Rattlesnake protection

[huntingtheriverking]

Hi all,

A buddy recently got nailed by a huge rattler while exploring a creek. He spent over a week in the ICU, enjoying excellent nursing and loads of IV antivenom, fighting off a coagulopathy before he finally could return home. Glad he made it.

His experience has made some of my bush-wacking trips a little more cautious - I'm frequently alone, in deep canyons, in prime snake territory. I've read about snake-bite resistant pants and also hiking gaiters - anyone have any experience with these?

[acorad]

Sorry to hear about your friend, a week in ICU is serious.

These look pretty effective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCo1bW9yNsc

Andy

[FIGHTONSC]

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I used snake chaps when fishing the Kern (Domeland area), Kings and San Gabriel drainages during the warmer months when I lived in California. They're a bit stiff and hot, but they do work. I usually carry a sidearm when getting several miles off of the beaten path with several rounds of CCI snake shot in the cylinder just in case I'm in a tight area where I really can't avoid the snake or I'm in a nest of them as happened once on the middle fork of the Kings. The CCI snake and rodent rounds come in calibers from 22 to 45 and really get the job done! I paid about 50 bucks for my pair of snake chaps and they last forever.

[clee]

For early season hunting I've worn Turtleskin pants. They wear for the most part like ordinary pants. The snake protection is in the lower knee portion. Its alittle stiff but not too much some that it bothers you. You tend to forget about it after a hundred yards of hiking. That said I wouldn't wear them fishing. They do make a gaiter. I'm pretty confident in them after reading their claims and reviews from users. That being said I've never had to test them. I hope I never will either.

Probably the best bet is to map your every move and anticipate where a possible rattler may hide and avoid that area. That is easier said then done of course. Other than that maybe say a prayer every step. Good luck stay safe. I hope your bud is feeling better.

[huntingtheriverking]

Thanks all. Several good ideas. I'll pick up a pair of gaiters and let you know.

[Wildman]

Funny....over the years I have treated a number of Rattlesnake bites going back to the days when we used the cutter kit and cut and sucked out. 99% were on the hands or arms. Only two were on the feet or ankle. Most happened when someone reached over a log or rock while climbing a steep trail. The two on the lower extremity were both in area with lawn and some bushes. Having dealt with the pain and swelling and seeing the patients later in the hospital made a believer out of me that I don't want to get bit either. Since I normally fished locals in winter only, I always had waders on and boots on and figured that was good enough. You're on the right track with the way you bushwhack.

[The Steady Foot]

I will second clee's advice about looking out and mapping your every step. Literally the one time I walked a trail without doing so I came one step away from stepping on a good sized rattler. I am absolutely diligent about this and that one moment could have resulted in some serious trouble.

Go slow, scan the trail or your chosen path ahead and side to side, stop often...I think these cautious actions are better as prevention than any product you can buy.

[NorcalBob]

Two thoughts as the former medical ranger when I was serving with the USNPS.
1) An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
2) The rattler that gets you is the one you never see

[Bernard]

Probably the best bet is to map your every move and anticipate where a possible rattler may hide and avoid that area. That is easier said then done of course. Other than that maybe say a prayer every step. Good luck stay safe. I hope your bud is feeling better.

So scary to hear of someone who got bit. I too hope your buddy recovers. This thread is of great interest to me because I have had enough close calls that I am much less bold and reckless - now bordering on paranoid. What I mean is that I almost feel like my number is up. So many of my close calls would have easily been avoided by simply being more aware. Some of these encounters were such that if I got bit, it would have been above the waist and in one bizarre incident; the face. The comment about anticipating a rattler's location really resonates. I have one fond memory of stopping while fishing and asking myself "why am I not seeing any rattlers? This is a perfect spot" and I looked around and about 10 feet away from me, one was sunning itself on a bundle of sticks. I bet we all have walked right over or past a few. My possible "bite-o'the-face" moment was a silly moment when I was lounging stream side and decided to smell some flowers near me and shoved my face into the lupine bush only to hear a rattle about 12" from my nose. I shifted my focus from the flowers to the dirt under the plant and all I could see was a sea of scales and good ol' diamond shaped coloration. Withdrawing myself from that encounter was something out of a Three Stooges episode. It was morning and the snake may have been a bit sluggish. Lucky.

I am now trying really hard to have a heightened awareness while still not forfeiting my passion or exploring, bushwhacking and blue-lining .... for me, it's a dilemma. Perhaps no perfect answer, at least for me, other than be on your toes.
B.

[FIGHTONSC]

There's one other thing that I forgot to mention that I do when I'm walking through a real snaky area and that is to use either my wading staff or a tree branch to probe the area before my next step. The probing has alerted me to the presence of rattlers probably a half dozen times in my lifetime and allowed me to back off or go around the buzz worm.

[fly addict]

I haven't tried this but I was told that if you play Michael Jackson's song "Beat It"real loud while walking in snake country will freak them out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0

[Wildman]

I haven't tried this but I was told that if you play Michael Jackson's song "Beat It"real loud while walking in snake country will freak them out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0

What I didn't mention that when I was in snake country with Mark Allen.....I told him I didn't know the way and let him guide us. It worked for over 15 years....I haven't seen a rattlesnake while we fished together.

[fly addict]

Jim,
Now you know why I was always singing that tune.

[BrownBear]

Two thoughts as the former medical ranger when I was serving with the USNPS.
1) An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
2) The rattler that gets you is the one you never see

In grad school I did two years of field work in a tributary of the Trinity. The rocky hillsides we SERIOUS rattlesnake country, but in the heat of the day the snakes poured down off the hillsides into the cool of the creek bed and streamside vegetation. My busiest day ever included encounters with 17 buzztails, but on most days I could count on working my way around 3 to 5 of them. Had some very, very close calls, as you might guess.

I tried all the "solutions" from snake gaiters to birdshot in pistols for those I felt needed dispatch. Only dispatched two in two years because the rest I could get around. Frankly the gaiters are a PITA, especially when changing in and out of waders or hipboots several times a day. In fact my closest calls came while sitting down to make the change.

Best of the best to prevent problems came in three parts: Common sense, using your eyes and a good walking staff. Know where to expect the snakes and stay alert for them. And especially, make a lot of noise rattling and banging that walking staff out ahead of you. Pay special attention to shaded overhangs along the trail and creek.

Another good use for the walking stick: When you come across a snake in your way, slowly poke the stick down into the center of all those pretty snake coils. Then make like Tiger Woods and give the stick a good swing to launch the snake off the trail or across the creek. Done deal.

[huntingtheriverking]

Two thoughts as the former medical ranger when I was serving with the USNPS.

Another good use for the walking stick: When you come across a snake in your way, slowly poke the stick down into the center of all those pretty snake coils. Then make like Tiger Woods and give the stick a good swing to launch the snake off the trail or across the creek. Done deal.

Had a strange nightmare about that -- must have been reading these forums too late at night. In my dream, rattler flew up in the air and came straight down - onto me.