ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Have any of you ever been bitten by a snake while out in the early part of bowseason? I haven't, but I have had MANY close run-ins. I need to get some snake boots, since i do a lot of hunting in marshy areas, but i just wanted to know if any of you have been bitten, and what you did after the fact?

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

I have never had a close encounter or been bitten during any hunting season but during the summer i almost got bit several times.I was out walkin around checkin things out and i stepped on a little copper head, Luckly i stepped right on his head so he didnt have a chance to bite me.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Never been bit while hunting. Have been stupid and got bit though. I was looking for an arrow in shorts and sandles when I stepped on a copperhead. It barely nicked my toe. I just went inside poured alcohol on it and then put a baking soda paste on it. It was just a scrape so it didnt do much, just swelled slightly and got a dark patch around it. Later it peeled and now its almost healed.
A copperhead isnt all that bad for some people. A rattlesnake is another story.
I stepped on a pigmy rattle snake 2 years ago. Luckily I was wearing boots and it just did a warning strike then took off.
With any poison, bite, sting, etc., I use antibacterial stuff first because bacterial infection is the biggest killer, then use something to neutralize or draw out the poison like a paste made of baking soda and water or spit. If it is venomous enough to do major harm, get medical attention fast.
Stryker777

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

i have had lots of close incounters but only bit once. It was a year ago and i was fishing on this old dock on this little pond. The was a board that had fallin and caught on the side, just enough for somthing little to lay on it. But i was fishing and not paying attintion walked right over the board and a snake ( couldnt tell what it was and didnt want to stay around long enough to find out) and luckly i had some boots on and the snake poped up and bit the top of my steel toed boots. But all and all i wasnt hurt and just got out of there before i would have

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Got bit by a Cotton Mouth about 3 years ago. Was walking around my sea wall at the camp in Louisiana with flip flops on fishing. I know stupid. Stepped right on it and it bit me on the inside of my ankle. You know how they say when you get bit stay calm, well the person who came up with that theory obviously has never been bit. My wife was no help she just kept saying your going to die, your going to die. Well needless to say it was two of the sickest days of my life. Only way I can explain it is that it feals like food poisoning x 3 The doctor said that if I ever get bit again I will have built up a little amunity to the poison. I told him I did not plan on testing his theory. My theory is the only snake that is not poisonous is a dead one.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Have not been bitten over here but have been bitten twice back home by the common brown snake which just happens to be the 2nd deadliest snake in the world.
Both times I spent 2 weeks in hospital getting jabbed with anti vanien (sp).
Thought I was gonna die both times, have never been so sick in all my life.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

I say this as I'm knocking on wood....I've only had one close call, and that was close enough.
I was walking around Lake Wapapello in southern Missouri last May. The lake was up and I stepped up onto a boulder, luckily I didn't step off the other side. I caught a cottonmouth's head move to display its nice white mouth.[:-] Had to be 3 to 3-1/2 ft long and as thick as a baseball. The St. Louis Zoo has one in its reptile house that looks like it's twin. I haven't been back to that lake since.:D

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

I was bitten by a rattler last hunting season.[&o]it was in a dried up pond with little tussest's(sp) and the snake was laying up on one of those and hit me right at the top of my socks.it was a small one anout 1 1/2' long and didn't get much juice into me.[:o]
my leg turned all sorts of colors and had a long black strip down my leg to my foot.
never got really sick,just sore and the fang holes rotted out.
Dr. said didn't get a lot on juice,so it was OK in about a mo.[&:]:D

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

I was bitten by a big black snake once. It was my fault as I decided to goof with him. When their threatened like that they can get real agressive so I found out.:D He whacked me right on the shin and about flipped me. I never realized they hit that hard when they strike. Kinda like someone giving you a charley horse. Anyway, it swelled up like a balloon and turned all kinds of colors and it did make me sick for a day, nothing terrible, but kinda woosey.:D He was about 6ft long. Thank goodness it was only a black snake.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Just curious, how likely are you getting bit in knee high rubber boots?

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Doe Killer.

I would say the chances of being bitten are extremely slim and even much smaller that you would be bitten above your rubber boots. However, it is going to happen then I would think the chances would be much higher of you getting bitten above the boot by a rattle snake than a cotton mouth or copper head. Sometimes when the rattlesnakes coil up they also raise up so when they strike, they strike higher than the other two. Either way I would say that you chances are pretty slim.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

We don't have poisonous snakes up here in New England so I like to take a page from Steve Erwinns book.

I pounce on any snake I see (in my best Australian accent) then I jad them in the eye with a stick, Like this see. This really pisses them off. :D
In reality, I've heard of a few timber rattlers but never have come across one in all my years in the woods.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

I was going to comment on your question on the rubber boots or any boots for that matter. If you noticed all the bites have been on bare skin or socks. I have a friend who hunts rattlesnakes and he just wears normal huntng boots and shapps up above them. I have seen video he has taken of rattlers bitting him on the boot and it can't penatrate the boot. I also saw a deal on animal planet the other night and they did a study on bites threw jeans compared to bare skin and the bite threw jeans recieved much less venom. They used a balloon filled w/ water to measure how much venom entered the ballon. I also have had several close calls but never been bit. Botttom line is were boots and jeans and you should be safe

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

I have been bit four times.Only twice did the bite actually get me.The other two i had on my lacrosse rubber boots and the snakes didnt get through to me,one of them left a wet spot on the inside of the boot.The two that got me both made me pretty sick and was on IV for couple days in the hospital.Both bites were low on the back of my calf.I was a waterfowl guide for 11 years and never got bit while hunting,always late in the summer brushing blinds or something like that.southeast texas,especially in the river bottoms, is plumb full of fat little cottonmouths.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Snake bites can be VERY UGLY! Do a google search for snake bite photos and some of them will blow your mind. A factor in the severity of a snake bite would be the amount and type of venom you are hit with. Some snakes may bite without giving you a full load of venom. Some snake's venom is more destructive to tissue than others.
Some of the photos I looked at were pretty nasty. Water moccasin and rattler venom appears to be very destructive to tissue. Sometimes the swelling is so great that the doctor will make an incision down the lenght of the arm, leg, etc. to relieve pressure from swelling and to irrigate the tissue. Very nasty looking stuff.

Down here in the coastal plain of S.C. it is very common to see many moccasins, copperheads and rattlers during deer season. Season starts in mid August and runs thru first of January. Most of us wear snake boots, some all the way thru to January. I have seen snakes out in December some years.

On a personal level, I've know 3-4 people over the years that have been bitten. One guy lost his thumb to a moccasin. In dry summers I've seen water holes that are almost dried up literally crawling with 15-20 moccasins using the last little bit of available water. I've got a photo of a moccasin my brother killed years ago that was 54" long and 15" around. Rattlers up to 6' are pretty common.

Heck, if the snakes don't getcha the skeeters shore will!!!!

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Sounds a whole lot like southeast tx there, rem7400

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

I haven't so much as seen a venomous snake while hunting yet. I did see a decent sized blacksnake once when scouting. I would love to find some good sized copperheads actually. I make my own bows and copperhead skin makes a very attractive backing. It can be hard to find large enough copperheads though since they are short snakes.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

A couple of years ago I got nailed by a 5 1/2 ft. diamondback. Penetrated my rubber boots and jeans and just scratched the skin. Turned a little black but the dr. said not enough penetration to cause major harm.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Do ex-wives count???[8D]

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

I was bowhunting a hardwood ridge 8 yrs.ago? And i was in a hurry to get to my stand sence i woke up alittle later than i wanted to![X(] I had to cross a creek in order to get to where i was going. It was very hummid and hot that morning[&:] when i stepped across the creek i was just standing there when i felt something tap my leg? but it did not bother me to much and just thought it might be a limb or a weed? when i felt it again? and then again? three times was enuff! so i used my flashlight to look down and when the light hit it he popped me again! none of the bits ever mad it through my boots:) I just kicked the s%$t out of it and went on to my stand. ;)

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Always be careful in snake country. I have owned about 50 snakes and a friend of mine used to breed rattlers. One common misconception is that getting bit by a baby venemous snake is alot better than getting bit by a 6 foot diamond back. However, this is the total opposite. A newborn rattler still produces enough venom to kill a few adult men. The problem is that they don't have the knowledge yet to regulate the amount that is injected into their victim. Rather, they bite and release as much as possible. Adults on the otherhand have had experience and only release a small amount of venom so they can conserve the rest for when it's really needed. So if you ever do get bit by a baby (in the spring usually) don't blow it off because it's a smaller snake, you could actually be in more danger. Another word of advice for those who are actually out looking for snakes (as I do on numerous occasions) When lifting logs and rocks never use your hand to flip them. Take a strong stick that can be used to hook the rocks and never lift up the side closest to you but rather the far side. This will prevent both you fingers and your shins from getting nailed.

RE: ever been bitten by a snake?
 

Yessiree!!!!! But we are divorced now