Snakes while hunting

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Had a hunting buddy that used to wear snake armor when we hunted quail. It was usually warm work with a lot of running (scaled quail), so I had on cargos, tshirt, and desert boots. I asked him if he ever saw a rattler while bird hunting. Nope. Then why torture yourself with the jousting gear? No good answer. Irrational fear. I have yet to meet anybody personally that has been bitten while hunting or hiking. If I ever do, and that person is a bit nervous in the service, I will certainly respect that, but being scared to death of something you saw on a youtube video makes no sense to me.

A bit of caution and awareness of your surroundings works wonderfully. Snakes will get out of your way if you give them half a chance and if they can. I once was walking down the shoulder a dirt road scouting for desert mulies. It was around 45 degrees and sunny as usual. There was a little bitty sand colored rattler coiled up tight right in front of me in the sand. It didn't rattle or twitch. Too cold. I just stepped over him and went on my way. He was just trying to warm up a bit in the sun. Awareness kept me from stepping on him. The friend I was with didn't see the snake until I warned him.
 
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Lived in Texas - Went to Africa for 2 months

Snakes- Me&My family, Cant be to much caution
 
I get copperheads in my yard on rare occasions. They're not treated with the same courtesy I show the garter and black snakes I find.
While hunting, the only venomous snakes I've encountered are copperheads (though there is a known population of timber rattlers)
I've never had a confrontation with one in their domain....I gave them space and they didn't bother me.
 
I have one spot on my property that is a spring fed branch. It always has Copperheads and Cottonmouths around it (9 months out of the year) so I am ever watching where I step when down there. Also careful about picking up dead limbs, etc...The moccasins are easy enough to see but the Copperheads blend in well.

Ran across this little CM last time I was down there. Typical response is for them to raise their head and open their mouths. Many folks say they are ill tempered...but that has not been my experience. They seem less inclined to actually strike than Copperheads, at least where I am.

 
Copperheads are plenty common in central Alabama. I know where to find some of the big timber rattlers but have yet to see one near my home. Hunting with some type of boots of gaiters is a given. That and always use a tool to move or turn over logs, brush or other stuff laying on the ground. Most folks with snakebites here are on their hands -- not usually from picking up the snake, but picking up something next to or on top of them.
 
Most folks with snakebites here are on their hands -- not usually from picking up the snake, but picking up something next to or on top of them.
Curious - are copperhead bites the most common type of snakebites there? And generally speaking, how serious are copperhead bites - especially if they're on people's hands?
We don't have any venomous snakes other than rattlesnakes out here in Idaho. There's plenty of them in some areas though.
 
Copperheads are plenty common in central Alabama. I know where to find some of the big timber rattlers but have yet to see one near my home. Hunting with some type of boots of gaiters is a given. That and always use a tool to move or turn over logs, brush or other stuff laying on the ground. Most folks with snakebites here are on their hands -- not usually from picking up the snake, but picking up something next to or on top of them.

Same thing here. Bites to the hand are the most common for just the reason you cite (not being careful).

Friend of mine was bitten on the web of the hand between the thumb and forefinger. He reached into the housing of his main water shut off valve without looking. Got tagged by a Copperhead.

Over the course of a few days his entire hand swelled up and then it moved up his arm a bit past his wrist. In the next week the area of the bite looked like a horrible bruise but he did not suffer any permanent damage (tissue or nerves). However it was nearly 3 weeks before the swelling went down.
 
Curious - are copperhead bites the most common type of snakebites there? And generally speaking, how serious are copperhead bites - especially if they're on people's hands?
We don't have any venomous snakes other than rattlesnakes out here in Idaho. There's plenty of them in some areas though.

The severity of a copperhead bite can vary widely. The amount of invenomization and location of the bite have a lot to do with it. It is possible to receive a 'dry bite' which is essentially so little venom as not to be of any consequence. OR...you might get a full load. A copperhead is NOT biting you with the intent of killing you to eat. Virtually ALL strikes are defensive. So how threatened the snake feels may have something to do with the venom load you receive and whether or not you are bitten once or repeatedly.

IF you seek medical treatment (and I recommend you do)....they will examine the bite and watch for signs that may pose problems. IF an antivenom is administered....it will be CroFab. Rarely will a bite from a copperhead involve more than swelling, discomfort and possible minor tissue damage but it can vary one person to the next. Same is true of Pygmy Rattler bites (generally not too serious) but no fun.
 
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[QUOTE=".
We don't have any venomous snakes other than rattlesnakes out here in Idaho. There's plenty of them in some areas though.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, you don't want to get tagged by any of the rattlers you have (Prairie, Great Basin, Northern Pacific).
 
I hate snakes. For many years now I pretty much won't kill any animal unless somebody is going to eat it. But that doesn't apply to snakes. As my grandmother used to say, If I see him and I can get to him, he's gonna go.
But a rattlesnake is yummy if dressed and cleaned promptly. If you wait too long though they just taste like they smell.
 
When my son was about 12, I took him bowhunting in a swamp. There was a drought that year and the only water was in shallow pools in a ditched firebreak. It was also the easiest way to our hunting spot. I carried a machete and the round trip to our stands resulted in 11 dead cottonmouths, one of which slithered behind a pine and tried to bite my son as we passed. Eleven was not a lucky number for the snake.
 
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Had this guy come up from a storm drain, black rat snake about 5’ long. Shoe for scale.

Very docile, let me pick him up and place in some grass so he didn’t get run over. They do a nice job on over abundant chipmunks.

Saw copperheads when I lived in NY, but aside from rat snakes, garters, and black racers, no others at present location.
 
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Copperheads are plenty common in central Alabama. I know where to find some of the big timber rattlers but have yet to see one near my home. Hunting with some type of boots of gaiters is a given. That and always use a tool to move or turn over logs, brush or other stuff laying on the ground. Most folks with snakebites here are on their hands -- not usually from picking up the snake, but picking up something next to or on top of them.

^^^^^

As coincidence would have it, what we were talking about yesterday (being careful) happened to me just this morning. I've been building a new box stand to hog hunt from...the last couple of days. Generally I'm pretty good about picking up scrap at the end of the day, but left some on the ground yesterday. This morning while working on the stand....I needed a piece of scrap to shim up the frame....so I went to my pile.

I tapped the pile with my foot before getting ready to turn over some of the pieces.... and out crawled this Copperhead from underneath.

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Normally....I wouldn't kill the snake (out in the woods) but I can't have this thing hiding under everything I leave behind for the next week.

So yes.....excellent advice by @illinoisburt to be careful picking things up or moving them!

Don't really want to find out what a vial of CroFab costs these days. Probably 10K or more.
 
^^^^^

As coincidence would have it, what we were talking about yesterday (being careful) happened to me just this morning. I've been building a new box stand to hog hunt from...the last couple of days. Generally I'm pretty good about picking up scrap at the end of the day, but left some on the ground yesterday. This morning while working on the stand....I needed a piece of scrap to shim up the frame....so I went to my pile.

I tapped the pile with my foot before getting ready to turn over some of the pieces.... and out crawled this Copperhead from underneath.

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Normally....I wouldn't kill the snake (out in the woods) but I can't have this thing hiding under everything I leave behind for the next week.

So yes.....excellent advice by @illinoisburt to be careful picking things up or moving them!

Don't really want to find out what a vial of CroFab costs these days. Probably 10K or more.

Unfortunate about the snake but understand perfectly cannot leave venomous snakes where people are likely to be around.
 
Unfortunate about the snake but understand perfectly cannot leave venomous snakes where people are likely to be around.

I routinely give them a 'pass' if they are not up around the house or my shop. I've also caught and relocated some in the past. But I am going to be working in that area for the next week or so and it is already a spot that Copperheads and Cottonmouths like to frequent.

So I can't be worrying that one is going to be under every empty Sackrete bag....or board left on the ground. I will do a better job cleaning up each day. I normally do....but was tired the last time I was down there and left a pile that the snake found attractive. I take responsibility for that.

I have no problem with snakes and do not fear them, so I never 'summarily' kill them. They serve a good purpose (for the most part). But this one quite likely would have hung around and possibly posed a problem for me. They are exceedingly hard to see on the leaf litter in that area. The moccasins stand out a bit better and I am pretty good at spotting Copperheads after nearly 60 years of watching for them, but they blend in really well if not moving.
 
Curious - are copperhead bites the most common type of snakebites there? And generally speaking, how serious are copperhead bites - especially if they're on people's hands?

It would be extremely rare for a healthy adult to die from a copperhead bite. I'd be more concerned about kids or an adult with health issues. I have a friend who was bitten on the leg by one while working in his garden a few years ago. He waited about a week before seeing a doctor after his wife finally made him go. He had some swelling and the doctor told him that after a week there wasn't much they could do. Had he come in earlier they could have done something to keep the swelling down. But other than swelling around the bite he had no other issues.

I've only had one encounter with a cottonmouth. I've always heard they were the most aggressive species and my one encounter confirmed that. I was riding my bike on a paved path when I saw one sunning on the trail. I didn't try to kill him, just encourage him to get off the trail since others were walking on the trail, including some small kids. I got off my bike and tried to nudge him with the front tire.

He aggressively attacked the tire, and continued to do so even as I retreated. His fangs never penetrated the tires, but venom was on the tires. Instead of leaving into the nearby woods he pursued me for 5-6'. Of course I kept the length of the bike between us. He did eventually leave after I backed off several feet and gave him some space.
 
He aggressively attacked the tire, and continued to do so even as I retreated. His fangs never penetrated the tires, but venom was on the tires. Instead of leaving into the nearby woods he pursued me for 5-6'.

Right on the money! I kill every cottonmouth I come across even if I have to chase it rather than the other way around.
 
Around here, early bow season & squirrel season we have rattlers & copperheads, but their
numbers are dropping.
I never kill a rattler but copperheads are very aggressive on occasion so they don't get a pass.
My Grandfather was a Warden here back in the 40's thru early 60's & I went with him to catch
rattlers quite a lot. I would only be guessing as to the purpose but he never killed them, he sent
them somewhere like for venom research or something. I do remember one time I went with him
to clean out a rattler den that had shown up beside a local lake.
They were huge or I was to small back then but I haven't seen any that size any more.
I think the rattlers are beautiful but the copperheads beauty is diminished by it's aggression.
 
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