ORIGINAL: bigbulls
Thought never even crossed my mind.
It's not like they are there every step of the way.
I assume you live in Lousiana? Unless you are hunting in swamp or very close to water the cottonmouths won't be abundant at all. While some consider them to be "man killers" they aren't going to just seek you out and bite you unless you step on them or harass them in some way. And if I were hunting in Lousiana in swamp land I would be far more concerned about the gators.
Copperheads are not going to kill a grown human unless you pick it up and let it repeatedly bite you. Besides that a copperhead is a very shy snake and will turn tail and run if given the slightest chance. The chances of seeing a copperhead are fairly remote. They are not a creature that likes to be seen and are usually under rocks, logs, leaves, etc...
Rattle snakes while certanly more of a concern than the other two will not just bite you unless provoked in some way. Even the biggest of rattlers will try to get away from you if you just leave them alone.
I have handled hundreds of cottonmouths and rattle snakes and several copperheads and I was never in danger of being bitten unless I was handling them. I have stepped within a foot of rattle snakes and cottonmouths before and none of them attempted to bite me.unless I actually stepped on one.
If you hunt south carolina you might rethink About copperheads, in 40 years of hunting I have only come accross a few rattlers and I must say copperheads are more aggressive there ,besides the venom is the same as Cottonmouths so don't be so light on them.
But I agree snakes are not going to seek you out, but use caution anytime your in the woods and walking to the stand just carry a good light.