Snakes and scouting
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Snakes and scouting
Was just wondering if you guys have had any bad experiences with snakes while on scouting trips or hunting. I have ran into quite a few in public land Tennessee. My worst moment I was walking with my bow through a pine thicket it was warm about. 70 outside afternoon about 2pm on my way to hunt a edge line. The thicket had a slight hill and until you stepped on the crest you couldn't see over it well . I stepped right foot first and there sit a cottonmouth before I realized it had struck. I kinda freaked out jumped backwards ran 10 feet or so. Then looked at my Rocky snake boot had venom running all over it . So what's you guys story.
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- Singing Bridge
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Re: Snakes and scouting
no cottonmouths here and glad there isn't! we have massasauga rattlesnakes here and I see them quite a bit on swamp edges. they are tiny and a bite can make you very sick, but unless they direct inject into a vein or artery it isn't as dangerous as other venomous snakes. my problem is i think they are cool and want to play with them... but that's a bad idea! i've got some pictures of them somewhere, but again, they are a rather small snake.
- Racks&Beards
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Re: Snakes and scouting
5 or 6 years ago I was scouting a piece of public in August. I was walking around the backside of a pond when I took a step and watched a cotton mouth take off from under me and slither down into the pond. So as I stood there and collected myself for a couple minutes, checking my underoos I finally calmed down enough to proceed. I kid you not, I took one more step AND ANOTHER ONE shot out from some weeds about 2 feet from me down into the pond. I lost my $%^& and hightailed it back to my truck. I sat in my truck for a while just trying to calm down.....went home and hopped on the classifieds section of archery talk and bought some snake boots. I do not go to the woods without snake boots on from April till it starts getting cold.
All that said, I'm not terrified of snakes or anything. I'm just not a huge fan of them. I don't go out of my way to kill them.....I just like to know where they are. Especially those of the venomous variety.
All that said, I'm not terrified of snakes or anything. I'm just not a huge fan of them. I don't go out of my way to kill them.....I just like to know where they are. Especially those of the venomous variety.
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- Southern Man
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Re: Snakes and scouting
Years ago October scouting with a friend. We were walking a small creek that ran down into a watershed a couple hundred yards ahead. It was about 60 degrees with a north wind blowing. Nice day. We seen something on the grassy bank abut half way up. It was a snake curled up in the sun out of the wind. My friend thought it was dead, I said no, it was warmin in the sun. So, we started tossin rocks at it. Finally I threw a good sized stick and hit it. He came alive He went up the bank, hit the wind and turned around and came back down. Almost to the bottom he turned right at us. It was a cottonmouth with a head almost as big as my fist. I just about crapped. When we turned to run, he went the other way. Apparently he didn't know we were even there.
2 Years ago at LBL my son was walking out after a duck hunt and came across a timber rattler. It was the day after Thanksgiving.
I've ran into snakes a bunch in the woods, mostly chicken snakes. I'm not fond of any of them. I wear snake boots anytime in the woods in warm weather.
2 Years ago at LBL my son was walking out after a duck hunt and came across a timber rattler. It was the day after Thanksgiving.
I've ran into snakes a bunch in the woods, mostly chicken snakes. I'm not fond of any of them. I wear snake boots anytime in the woods in warm weather.
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- Stanley
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Re: Snakes and scouting
I like snakes, they really are our allies. They eat bugs and mice and rats. I would never intentionally kill one.
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- Jphunter
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Re: Snakes and scouting
I see a few in the areas that I hunt and scout from time to time both cotton mouths and rattle snakes. but I can remember one time when I worked for the state wildlife department. I was working on a couple food plots and I drove the tractor over 7 rattle snakes that I knew of on those two food plots. During lunch I decided to take a little walk along the creek behind the two food plots to see if there was any deer sighn, and within the first 100 yards I saw two more and almost stepped on the second one. It was a pretty long drive on the tractor to get to where I was and I was working by myself. some of these snakes were not small either. I was so freaked out I dont think I stepped off of the tractor until I finished the food plots and drove out of that bottem. :)
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- Twenty Up
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Re: Snakes and scouting
I wasn't hunting but fishing a local honey hole. One of my favorite spots was off of a point on the pond and you have to walk through some thick stuff to get there, so as I began walking to said spot I got a "being watched" feeling.. I looked down no more than 3ft in front of my feet and there was a 4ft cotton mouth coiled up looking straight at me. My fishing pole was already over his head so I'm assuming that he was watching both and waiting to strike had I gotten any closer. Thankfully I saw him before it was too late, I was fishing in loafers so there was no protection for me...
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- Horizontal Hunter
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Re: Snakes and scouting
I hate snakes. Rattle snakes are few and far between here. They are a protected species. Cottonmouths on the other hand are much more wildly distributed. I would expect that if you are beast hunting and not running into them you are doing it wrong.
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- justdirtyfun
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Re: Snakes and scouting
This little fella was alongside my drivers side front tire. Closed the door and took ONE step. Glad it worked out for BOTH of us. Can't have a snake conversation without pics.
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- Dewey
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Re: Snakes and scouting
Almost stepped on a coiled up rattlesnake while stalking a mule deer in NW Nebraska. One more step and it may have been bad! Glad I don't have to deal with them where I hunt in WI.
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- Zona
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Re: Snakes and scouting
The wife and I were scouting a piece of mountain ground one summer. As we walked through knee high ferns I noticed a skin from a 6 foot timber rattler. When I picked it up, it was still wet. I turned around to show my wife the cool skin I had found and she took off like a gazelle, leaping over logs and shrubs. Needless to say that ended our scouting trip for the day.
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- oldrank
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Re: Snakes and scouting
We dont have to worry to much abouy snakes up here...thankfully
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- olivertractor
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Re: Snakes and scouting
Only thing I have to worry about is gardener snakes and I still don't like em!
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- Uncle Lou
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Re: Snakes and scouting
oldrank wrote:We dont have to worry to much abouy snakes up here...thankfully
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lots of missauga rattlers around here in Holly. I have heard some stories from freaked out individuals talking about being in a field with 10s of them rattling, but I have never had an encounter here.
Back in 1988 I spent a summer in the coal mines of WV. Had a few encounters with them fishing along the coal river.
- exojam
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Re: Snakes and scouting
No good snakes where I live.
Now when I grew up we had cottonmouths, coral and rattlesnakes.
Had a friend who got bit on the finger by a coral and ended up in the hospital and never regained feeling in his finger. Those are some nasty snakes.
We also used to catch cottonmouths in the backyard and along a drainage run that ran behind the house for a few miles.
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Now when I grew up we had cottonmouths, coral and rattlesnakes.
Had a friend who got bit on the finger by a coral and ended up in the hospital and never regained feeling in his finger. Those are some nasty snakes.
We also used to catch cottonmouths in the backyard and along a drainage run that ran behind the house for a few miles.
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