pissed and ready with that stick.

Add a fresh cow pattie, and prickly pear - count me in!

I've never had another pair of shoes or boots self-destruct like those regardless of construction method. I believe the best way to avoid it happening again is to avoid buying any more Rocky's.

These threads remind me of the true story of the guy sneaking up on a cat squirrel in the palmetto river bottom in E Texas years ago. He was wearing an army surplus camo jacket with the low side pockets. A big timber rattler or eastern diamond back tore most his lower jacket pocket off that morning an cured his taste for squirrel hunting that day.

Then there was the guy who made the mistake of stepping over a log of a downed tree one day. He got hit in the back of his knee and was evidently envenomated in a vein as he only made it about ten steps before keeling over.

My mentor killed one 7-8 ft long years ago with 22 rattlers and a button when i was a kid. He was making a round with his deer hound Suzie while we were on stand and was walking down a dry branch when she alerted him to the rattler laying coiled up on the chest high bank he was fixing to walk by. It got both barrels of his old Stevens with No1 Buck. His ruddy half indian complexion was gone when he approached us standers.

WTF is a snake boot?

Do any of you fellows from real snake country remember an Outdoor Life article, maybe back in the '60's when it was worth reading, where they interviewed professional rattlesnake milkers from Texas (still wondering what you need snake venom for) and if they got bit, they would take a jumper wire from a gas engine ignition to zap the area around the bite. Claimed it reduced the pain and swelling and turned a snake bite to something not a whole lot worse than a bad bee sting.

Best to look where you are walking. Do not stick your hand in a blind hole.

I read most of them then and remember the idea electricity would nullify the toxic effects and that south Americans would use the spark plug wire from a running boat motor but i dont remember any particular recipients attesting to its efficacy.

I remember reading an article about that, but do not recall if it was Outdoor Life or not. I recall reading that a vet somewhere would treat dogs for snake bite with electrical shock to the bite area and it would apparently mostly kill the venom. I also remember that some company that was making tasers were planning on making either a model or an attachment to use to treat snake bites. I have never heard anything else about it since. That was quite a number of years ago. If it works, even partially, I can see the idea of a taser like device being a very useful asset to have.

Snake venom undergoes significant processing to produce an anti-venin which treat snakebite victims. To get the venom in the first place, someone has to milk the snake.
Here is one being milked in Australia... https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2016/04/king-brown-snake-milking-record-broken/

For walking around in summer I like my hiking boots, lightweight long pants and a pair of Goretex Gaiters (https://kenetrek.com/collections/gaiters/products/hunting-gaiter-black) over the top and up to just under the knee. Compression bandage in the pack. Avoid long grass and deadfall. There are a few different venonous snakes in my area, at least they will make you very sick, at worst and without treatment you will be dead inside an hour.

I hunt birds with dogs in Southern Az. I have done so for 40 years. Very rarely we encounter a rattler, usually a Western diamondback. I have considered getting some gators but haven't done it yet so cannot report. If I were to get some it would be these:

http://www.warwickmills.com/Hunting-Gaiters.aspx



IndyCA35: there are three venomous snakes that live in Ohio but I would venture seeing them would be a rare event, not like Az.

Both my brother and I had the exact same problem with our Rocky boots. The soles fell completely off!! My brothers boots were only worn a couple of times in very cold weather. He contacted Rocky and they refused to do anything about it. Mine were worn more, but not by much because I didn't really care for them. I contacted Rocky and was told "too bad". I am done with Rocky.

I purchased a pair of wrap around Snake Guardz from slg888 several years ago. I wear them in the spring/summer/early fall when I'm working in brush or hunting with a pair of hunting/hiking boots. They aren't that uncomfortable and can be cinched down fairly tight...I rarely notice them when I'm wearing them. I've got a lot of miles in them. Biggest concern with them is a fang slipping through the side or toe area of lighter weight boots.

https://www.baselineequipment.com/c...olOTw4gIVAZ7ACh2eFAxcEAQYAyABEgJmX_D_BwE

Occasionally I'll wear bogs snake proof rubber boots if I'm not covering a lot of ground or if I'll be in the edge of water or crossing creeks. They just aren't as comfortable and don't breath well.

https://www.steepandcheap.com/bogs-...qm-bw4gIVTL7ACh3bvQztEAQYAyABEgKypPD_BwE