# Snakes??



## WoodlandScout82 (Sep 8, 2020)

How many of you guys wear snake boots or gaiters in the mountains? We ran into a guy while we were out scouting today that acted like we were crazy for not wearing snake protection. I have no doubt that they are out there but I have yet to come across one in 4 seasons so far. Should I worry about this more? Or just watch my step as I always have?


----------



## Cool Hand Luke (Sep 8, 2020)

Better safe than sorry. Do a search on this topic. There are many threads with great info. From what i understand, the medical bills from a venomous bite could put you in debt for the rest of your life, even with insurance. Not to mention the pain and suffering....


----------



## ddd-shooter (Sep 8, 2020)

Never wear snake boots. Very thankful I’ve never had a close encounter for years and years. 
I‘d like to hear if anyone else has had a close encounter.


----------



## strothershwacker (Sep 8, 2020)

Bowhunterdave on the trad forum got nailed on the pinky finger by a small rattlers a couple years ago. I think you can pull up the old thread in the bowhunting forum. It was a bad deal. Hearing him describe it makes you not wanna get bit! He HAD snake boots on. I almost sat on a copperhead this past turkey season about 3 miles into cohutta.  If you ain't seen a rattler in the mountains during September or early October in 4 years that's amazing! You will. Boots or not, be careful!


----------



## Joe Brandon (Sep 8, 2020)

This will be my first year wearing them after coming within 3 ft of stepping on a huge 5 ft + rattler last year. If it hadn't been for me turning on my headlamp that would have been it.


----------



## Rulo (Sep 8, 2020)

They are out here. Especially in the mountains this time of year.

I was a doubter myself until one October day on a WMA Check In Hunt my brother got popped in the calf by a 4 foot timber rattler.

He was wearing snake boots so the snake lost.

Also, you get popped by one and you"ll be sitting this season out. Good chance your affected limb will rot off!


----------



## Para Bellum (Sep 8, 2020)

Worked in the woods all day every day for 13 years and never wore em.  Saw plenty, killed a few, never bit.


----------



## ddd-shooter (Sep 8, 2020)

I hate to even say this but I've hunted the mountains for over twenty years and have never even had an encounter with a snake. Praise God for that! 
I don't know much about snake boots, but they don't seem like mountain climbers to me, plus the steepness of the terrain makes me think they wouldn't be high enough to protect anyway. 
Idk though. Guess I could add some gaiters.


----------



## splatek (Sep 8, 2020)

With modern technology, most snake boots are just as comfortable as regular hiking, hunting boots, so for me it;s a no brainer - I want to make it home to my family. 

I've only ever had one encounter with snakes in the hills, off bald mounting, or maybe it was brasstown, I would have to check my notes. Anyhow, I was trying to fish a headwater I had not fished before, slipped on some leaves that were matted down on a slick rock face. I fell about 15 feet, mostly sliding and rolling so no injuries. When I Finally stopped, at the bottom of my fall/roll I heard a cacophony of rattling. I had fallen about ±10 yards from a winter den or something. It was very VERY loud. They weren't that bad, but I was out of there. 

@Buckman18 seems to see one everytime he's in the woods... I need a snakeskin for the next bow I build,... but still not hoping I find one.


----------



## Rabun (Sep 8, 2020)

Wearing snake gaiters allow me to concentrate on what's out in front of me instead of worrying what's under me...as much anyway. Still watch where I'm stepping though. I've come within a half of step of stepping on a timber rattler stretched out in a Sun spot.


----------



## Buckman18 (Sep 8, 2020)

I choose to wear snake boots these days. Irish Setters are rather comfy actually. I have kids now, and I just feel better about wearing them. YMMV.


----------



## jbogg (Sep 8, 2020)

Seems like so many of these ridge tops are thick with blueberries/Buck berry bushes and it’s virtually impossible to watch where you step. Both of these guys were in the thick stuff and I came within a couple of feet of each of them.


----------



## Gerrik (Sep 8, 2020)

@jbogg Jeez. That’s a lot of rattles. How big was that guy?


----------



## twoheartedale (Sep 8, 2020)

Nope, no boots for me.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 8, 2020)

So far, in a half-century of roaming the mountains day and night, I have never felt the need to wear snake boots. Snakes are way down toward the bottom of things I'm concerned about in the woods.


----------



## livinoutdoors (Sep 8, 2020)

I wear snake boots some, but for rough steep places i like good boots with gaiters. Figure its the best of both. I'll be honest, i dont know if its gonna save me or not but it makes me feel better and i dont look at my feet as much.


----------



## livinoutdoors (Sep 8, 2020)

Plus, the tall snake boots make me feel like one of those old time explorer that wore the super tall boots. " i say good man, what a splendid day for an expedition!"


----------



## jbogg (Sep 8, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> So far, in a half-century of roaming the mountains day and night, I have never felt the need to wear snake boots. Snakes are way down toward the bottom of things I'm concerned about in the woods.



I don’t lie awake at night worrying about a lightning strike burning my house down, but I still have it insured.?. With all the time I spend roaming off trail in the big woods I’m guessing my chances of eventually stepping on Mr. no shoulders is probably much higher than my house burning down.


----------



## antharper (Sep 8, 2020)

I wear mine almost always when hunting or scouting , I actually like them as far as comfort , and I agree with Rabun , I like to spend my time looking for what I’m in the woods for


----------



## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 8, 2020)

Y’all might be looking at it backwards.......it’s not how many snakes YOU see....it’s how many snakes see you. Big difference....it’s the one you don’t see that gets you. $200 snake boots versus $200,000 medical bills, possibly loss of limb, painful agony  or death. That’s pretty easy math.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 8, 2020)

Hillbilly stalker said:


> Y’all might be looking at it backwards.......it’s not how many snakes YOU see....it’s how many snakes see you. Big difference....it’s the one you don’t see that gets you. $200 snake boots versus $200,000 medical bills, possibly loss of limb, painful agony  or death. That’s pretty easy math.


I could also wear an expensive racing helmet and fireproof suit while I’m driving, but I don’t. And I’m 10,000x more likely to get into a car wreck than to be bitten by a snake.


----------



## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 8, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> I could also wear an expensive racing helmet and fireproof suit while I’m driving, but I don’t. And I’m 10,000x more likely to get into a car wreck than to be bitten by a snake.


You wear a seatbelt, carry a first aid kit or carry a fire extinguisher ? Most people don’t get hurt in wrecks.  Same thing.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 8, 2020)

Hillbilly stalker said:


> You wear a seatbelt, carry a first aid kit or carry a fire extinguisher ? Most people don’t get hurt in wrecks.  Same thing.


I wear a seat belt to avoid getting a ticket. And I don’t tote a fire extinguisher everywhere with me. I know plenty of people who have died or been seriously injured in car wrecks. A helmet might have saved them. I also don’t wear Covid masks unless I’m made to. I know lots of people who have been killed by all kinds of things, except snakes. I know several, probably over a dozen, folks who have been snake bit. All on the hands or fingers except for one guy who was bitten on the neck. Do you wear snake gloves?


----------



## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 8, 2020)

If I walked on my hands I would wear snake gloves while in snake country. Plenty of posts on this site where people have been bit, suffered and been hit with outrageous medical bills. No use rehashing it. If a fellow is green enough to ask a question like that, Safe bet he’s green enough to not spot a snake quickly ( no offense intended).  It beats me why people try to make others take a LESS safe approach . You can’t argue common sense with people. Do as you please,


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 8, 2020)

Hillbilly stalker said:


> If I walked on my hands I would wear snake gloves while in snake country. Plenty of posts on this site where people have been bit, suffered and been hit with outrageous medical bills. No use rehashing it. If a fellow is green enough to ask a question like that, Safe bet he’s green enough to not spot a snake quickly ( no offense intended).  It beats me why people try to make others take a LESS safe approach . You can’t argue common sense with people. Do as you please,


As I said, almost everybody I know personally who has been bitten got it on the hands. Usually pulling weeds, picking vegetables, picking up brush or lumber or firewood or some such. I personally know no one who has been bitten on the leg while walking through the woods. It certainly could and does happen, but very infrequently. And, I am definitley not "green," and you are showing your naiavity in making that statement. Offense taken. Just stating facts instead of fearful speculation. I spot snakes almost daily. I used to catch and handle them (which is the best way to get bitten.) I'm just not unreasonably afraid of them, because I understand them, and know where I am likely to encounter them. Usually, I see the snake, and walk around it and go on about my business. I have spent over half a century daily in the woods, both day and night, and have never had a problem with a snake.

Everybody has something that they are really scared of and take extra precautions against, out of proportion to their actual likeliness of encountering and having this thing hurt them. Here in the mountains where I live, there are venomous snakes. But not by the scads. I am much, much more worried about a lot of other things in the woods, such as other people, yellowjackets, falling trees and limbs, severe weather/lightning, slipping and falling in the creek and hitting my head on a rock, etc. than I am about stepping on a snake. If it makes you feel better to wear snake boots, then by all means, do so. I refuse to live my life in fear of unlikely happenings. I could be bitten tomorrow, but I could also die or be injured by a hundred other more likely things. That won't stop me from doing what I do. I also don't wear a hardhat when I'm hunting on the chance that a tree limb will fall on my head, or a bulletproof vest because I could possibly be shot by an idiot hunter, or a scuba tank because I could fall into the creek and drown; all of which are more likely than me stepping on a snake.


----------



## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 8, 2020)

I figure with the "only good snake is a dead snake" mentality that most people have, there aren't enough rattlesnakes left up here to worry about.


----------



## ScarFoot (Sep 8, 2020)

the vast majority of snake bites are on the hands and forearms, I feel like the snake boots are a false sense of security. You start crossing through blowdowns and you could get bit anywhere. An old coon hunter told me to stop looking for snakes one spring night, he told me the more i looked the more i would find!


----------



## dixiecutter (Sep 8, 2020)

I wouldn't in the mountains. But I dont hunt in the mountains. To me snake boots is less about snake protection, and more about the ability to push through that awful thick crap where you just can't see where you put your feet. I can pretty much get by with crocs in open forrest land. Except my crocs got stolen off the beach.


----------



## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 8, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> As I said, almost everybody I know personally who has been bitten got it on the hands. Usually pulling weeds, picking vegetables, picking up brush or lumber or firewood or some such. I personally know no one who has been bitten on the leg while walking through the woods. It certainly could and does happen, but very infrequently. And, I am definitley not "green," and you are showing your naiavity in making that statement. Offense taken. Just stating facts instead of fearful speculation. I spot snakes almost daily. I used to catch and handle them (which is the best way to get bitten.) I'm just not unreasonably afraid of them, because I understand them, and know where I am likely to encounter them. Usually, I see the snake, and walk around it and go on about my business. I have spent over half a century daily in the woods, both day and night, and have never had a problem with a snake.
> 
> Everybody has something that they are really scared of and take extra precautions against, out of proportion to their actual likeliness of encountering and having this thing hurt them. Here in the mountains where I live, there are venomous snakes. But not by the scads. I am much, much more worried about a lot of other things in the woods, such as other people, yellowjackets, falling trees and limbs, severe weather/lightning, slipping and falling in the creek and hitting my head on a rock, etc. than I am about stepping on a snake. If it makes you feel better to wear snake boots, then by all means, do so. I refuse to live my life in fear of unlikely happenings. I could be bitten tomorrow, but I could also die or be injured by a hundred other more likely things. That won't stop me from doing what I do. I also don't wear a hardhat when I'm hunting on the chance that a tree limb will fall on my head, or a bulletproof vest because I could possibly be shot by an idiot hunter, or a scuba tank because I could fall into the creek and drown; all of which are more likely than me stepping on a snake.


I wasnt talking about you being green....I was referring to the OP, and was not meaning any offense. It offers protection, not a guarantee. You never see a thread started with “ Boy I’m glad I didn’t have my snake boots on”. I don’t know why y’all think everybody that wears snake boots is scared of snakes, that’s not the case. I wear safety glasses when I’m running a weedeater or chainsaw too. OP people that hunt there have already advised that the snakes are there and they’ve had close calls.....your choice.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 8, 2020)

dixiecutter said:


> I wouldn't in the mountains. But I dont hunt in the mountains. To me snake boots is less about snake protection, and more about the ability to push through that awful thick crap where you just can't see where you put your feet. I can pretty much get by with crocs in open forrest land. Except my crocs got stolen off the beach.


Wading through a south Georgia palmetto thicket, I would likely put them on if I had them.


----------



## WoodlandScout82 (Sep 8, 2020)

Hillbilly stalker said:


> I wasnt talking about you being green....I was referring to the OP, and was not meaning any offense. It offers protection, not a guarantee. You never see a thread started with “ Boy I’m glad I didn’t have my snake boots on”. I don’t know why y’all think everybody that wears snake boots is scared of snakes, that’s not the case. I wear safety glasses when I’m running a weedeater or chainsaw too. OP people that hunt there have already advised that the snakes are there and they’ve had close calls.....your choice.


I'm not green, I just don't come across many snakes. I see a few when I'm out trout fishing, but that's usually dark damp areas with thick undergrowth. I was wondering how many guys come across snakes in the open woodlands. Been hunting nearly 25 years, only 4 in the mountains and have yet to see a single one. I think I'll just keep on keeping on and watch my step as I always have. I made this post because I have seen a lot of people have come across Rattlers lately and just wanted to hear some of others experience ?. I'm a dedicated still-hunters so I'm always on the ground or on the move. Maybe I've just been really lucky.


----------



## jbogg (Sep 8, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> As I said, almost everybody I know personally who has been bitten got it on the hands. Usually pulling weeds, picking vegetables, picking up brush or lumber or firewood or some such. I personally know no one who has been bitten on the leg while walking through the woods. It certainly could and does happen, but very infrequently. And, I am definitley not "green," and you are showing your naiavity in making that statement. Offense taken. Just stating facts instead of fearful speculation. I spot snakes almost daily. I used to catch and handle them (which is the best way to get bitten.) I'm just not unreasonably afraid of them, because I understand them, and know where I am likely to encounter them. Usually, I see the snake, and walk around it and go on about my business. I have spent over half a century daily in the woods, both day and night, and have never had a problem with a snake.
> 
> Everybody has something that they are really scared of and take extra precautions against, out of proportion to their actual likeliness of encountering and having this thing hurt them. Here in the mountains where I live, there are venomous snakes. But not by the scads. I am much, much more worried about a lot of other things in the woods, such as other people, yellowjackets, falling trees and limbs, severe weather/lightning, slipping and falling in the creek and hitting my head on a rock, etc. than I am about stepping on a snake. If it makes you feel better to wear snake boots, then by all means, do so. I refuse to live my life in fear of unlikely happenings. I could be bitten tomorrow, but I could also die or be injured by a hundred other more likely things. That won't stop me from doing what I do. I also don't wear a hardhat when I'm hunting on the chance that a tree limb will fall on my head, or a bulletproof vest because I could possibly be shot by an idiot hunter, or a scuba tank because I could fall into the creek and drown; all of which are more likely than me stepping on a snake.



Personally I don’t care if somebody chooses to wear snake boots or not. Your insinuation is that if somebody chooses to they must be scared of snakes couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve handled Snakes my whole life, and respect them. Nicodemus wears snake boots when in snake country, and it would be difficult to prove he is afraid of snakes. NCHillbilly, I’m guessing you like many of us probably go about your every day life carrying a little pistol in your pocket, or just inside your belt. You don’t do that because you’re scared, but because it makes you more safe. That’s my feeling about snake boots.


----------



## trad bow (Sep 8, 2020)

Most people walk to fast thru the woods. Slow down and the snakes will get out of the way. Yellow jackets and wasp kill more people every year than snakes. 
My house is in a rural area surrounded by national forest. I don’t wear snake boots in the yard or the woods two foot away from the grass.


----------



## dixiecutter (Sep 8, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> Wading through a south Georgia palmetto thicket, I would likely put them on if I had them.


Got to be where I can see my feet! Without snake boots, some of those places are a brick wall to me. Also got to be careful stepping over a log


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 8, 2020)

jbogg said:


> Personally I don’t care if somebody chooses to wear snake boots or not. Your insinuation is that if somebody chooses to they must be scared of snakes couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve handled Snakes my whole life, and respect them. Nicodemus wears snake boots when in snake country, and it would be difficult to prove he is afraid of snakes. NCHillbilly, I’m guessing you like many of us probably go about your every day life carrying a little pistol in your pocket, or just inside your belt. You don’t do that because you’re scared, but because it makes you more safe. That’s my feeling about snake boots.


If you notice, I said I would probably wear them in a south Georgia palmetto thicket. I have waded through those at night before without them, but I had my head on a swivel and was toting a stick. I do carry a pistol. That's because of people, who are statistically 1000x more likely to try to harm you than a snake. And a lot of people ARE scared to death of snakes. Unreasonably for the most part. All I'm saying is that a snake bite is one of the least things you need to worry about in the N GA mountains. People are killed every year by falling limbs and trees, but people don't wear hardhats in the woods. A whole lot more people die from bee stings than snakebites every year, but I've never met anybody out hunting in a bee suit. The snakes don't crawl around up here during deer season like they do down in the flatlands, either. The mountains (which the OP mentioned in the original post, ) are a different world from the flatlands and swamps. Never saw a snake in the snow. Wear snake boots if you want, it doesn't bother me at all. All I said was that I don't, because I don't worry about snakes.


----------



## Para Bellum (Sep 8, 2020)

I gotta lighten the mood a bit.  Years ago, I was sent to East Texas to cruise timber for a week.  It was a big project so our company sent reps from all of our offices. A big guy from our Wisconsin office came over to me after the briefing and asked what all the southern boys were wearing.  I told him they were were snake chaps.  He asked why I didn’t have any.  Told him I didn’t care for em.  He left for Wal-Mart and came back with a pair.  Later that day, we were running adjacent lines and I heard him scream.  Marked my spot and took off to help him.  Found him bucking around like a wild bronco.  He had a cottonmouth strike at him and got a fang hung up in those chaps.  It’s was dang near one of the funniest things I ever saw in my life.  That big ole boy dancin in circles and that poor ole snake whipping around like a towel.


----------



## strothershwacker (Sep 8, 2020)

I've hunted with em since I was 11 years old, and a treestand is the most dangerous thing in the woods. I survived the Baker, loggy, and homemade years when a saftey belt was a web choker round your chest ?.


----------



## Buckman18 (Sep 9, 2020)

Have you ever been scouting, or hunting, and then you happen upon that little thick knob, or bottom, that you choose to avoid because it holds a much higher probability of slithering residents? The grass/brush is too thick and tall, log jam, rocks, Boulder fields, etc? Have you ever pushed yourself to go through them anyway, and you can't enjoy it because of the possibility of seeing something you'd rather not see.

When I started wearing snake boots, I started enjoying my time in the woods more, and I never think about snakes unless I happen to see one. I used to have the same mindset as Hillbilly, then one day my gut told me to get snakeboots. But I've never had a particularly scary encounter.


----------



## whitetailfreak (Sep 9, 2020)

I spend 150+ days a year on Cohutta hunting, fishing, camping, swimming, cutting fire wood, gathering wild edibles and so on. I average seeing 8-10 Copperheads per year and a Timber Rattler about every other year. As NChillbilly said, I much much more worry about a dead Hemlock, Hornets, Yaller Jackets, slick rocks, that durn tick that can give you a red meat allergy etc. With that said I did buy a pair of Irish Setter snake boots a few years back that I wear in very specific situations but not often.


----------



## Nicodemus (Sep 9, 2020)

If I lived and hunted in the mountains where there were only timber rattlers and copperheads, or anywhere else that didn`t have many or any, I probably wouldn`t even own a pair of snake boots. But where I`ve been all my life there are a gracious plenty of all 7 kinds of the venomous types. The most expensive pair of snake boots are still mighty cheap insurance. And no, I`m not nor ever have been scared of them, gators, bears, or anything else that we have in the woods and swamps.


----------



## ddd-shooter (Sep 9, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> If I lived and hunted in the mountains where there were only timber rattlers and copperheads, or anywhere else that didn`t have many or any, I probably wouldn`t even own a pair of snake boots. But where I`ve been all my life there are a gracious plenty of all 7 kinds of the venomous types. The most expensive pair of snake boots are still mighty cheap insurance. And no, I`m not nor ever have been scared of them, gators, bears, or anything else that we have in the woods and swamps.


If you had to rank what you consider the "most aggressive" snakes in your area, how would you rank them?


----------



## Nicodemus (Sep 9, 2020)

ddd-shooter said:


> If you had to rank what you consider the "most aggressive" snakes in your area, how would you rank them?




Since none of them are aggressive, how about I rank them in the order of how easy it is to get them riled up. You won`t find this in a book that I know of. This is my personal findings.


1-pygmy rattlesnake

2 diamondback rattlesnake

3-copperhead

4-cottonmouth

5-canebrake rattlesnake

6-coral snake


----------



## WoodlandScout82 (Sep 9, 2020)

So I went to Field &Stream yesterday and found a pair of snake gaiters. I figure it's a good compromise as I can wear them as I think I might need or take them off and put them in my pack. They cut a bunch of timber up at Cohutta last spring so there's a lot of downed brush, not to mention the clearings haven't been cut that I have to walk past or through. I just worry anytime I have to go through anything where I can't see where I'm stepping, especially before daylight.


----------



## ddd-shooter (Sep 9, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> Since none of them are aggressive, how about I rank them in the order of how easy it is to get them riled up. You won`t find this in a book that I know of. This is my personal findings.
> 
> 
> 1-pygmy rattlesnake
> ...


Yeah that's why I put it in quotes, lol
Good to know


----------



## antharper (Sep 9, 2020)

I for sure don’t wear them because I’m scared of snakes , I’m scared of getting bit by one


----------



## Mexican Squealer (Sep 9, 2020)

I don’t hunt in the mountains but am amongst a ton moccasins and a few rattlers  pretty regularly working on duck stuff. Came very close to 3 different cottonmouths on Saturday.  They get a pass when I’m in their territory and sometimes when they are in mine.


----------



## Ga Waters (Sep 9, 2020)

I agree. 


Nicodemus said:


> Since none of them are aggressive, how about I rank them in the order of how easy it is to get them riled up. You won`t find this in a book that I know of. This is my personal findings.
> 
> 
> 1-pygmy rattlesnake
> ...


It has been my observation that copperheads seldom exabit the flight response. Freeze, coil yes but seldom flee.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 9, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> If I lived and hunted in the mountains where there were only timber rattlers and copperheads, or anywhere else that didn`t have many or any, I probably wouldn`t even own a pair of snake boots. But where I`ve been all my life there are a gracious plenty of all 7 kinds of the venomous types. The most expensive pair of snake boots are still mighty cheap insurance. And no, I`m not nor ever have been scared of them, gators, bears, or anything else that we have in the woods and swamps.


Exactly. We just don't have the snakes like y'all do. Plenty of snakes in general, but I usually only see maybe a couple rattlers a year on average, and a couple copperheads. I haven't even seen a copperhead all summer.


----------



## Nicodemus (Sep 9, 2020)

Ironically, I haven`t seen but one venomous snake this year myself. A 3 foot cottonmouth, less than 20 feet from my back door.


----------



## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 9, 2020)

The only rattlesnake I've seen all year, @The mtn man ran over right where I turn off the main road to hunt.  

As a side note, I have not seen a single yellow jacket nest dug out this year.  Not one.


----------



## jbogg (Sep 9, 2020)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> The only rattlesnake I've seen all year, @The mtn man ran over right where I turn off the main road to hunt.
> 
> As a side note, I have not seen a single yellow jacket nest dug out this year.  Not one.



That’s strange. I have lost count as to the number of yellow jacket nest’s I have seen dug out over the past few weeks.  I spend most of my time over 2800 feet. What elevation are you typically at?


----------



## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 9, 2020)

Majority of my scouting this year has been between 2200-3000 with a couple jaunts up to 4200.  It's just random luck that I haven't seen any.  Most years I'm like you, they're everywhere.  I just found it odd that I haven't seen any, even though I've seen other sign of bears.


----------



## Cool Hand Luke (Sep 9, 2020)

Coulda been a bad day. Several of us installing a hog trap by the creek. Didn't realize he was there until someone spotting him sticking out from under tire.
You never know....


----------



## splatek (Sep 9, 2020)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> The only rattlesnake I've seen all year, @The mtn man ran over right where I turn off the main road to hunt.
> 
> As a side note, I have not seen a single yellow jacket nest dug out this year.  Not one.



Yeah I’ve seen a ton of yellow jacket nests dug in. Always reminds me just how many nests are out there come fall when the bears are digging up their larvae


----------



## KyDawg (Sep 9, 2020)

Ga Waters said:


> I agree.
> 
> It has been my observation that copperheads seldom exabit the flight response. Freeze, coil yes but seldom flee.



The ones up here are not aggressive, they would rather hide. Now I dont know their behavior when handled, I dont do that.


----------



## gobbleinwoods (Sep 9, 2020)

I've only seen one venomous this year.   A small copperhead on the side of the road about a mile from the house.


----------



## strothershwacker (Sep 9, 2020)

Go to pigeon mountain if you wanna see rattlers and copperheads. I ain't never seen pigeons on it, maybe the snakes ate 'em all!


----------



## Nicodemus (Sep 9, 2020)

strothershwacker said:


> Go to pigeon mountain if you wanna see rattlers and copperheads. I ain't never seen pigeons on it, maybe the snakes ate 'em all!




It was probably named for the passenger pigeon.


----------



## ddd-shooter (Sep 9, 2020)

I've seen one rattler on the paved road this year. Don't want that you change


----------



## Para Bellum (Sep 9, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> If I lived and hunted in the mountains where there were only timber rattlers and copperheads, or anywhere else that didn`t have many or any, I probably wouldn`t even own a pair of snake boots. But where I`ve been all my life there are a gracious plenty of all 7 kinds of the venomous types. The most expensive pair of snake boots are still mighty cheap insurance. And no, I`m not nor ever have been scared of them, gators, bears, or anything else that we have in the woods and swamps.



DBs, Canebrakes, Pygmies, CMs, CHs, Corals and.....??  Which one am I missin NIc?


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 9, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> It was probably named for the passenger pigeon.


I live next to the Pigeon River, named for them.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 9, 2020)

Metro Trout said:


> DBs, Canebrakes, Pygmies, CMs, CHs, Corals and.....??  Which one am I missin NIc?


Florida cottonmouth?


----------



## strothershwacker (Sep 9, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> It was probably named for the passenger pigeon.


Yes sir it was. They say it was once covered up with 'em. Then when the state took over it, they coined it Crockford Pigeon mtn. After John Crockford who was instrumental in developing the tranquilizer gun for wildlife research. It's full of rock outcroppings, caves and bluffs that attract all sorts of yuppy visitors from all over the globe. The state refers to it as the "crown jewel" of the WMAs. It could use a few more bear and some hogs if ye ask me?


----------



## Nicodemus (Sep 9, 2020)

Metro Trout said:


> DBs, Canebrakes, Pygmies, CMs, CHs, Corals and.....??  Which one am I missin NIc?




Three kinds of cottonmouths, two of which are down here in my stomping grounds. The eastern and Florida. The western is the third.


----------



## strothershwacker (Sep 9, 2020)

Well, since we're on the subject what's the furthest north any of yall ever seen a cottonmouth?


----------



## whitetailfreak (Sep 9, 2020)

strothershwacker said:


> Well, since we're on the subject what's the furthest north any of yall ever seen a cottonmouth?



I've never seen one, but I try to not come out of the hills.


----------



## Para Bellum (Sep 9, 2020)

strothershwacker said:


> Well, since we're on the subject what's the furthest north any of yall ever seen a cottonmouth?



Lincoln County Georgia


----------



## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 9, 2020)

Kershaw county SC.


----------



## Buckman18 (Sep 9, 2020)

strothershwacker said:


> Well, since we're on the subject what's the furthest north any of yall ever seen a cottonmouth?


 
Ive seen them at an old club in Wilkes County near Tignall off Delhi Rd.


----------



## splatek (Sep 10, 2020)

I've seen them in Gwinnett county on this one lake/pond I fish. Small, but they're there


----------



## Arrowed14 (Sep 10, 2020)

What is every ones thoughts on Muck boots do you think a snake can bite you through them? Im aware Muck boots aren't the best choice in the mountains.


----------



## Nicodemus (Sep 10, 2020)

Arrowed14 said:


> What is every ones thoughts on Muck boots do you think a snake can bite you through them? Im aware Muck boots aren't the best choice in the mountains.




I don`t know, but I will say this. I personally test my leather snake boots against a rattlesnake. I will not ever test a rubber boot of any kind against one. No matter if it`s labeled a snake boot or not.


----------



## ScarFoot (Sep 10, 2020)

I stepped on a Moccasin wearing Muck boots 20 yrs ago, I had his body pinned down with all my weight before I knew he was bitting the boot. About 6" of snake and his head was able to bend over and bite repeatedly on top of the boot and he was really trying to get in.  The fangs didnt penetrate at all and venom was running down the side of the boot. So they worked for me! and I beheaded that one but I let them go 99% of the time. I grew up in and around swamps that were really infested with them.
Dont know if a rattle snake would be any different.


----------



## strothershwacker (Sep 10, 2020)

I've raked the fangs back on a big rattler with a pocket knife and studied the fangs. I just can't see 'em punching thru any halfway decent boot, whether its marketed as a snake boot or not.


----------



## Mr Bya Lungshot (Sep 10, 2020)

Your average leather boot will stop the average snakebite but I’ve also never known of an average snakebite so I wear above average leather snakeboots.
I’ll pass on the testing either way.


----------



## Nicodemus (Sep 10, 2020)

Diamondback fangs.


----------



## Para Bellum (Sep 10, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> Diamondback fangs.
> 
> Natures hypodermic needle.
> 
> ...


----------



## livinoutdoors (Sep 10, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> Diamondback fangs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thats some scary stuff right there. Gonna prob have to leave the light on to sleep tonight!


----------



## livinoutdoors (Sep 10, 2020)

Arrowed14 said:


> What is every ones thoughts on Muck boots do you think a snake can bite you through them? Im aware Muck boots aren't the best choice in the mountains.


I would say, for the mountains and foothills, you would prob end up snake bit and with a broken ankle tryin to wear muck boots. I wear em to do chores around the house, but they are horrible on even a small hill. Plus they seem really soft l wouldnt wanna see a snake hit em.


----------



## gobbleinwoods (Sep 10, 2020)

strothershwacker said:


> Well, since we're on the subject what's the furthest north any of yall ever seen a cottonmouth?



Reelfoot Lake on Tennessee/Kentucky line


----------



## chrislibby88 (Sep 11, 2020)

Arrowed14 said:


> What is every ones thoughts on Muck boots do you think a snake can bite you through them? Im aware Muck boots aren't the best choice in the mountains.


I’ve worn rubber boots in the mountains before, they are ok walking less than a mile total, but past that get some better boots. They offer no support side hilling, they usually have thicker soles and taller heels, so it’s easy to roll an ankle, and the fit is usually slightly on the sloppy side, so your foot slides out of the heel cup going downhill and you get a lot of friction on your toes. They are basically blister machines in steep country, especially down billing. Not sure if a snake can bite through them or not, I would say probably not on the rubber lower, but the neoprene upper they certainly could.   Y’all ever seen Turtle Skin snake gaiters? I would wear those and some stiffer mountain boots in the hills.


----------



## The mtn man (Sep 12, 2020)

Those of you that say you have never had a snake encounter in the ga mtns. You have had plentyof encounters, you just dont know it, if your truly in the woods.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 12, 2020)

The mtn man said:


> Those of you that say you have never had a snake encounter in the ga mtns. You have had plentyof encounters, you just dont know it, if your truly in the woods.


I have had thousands of snake encounters. I said that I have just have never had a problem from any of them.


----------



## Nicodemus (Sep 12, 2020)

What will make you take some deep contemplation is when you step down, experience that unmistakable feel of one underfoot, look down, and see about 2 feet of snake and rattles coming out from one side of your boot, and nearly 3 more feet of snake coming out from under the other side of your boot.


----------



## fatback (Sep 12, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> What will make you take some deep contemplation is when you step down, experience that unmistakable feel of one underfoot, look down, and see about 2 feet of snake and rattles coming out from one side of your boot, and nearly 3 more feet of snake coming out from under the other side of your boot.


YIKES!!!  That would give a fella a heartastroke if he wasn’t careful.


----------



## trad bow (Sep 12, 2020)

My memory is not what it use to be but I read somewhere that cottonmouths were a lowland species that generally were seen from an elevation of 400’ above sea level and below that.


----------



## SouthGa Fisher (Sep 14, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> What will make you take some deep contemplation is when you step down, experience that unmistakable feel of one underfoot, look down, and see about 2 feet of snake and rattles coming out from one side of your boot, and nearly 3 more feet of snake coming out from under the other side of your boot.


I've ran into my fair share of all of them down in SOWEGA.

There is an unmistakable "roll" feeling and you know what it is exactly when it happens. I can say I was truly lucky to have those old school plastic chaps on on the first one when I was in my early teens. Felt like a sledgehammer hit me on the shin. My dad got hit by one with the same chaps on years before that.

Second one, no boots, no chaps. I can't explain except I had someone watching over me that day.


----------



## trial&error (Sep 14, 2020)

I'm so old and out of shape that I move slow enough to watch out for ants in the mountains. If you want them wear them.  I wear them in the flat lands for sure.


----------

