Snakes while hunting

Where I was at for the last few years there was a healthy population of rattlers. I wore chaps. I didn’t see snakes while hunting, but I did see them driving to/from so I know they were there. Late season I had gotten used to them and wore them for the waterproof quality as I walked in.

No concern in the east. I've stepped right over rattlers on countless occasions. Mistook them for dog poop. Leave them be. They'll keep your nasty mouse population down.

I hear they're aggressive in the west though.

Spring Turkey, I've seen Copperheads. Out western KS and in OK I've seen rattlers on the warmer upland hunting days.

I mostly worry about the dogs while upland hunting. We've tried snake proofing them, but haven't had a real test yet.

Where I live here in Fl., you need to be aware of snakes most of the time, no matter what you are doing. Try not to walk or stick your various appendages into places you can't see, and be careful moving things. Besides snakes, there's other things that can cause you harm in the woods or even around your house. I just eradicated a yellow jacket nest in my front yard a week ago. Paying attention pays out in large dividends.

I don’t hunt but I do backwoods hiking here in PA. We have three venomous snakes here: Eastern timber rattlers, eastern and northern copperheads, and Massasaugas, a species of rattle snake. I have seen rattles snakes on hikes a few times, but always far enough away that a strike was not a danger. Massasaugas are an endangered species. I have never seen one. It’s the copperheads that I see. The adults are 2 or 3 feet. I carry a walking stick that is long enough to reach them without me being in striking range. If I come across on close I just use the stick to flip it. They moves away real fast then. They are likely to be near waterways for some reason and they like high grass, vine littered ground, and vegetation. All that makes them hard to see. Lots of people bitten in PA but few fatalities.

Now here is a snake repellent for those who want to keep snakes away from gardens and other places near the home. Snakes hate ammonia they won’t get near the stuff, so you soak rags in ammonia and put the rags in plastic bags that are left open. Put the bags wher you want to drive snakes off. It works

I have seen very few snake in general while hunting. I do have a lot more encounters during the summer and fall before season while working the hunting property and getting ready for deer season. For the most part I let them be, poisonous or not, except those seven rattle snakes in the wood pile by the cabin last year. They had to go.

Here in South Carolina, most snakes we see are found by my wife while gardening, typically kneeling planting something.

This results in what we've named The Snake Dance, a variation on La Cucaracha with elements of Lord of the Dance, but with more aerial maneuvering, shrieking, and thrashing with whatever garden implement is handy.

Mostly black snakes, although she did decisively end a Copperhead in the driveway with the minivan last month. Rolled a tire its length until the pressure ruptured the tail end.

For the most part it's a non issue during the
late year hunting season. They've usually
went away by the seasons starting.
There was an exception a few years ago
where I was seeing a few timber rattlers
near my blinds
There's several large 5-6 foot coachwhips
that hang around, and I'm told they take
care of the other species of snakes.
There's no shortage of poisonous species
in this area though. Timber rattlers, coral
snakes, copperheads, cottonmouths,
scorpions out the wazzoo, methheads

I mostly see black snakes and garter when im in the woods. I catch them sometimes and play around with them. Only saw one rattler. The skin is hanging on the wall. And I ate the meat. Were allowed one rattle snake a year. Now and then i'll see a copper head. Or a milk snake. They look alike almost. I don't really worry about them when out. Most of the time they will stay hidden. Snakes are not out to attack people or animals going by. Unless it's in defense. They only attack their meal.

I've only seen one venomous snake while hunting; an Eastern Timber rattler while turkey hunting SE Minnesota. I saw him just before he shook his tail. He was sitting down in a rockpile I had planned on sitting on. I gave him the respect he deserved, moved slowly around him, and went on my way.

I wear gaiters but not snake boots. Most of the venomous snakes I see when I hunt (which is usually night) are out on the gravel roads and almost always are copperheads. During the warmer months, I see them out on the gravel roads most every night I am out. I have only seen one rattlesnake while hunting in the areas I hunt and it was a big one.

I will be honest with you. I originally started wearing gaiters for snake protection, but then found that they are excellent sticker and briar protection and in the winter, they help keep my legs warm as well. Prior to wearing them, I was getting cut up by briars on a regular basis and not enjoying it. Now, it only rarely happens.

I can't say that I have a fear of snakes. I see no reason to kill one just because it is venomous. I do respect that they are a definite hazard, however, but are low on the list of hazards I encounter during any night that I hunt.

I grew up in West Texas. Dove season was also, rattlesnake time. We would come across one or more, every year. A 20 Ga load of 6s took care of the problem.
Only 2 episodes of anyone coming close to getting bit.
Dad walked by a big mesquite and seen a huge rattler, just as struck. It never rattled, just struck. Dad jumped back and shot his 870, point blank. The snake hit the side of boot, just above the sole, on the ball of his foot. The leather looked like it had been sliced by a razor and threads of his sock pulled through.
The load of high brass 16ga didn't make the snake very happy.
The 2nd episode was early turkey season. We were headed out, just before daylight. 5 of us in an old mail carrier DJ-5 Jeep.
I was first to get out. Standing in the ranch road, watching the Jeep drive off. Waiting for the sky to light up enough to see the trail. My stand was 150 yards up the trail. The sun finally peaked over the plateau and I started up the trail. About halfway to the stand, I'm 2 steps from a scrub cedar and see the rattler stretched out in the sun, under the cedar. The rattler coiled and rattled. I am standing there, 5 foot from a coiled rattled with a scoped rifle in hand. I slowly sling the rifle and draw the 1911 .22LR on my hip. I start shooting and snake is writhing. 1 in the barrel and 10 more in the mag. I soon run empty. Hit the mag release and ram another mag in. Continue shooting, the snake rolling. Mag empty, drop it and put in 3rd mag. Empty it and take a box of shells from my pouch. Trying to load a mag, I am dropping shells, all round.

I hear an engine shine and see the Jeep flying up the trail. The night before, we had seen a group of 16 illegals, all men, skylights on a plateau, behind our camp. The Jeep was coming to see if I had started a war. LoL

We were looking at the rattler, looking like Swiss cheese. Took a stick and draped the snake over the hood of the Jeep. It drooped down the hubs on both ends. We could count 29 bullet holes.

I quit shaking about 2 hours later

We had a dove and duck lease, down on the Gulf Coast, we called Cottonmouth Central.
The first season, 3 of us, shot 29 cottonmouths, in Sept.
We walked very slow and were very careful before sitting down.
After the 2nd year, se decided we didn't want to hunt there, anymore.
Funny, because we bagged our limit, or very near, of duck and geese, every time we hunted.
Never had another lease with that kind of success.

Here in Oklahoma, rattlers are a problem during dove and squirrel season, but copperheads are encountered more often. The creeks and lakes have cottonmouths, but the tend to try and stay away from you. Copperheads will chase you.

I have rabbit dogs and I run them all year long . One is running now and I just put up the puppies . We only have copperheads around here . I have had numerous dogs and a few puppies bitten , but none had to go to the Vets . Usually the next day they are running again with some swelling . If I had rattlesnakes I would not have dogs . They usually kill a dog when bitten .

I normally only hunt deer and it is too darn cold for snakes so it is not a concern.

jmr40 said:

How much of a concern is it to you? In all of my years hunting I've never seen a venomous snake while hunting.

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ms6852 said:

I normally only hunt deer and it is too darn cold for snakes so it is not a concern.

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It really depends on what, when and where I'm hunting, jmr40. Wife and I will be deer hunting over by Georgetown summit in a couple of weeks, but it was 26 degrees here when we got up this morning, and I figure it was colder than that over at Georgetown (higher elevation). So even though I know there are rattlesnakes over there, they'll be balled up underground somewhere and doing that "suspended animation" thing by the time deer season gets here.
On the other hand, in my younger, more foolish years, I used to do a lot of sage grouse hunting out on the Minidoka desert (AKA "Idaho's Big Desert"). There's plenty of rattlesnakes out there, and sage grouse season is in the early fall when the snakes are still out. I'm sure it was only by the grace of God that neither I, nor my buddy (or either of our dogs) got bit because we weren't "concerned" nearly enough about the snakes. I still have a couple of sets of rattles somewhere that I cut off snakes that we 12-gauged while sage hen hunting. Did I say I was "young and foolish" back then?
BTW, I've never seen a rattlesnake (or a snake of any kind) while elk hunting in a foot of snow up around Salmon, Idaho. But I've seen a few snakes, including one small rattlesnake while bear hunting in the spring up in that part of the state. I just left them alone - they were easy enough to walk around.

Not much of a problem in my home state, by the time season begins its too cold for the snakes. Frequently ran across rattle snakes while hunting Mulies & Antelope in Wyoming. These pics are of "Prairie Rattlers", one of the guys found one coiled by his rifle while shooting prairie dogs.





One of our hunting party was walking among a prairie dog town and heard one rattling near his boot. I've never seen a Big guy fly straight up in the air so fast and come down emptying a 45 so quickly. Adrenaline can make people do amazing things.

Snakes, even large ones, aren't prone to attacking critters that hugely out mass them, because they're obviously not prey to them.

They generally strike such large critters as humans when surprised or threatened. And even when they do, there's some thought that "dry bites" that sometimes occur (venomous snakes bites in which no venom is injected) are due to the snake making a "defensive" strike as opposed to a killing strike for smaller prey. Biologically speaking, waste of venom is a significant loss of invested energy. In of the opinion these occur because the mechanics of the strike is different, but in no expert on the matter.

All this said, dressing appropriately and being careful where you walk are the biggest factors in prevention of unwanted snake encounters. A walking stick is your best tool, used for probing your path and fouling a snake's ability to strike.

I have only killed two poisonous snakes in my lifetime so far. One was in an outdoor work area and one was in my mother-in-law's house (my sister-in-law had previously had to kill a copperhead in the dining room). I did live capture a blacksnake in my M-I-L's kitchen, carry it a quarter mile across a field to an abandoned building and set it free.
Knowingly going into snake country, I'll wear combat boots and denim jeans, and practice snake avoidance. But my handgun will have first round up a snake shot in case avoidance fails.

I've been told that rattlesnakes ration their venom and may strike dry or strike "loaded for chipmunk" but copperheads tend to use a full load.

jmr40 said:

I'm somewhat surprised snakes are that common as far north as Idaho. I've spent a fair bit of time camping in Colorado and have been as far north as Yellowstone NP a couple of times. That far north you only get about 2 months each year where you really get warm weather. Even in July and August it can get pretty cool at night.

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Nah jmr40, Idaho is not really all that far north. If you've been as far north as Yellowstone, you've been as far north as the middle part of Idaho, and actually farther north than this part of Idaho. The west side of Yellowstone is in Idaho & Montana.
And as far as only getting about 2 months of warm weather here - I WISH!!! I hate hot weather, and though we only see about a month of really hot weather here (because we're at a little better than 5,000 elevation), we get another 6 weeks or so of "too hot for me" weather. Besides that, where I grew up in the Boise valley, we were only at 2,000 feet elevation, and we saw 4 months of 95 to 100 degree days. From what I've heard, it's even worse around Lewiston in northern Idaho - Lewiston is less than 800 feet above sea level.
Nevertheless, I understand it's all a matter of perspective. I see you're in Georgia. We have a grandson at Ft. Stewart in Georgia, and from what he's told us, because of the humidity in Georgia, we Idahoans don't have any idea what hot really is!
At any rate, though Idaho is very mountainous, about half of it is high desert country. And yeah, we have snakes here - a lot of them. The flip side is the only venomous snakes in Idaho are rattlesnakes, and in this part of the state, they're only out and about for 5 or 6 months out of the year.

Can't honestly say I've come across many snakes, at all, while hunting. IMO, they hear you coming, and bag it, and bug out.
With all the time I've spent in wetlands, you'd think they'd have been more visible.

Mostly, especially venomous snakes, are on roadways, near buildings, or lurking under stacked items, or loose canvas covers.

"... they hear you coming ... and bug ..."

I was advised that walking heavily when in high grass would scare snakes off.

Leather boots above the ankles and denim jeans down over the jeans protect against successful snake bit. Since snake country is usually tick country too, shorts and sandals or sneakers are a fashion and safety faux pas.

When lifting or moving wood or flat rocks on the ground, first lift the side away from you so, if there is a snake underneath, its avenue of escape is away from you and not toward you.

( So far, the only snakes I have found under things have been garter snakes, nonpoisonous and no fangs.)