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I've never owned a pair of snakeboots. I was at a "wildlife expo" many years ago and there was a pen full of rattlers and a few cottonmouths, some very big, that the demo guys walked around in wearing the Rattlers Brand snake proof chaps. I saw numerous strikes to the ankle and calf area, with venom running down the leg after a strike, with no penetration. I called one of the guys over and asked him what kind of boot he wore under the chaps to protect his foot from strikes. He said any good, heavy bullhide boot will stop the biggest rattler fangs. They were the experts, not me, so I assumed they knew what they were talking about. I've placed my trust in chaps ever since, when in snake infested areas in which I can't see the ground clearly. A young fellow that used to help me on the farm was enamored of bowhunting in the early season in Brier Creek swamp. He wore chaps, and on two separate occasions he had rattlers hit his leg and get their fangs entangled in the material and hang on him, thrashing until he knocked them loose with his bow. He wasn't an excitable young guy, but I told him I bet his wash lady knew something had happened.

I'm sure that 99% of all snakebites to the legs are below the knee, but I can't help but remember a short article in a hunting rag, when I was a boy, that described how two timber cruisers were walking the woods one day, one behind the other. The front man stepped over a log and the rear man saw a huge diamondback hit the front man in the back of the thigh, a little above the knee. It's fangs were evidently long enough to penetrate deeply enough to hit an artery and the man almost immediately collapsed. His friend ran back to the truck to get help, leaving his friend sitting in the shade with his back against a tree. When he returned the bitten man was dead. Diamondbacks grow to as long as 6-7 feet, easily giving them the reach to hit you above the knee. Even canebrakes can grow big enough to hit you above the knee.

Snakes are a way of life for me. I'm probably much more likely to get bitten on the farm at work than I am hunting or fishing. Keeping your eyes on the ground ahead of you, and never putting your hands where you can't see is just part of my day. I worry more about my son and grandsons than myself. I've had enough close calls to be cautious, not sure they have.

SRH

I killed my last snake 45 years ago; a streamside timber rattler on Waters Creek while I was trout fishing. Since then, I made a pact with snakes: you leave me alone and I will reciprocate. About 50 miles down the coast is privately owned Little Saint Simons Island. Herpetology researchers at one time considered it to be the most dense population of Eastern Diamondbacks in the world. About 30 miles to the north is a barrier island in the mouth of Port Royal Sound, SC. I was told the story about a man who was on the beachfront with his retreiver that strayed into the tall grass and was killed by an EDB. The dog's owner went home, got a Calcutta canepole and spent the day shaking the grass with it; when he heard a Big Buzzer, he shot it dead. He cleared out a lot of snakes. Shrimper friends tell stories of seeing the big snakes offshore swimming.
Stan, I recall reading the same story about the instant killing of the timber cruiser in either F&S or Sports Afield years ago. A big EDB carries a huge dose of venom. From what a vet told me, the canebrake (timber) rattler's venom is a mix of neuro and hemotoxins and is more troublesome than an EDB but for the volume of the latter's venom.
At one time I was lazy about wearing leggings or snakeboots while turkey hunting. Then Dale called to tell me that earlier in the morning where we hunt, he killed a bird. He went to pick it up and it flopped. A camoflaged canebrake lying in the leaves, a big one, struck the flopping turkey as Dale bent over to pick it up. Neither Dale nor I have been without snake protection since. Dale may have also resorted to wearing Depends for a brief period. Last year while cleaning out a decorative goldfish pond, he was pulling leaves out from the circulating pump. An 8-10" long cottonmouth latched on to his index finger. Not much venom injected but he lost flesh where it bit and all the Dr. could do was prescribe antibiotics and something to relieve the swelling. He said it hurt like hell.

Gil

jOe, red on yellow kill a fellow, red on black poison lack.

Gil I saw this one crossing a sandy bed road on my hunting club at the Alapaha River. About the size of the one jOe described.

You mentioned copperheads. We're supposed to have them, but a juvenile moccasin and a copperhead look so similar I can't distinguish without killing it and keying it out. I don't kill them and I'll likely regret that one day...Geo

Oh, Willy and I did our annual last day of the season wild bird hunt yesterday. I might as well have left the 20ga Scott home, but I did see two big longbeards while driving down a two-path road in the flatwoods.

Unlike rattlesnake or Cottonmouth those aren't really dangerous because you have to basically pick one up in hands to get bitten, yes? The best advice to give to kids is never to pick up any snakes.

Jag, coral snakes hang out in brushpiles so you don't want to put your hands anywhere you can't see if you can help it. They are straight neuro-toxin like the cobra.

My aunt told me a story once of a black man on the plantation in Alabama she grew up on. He was bitten on the finger by one in the garden and immediately used the axe he had to cut off the finger...Geo

I hate to keep talking about snakes, but your story quoted above brought back a bad memory of mine. When I was about 15 we were hunting the railroad tracks for rabbits. I went down off the grade into a wet area to get a look at a swamp rabbit the beagles couldn't push up onto the tracks. I got bit by a water moccasin.

The fangs were stopped by my leather boot, but got tangled in my blue jeans. I kicked and the snake came loose and went high over the brush. We cut cut him into three pieces with our shotguns before he hit the ground...Geo

My chaps protect my legs up to my family jewels which, when in close contact with a big rattler or cottonmouth, are drawn up pretty tight.

SRH

I stepped within a foot of this guy in TX last spring. He made a hissing sound and went about 20' and then coiled up. Sorry I didn't get closer and make a better picture, but that snake was so quick I wasn't getting any closer.



I guess I agree with jOe on snakes; I don't own any snake boots or leggings and never have. We don't have any EDB Rattlers in my area, and I can't remember ever seeing a timber rattler while turkey hunting.

It's a good thing rattlers are not all that ill-tempered, and they're really not. They will leave almost every time if given the chance. Worst case scenario is if you get too close to him immediately before he's shedded his skin. He is temporarily blind, realizes it, and takes no chances with danger. And yes, he can strike you while blind. He is guided by his pits.

Now cottonmouths, they can be extremely ill-tempered, and will not usually retreat. Experts say they are not aggressive, but I have had big ones try their best to get in the paddle boat with me, while swimming around it. A good cedar boat paddle brought to bear edgeways across their back changes their mind pretty fast.

SRH

Give me a hint where the snake is in the photo. Gil