Rattlesnakes

[mtmiller]

So for you fellers in snake country/ or any snake experts out there. Are your high boots such as this one with jean over top good enough for snakes or can snakes strike higher...? Therefor needing gators?

I can only speak for MT. Get boots based on your foot and your needs....rattlesnake protection is not a need. Go hunting and have fun.

 

[jabber]

So for you fellers in snake country/ or any snake experts out there. Are your high boots such as this one with jean over top good enough for snakes or can snakes strike higher...? Therefor needing gators?

Most snake boots are around 17" tall, which will bring it up to within a couple of inches of the bottom of the knee. Tend to agree with mtmiller though.

 

[Greyman]

So for you fellers in snake country/ or any snake experts out there. Are your high boots such as this one with jean over top good enough for snakes or can snakes strike higher...? Therefor needing gators?View attachment 102627

If you are truly in snake country, then you'd be better off with actual snake boots that are much taller. Most folks get bit around the calf area.
Those look like they would be fine for most places though. Just be careful where you go like tall grass, stepping over logs, that kind of stuff.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Over the last 40+ years of hunting and camping in NV and AZ I can count on one hand the number of rattlers we've encountered. No need to worry about them but just be aware of where you're putting your hands and when stepping over logs or rocks.
My BIL who lives just outside Tombstone gets several rattlers in his yard every summer with the occasional Mojave Green in the mix.

 

[Gellar]

Studies show that leather boots and denim are about as reliable as “snake boots”. This is a fang from a timber rattle snake. They frequently lose them when biting prey, but have additional fangs that will replace it within a few hours. You can also see they are much like a hyperdermic needle in sharpness and the hollow end to transport the venom.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Really! A Few Hours?????

 

[mtmiller]

Really! A Few Hours?????

Legend has it.

 

[Gellar]

That’s what I’ve read, but I can’t find anyone to test the theory.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Lend Has It...The Legend Of" Your Not Going To Believe This BUT",,,Lol!

 

[Brian in Montana]

I grew up in west Texas. Plenty of rattlesnakes and copperheads to go around. I think every dog we ever had was bit at some point, usually in the head. They'd lay around for several days and act like they were dying, ears and head would swell up like a balloon, then they got better and knew to leave snakes alone after that.

I never got bit, but a knew a couple of people that did. They said it was very unpleasant. One guy got bit by a copperhead on the thumb and had to have it amputated because of infection (not the venom). Anyway, the snake bite kits are a gimmick. Folks that live in snakey country don't buy them. The common wisdom is don't go to cutting and sucking on it like they do in the movies, that has long been proven to be worthless and just wastes time. Just walk slowly so as not to get your heart rate up, keep breathing slow and deep, stay hydrated, and get to the nearest ER. Like an old farm dog, a healthy adult will usually survive a snake bite with rest and hydration, but its certainly not recommended.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Lots of Snakes here also.People bitten and not rushed to the Hospital right
away tend to have pieces and parts removed from thier bodies.Too bad they
don't grow back like a Lizards tail.

 

[slatebuilder]

Carry a couple of compression bandages in the pack always - venomous snakes is one thing we have an abundance of.

Australia’s fine selection of fanged slithery critters truly gives me the willies.....
I ran across a rattlesnake, one step away, in spring gobbler last spring. He was curled up in the leaves on the north side of a ridge in a hemlock thicket, the last place you’d think one would show up on a cool spring day. He didn’t rattle, didn’t twitch, didn’t bat an eye or flick his tongue. They are hard to see in the brown dry leaves. I stoped in my tracks, looked behind me for others, backed up two steps and snapped a picture as I went around him.

 

[7Bartman]

Was hunting mulies in the desert a few years back with a buddy. He went to relief himself near this rockwall and took a hit right in the groin from a large rattler. I told him to stay calm while I hoofed it 2 miles back to our truck. I rode 25 mins to the nearest doctor's office. Doctor told me I need to get back to him and suck out the venom....I'm not sure whatever happened to him.

In all seriousness, most bites are dry bites. I think some of the advice offered above is spot on. I used to use lecture pharmacy students on the use of CroFab. It's risk/benefit is mainly for the most extreme cases of life or limb given the risks of anaphylaxis.

 

[shootbrownelk]

My late best friend had a half gallon jar full of rattles he collected when he was setting water on alfalfa fields using gated pipe. They were everywhere along those fields when I helped him. My shovel accounted for a few scores.

 

[TwistedSage]

This guy rattled off about 12 ft from my 2 year old as she was following me to wash my hands in the yard. Only time I have ever shot an animal out of anger. After getting the family inside going and finding the snake again in the pasture was an experience in itself.

Me and piosionous snakes dont exactly see eye to eye. I am trying to warm up to the 4 ft bull snakes the locals say keep the rattlers away. Damnit I hate snakes...

 

[Mtnhunter1]

Well I guess that snakes have never taken up a large portion of my thoughts while banging around outside. I have killed only two to date. Both of these, like Twistedsage's, were close to my house with my wife and kids running around.

This fella decided that the shade of my pack, after I dumped it to stalk a muley, was a good place to be. I'm not afraid to admit that he caused me to jump back and possibly let out a girlish scream as I tipped the pack up to retrieve my water bottle!



I let him live to see another day.

This little guy decided that the shade of my cooler was a good place to hangout. Though I'm 6' 3" and 240lbs+, I don't have the brass of Miller!



My bow limb has relocated more then a few of E. Montana's slithery inhabitants.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Snakes are a great rodent deterent,I've had a Gopher Snake in my yard for 4 Yrs.
Rattlers 4-5 +ft. are very tasty!
Have a whole bunch of Gohper snake sheds hanging from Deer antlers in our garage.

 

[mtmiller]

This cute little guy gave me a good shot with good light.

 

[mtmiller]

He wasn't very big, but weird to be in his face and trying to calibrate distance through a camera.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Sure looks bigger in the pic.Great shot.