Watch your step

[Spitten and drummen]

Just a reminder that the snakes are crawling. A buddy was heading to a bird this morning and dang near stepped on a coiled up rattler. He said inches from him. Snake never rattled once nor did he get aggressive. Buddy was lucky. Put on them snake boots. I have been bitten by a water moccasin and will be the first to tell you that it sucked badly. Good luck guys.

[Greg Massey]

Thanks for sharing , wear your boots for sure ..

[GobbleNut]

I have been bitten by a water moccasin and will be the first to tell you that it sucked badly.

Good advice.  It would be interesting to hear your tale of how that happened and exactly what the complications were afterwards....

[Southernson13]

I am extremely surprised I have not seen a single snake this spring with as much time as I spend in the woods other than a coiled up racer that was in a 3 foot pine sapling

[squidd]

Thanks for heads up and have seen a few dozen this spring, all non-venomous but still makes you take a second look!

[Spitten and drummen]

I have been bitten by a water moccasin and will be the first to tell you that it sucked badly.

Good advice.  It would be interesting to hear your tale of how that happened and exactly what the complications were afterwards....

When I was 17 I was going to a bird that was gobbling on the limb. It was still kind of dark but I will not use a flashlight turkey hunting. The bird was across a slew that had about knee high water and about 50 yards wide. It holds backwater through much of the year. I felt like I needed to get on the same side as him so I waded across slowly. I was over half way across when I felt like I was stung by a hornet. It really burned. There was debris all through the area .I jumped back out of reflex after being hit. It was light enough now to see the culprit. It was a stump tail moccasin on a log curled up and mouth opened to strike again. I actually shot the snake and took it with me. The pain was steadily intensifying as time went on. I had a roughly 100 yard walk to the old logging road and once there another roughly mile to my truck. I tried to stay calm but I was scared to death. Once at my truck , I made the 45 minute ride in about 30. You should have seen the nurses scatter when I walked in the ER with that snake. I ended up getting 4 viles of antivenom and spent a week in the hospital. The main concern was not the venom but the bacteria in the bite. I was pumped with several IV's of antibiotics during my stay. Snake boots would not have helped me because the bite was above my right knee on the side of my lower thigh. I still do not carry a flashlight but I wont wade no water unless I can see. I wear snakeboots when it warms up and inspect where I am going to sit very well before plopping down. I also am always on the look out for no shoulders even when its 20 degrees. I never want to experience that again and when I hear of close encounters and actual bites , it sends a chill down my back. Please be observant.

[Jbird22]

I ran across a copperhead while hunting today and he's no longer with us. Then, as I was leaving the lease gate it looked like a big rattler had been ran over on the highway. With the warm temps the past few weeks, it's no wonder they're out and about. 

[tomstopper]

A couple years ago I got done hunting when this sucker slithered from underneath my truck behind my back tire (I was putting my gun in my passenger side door). I quickly jumped in my truck and backed over it. Nasty buggers.

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[Gobbler2577]

Why did I have to read this??  I won't sleep at all tonight and probably won't leave the truck until good daylight in the morning!  Thanks a lot Jody!!

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[Cowboy]

I hate snakes.  Had close calls with 3 different species of poisonous snakes in my day. Very lucky. My Grandpa was actually bitten in the hand (the fleshy part between the thumb and forefinger) while ginseng digging. That hand/arm turned bluish black and swelled so big looked like it would bust open. That was after the ER visit and hospital stay. Watch out guys.

[StruttinGobbler3]

Being an ER nurse by trade, I have pretty strong opinions on this subject. I may offend some but so be it. If you're not wearing snake boots, gaiters, chaps, or some type of snakebite protection while in the woods, you're being an absolute idiot. That may sound harsh to you, but if you had seen a rattlesnake bite on the hand cause a guy to get intubated, sedated, and put on a ventilator in the ICU, you would have a strong opinion too. It's not worth it guys. Your families need you to come back home, and you don't want the hospital bills associated with a bite. Anti-venom is roughly 15 thousand per vial, maybe a little more, and you could possible require up to 20 vials over your course of treatment. Plus the ER bill, the several days of ICU treatment, supplies used during your care, daily lab tests, IV antibiotics, etc. You get the idea. You'll never pay off that debt in your lifetime. Assuming you survive. Also, keep in mind turkey hunters most often get bit on the arms or hands due to not looking carefully before sitting down. Snake boots don't help if you have a seat next to a rattler that didn't invite you to sit with him. I had a good friend who very nearly sat on top of a coiled up rattlesnake while hunting. Be vigilant about watching where you step and especially carefully looking over where you plan to sit. And as Jody said, don't cross any water over a few inches deep, especially in low light.


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[grayfox]

My hunting buddy ran up on this one where we turkey hunt. It was during the summer last year. I can't seem to get the sound to work.

https://i.imgur.com/t5pWK5c.mp4

[deerbasshunter3]

Well, I was going to go hunt public land on Saturday...

[tomstopper]

My hunting buddy ran up on this one where we turkey hunt. It was during the summer last year. I can't seem to get the sound to work.

https://i.imgur.com/t5pWK5c.mp4

Dang. That is a big one. Look at that rattle. Glad he didn't step on that

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[kyturkeyhunter4]

I've seen one out scouting for the youth hunting season for my daughter here in Kentucky yesterday. This warm weather defentily has them out everyone be careful and where some snake boots