snakes

Bear;

I've hunted for decades here in the rocky mtn. west, Wyoming & Montana, without resorting to any special protection.  But I'm not pooh-poohing the need for it in the type of areas that you're naming.

The only dangerous snakes out here, that I know of, are the rattlesnakes.  They generally don't want to meet a human & aren't really much of a problem.  Once it gets cold, they're denned up. 

However, in August, watch out!  That's when they've fed enough to shed the old skin.  When they get ready to shed, the clear scale over the eye clouds up.  Then they'll strike at anything without warning - just like your southern snakes.  But stomping insteada sneaking keeps them pretty much away from you. 

August is before any meaningful hunting season that I can think of, & therefore you're not scaring the game, just protecting yourself.  The gophers are too stupid to figure out much of anything, so stomp away!

As far as your southern snakes go, I do believe that before I'd hunt in that type of area, I'd ask the Air Force if they'd like to practice nuclear carpet bombing there.  Not an option, huh?

900F 

If I hunt PDs I do see the area snakes.  But the ground is so open that it is unlikely to tramp on a rattler.  I avoid the creek bottoms that are sometimes along the boundary of a PD town for that reason.

Where I hunt deer locally we have a fair amount of Timber rattlers and Copperheads.  I never used chaps or boots, locally as I've learn how to walk and avoid them,  The snakes in Pennsylvania seem more 'shy' than the aggressive nature of southern snakes.  The Cane-cutters snakes are really just a southern born rattler.  But they seem to scent my Yankee blood.  Cottonmouths are the same as the local copperheads, but they also seem pissed off initially upon meeting.  It might be a temperature/moisture thing.......but southern snakes, even the non-poisonous water snakes seem to be considerably more aggressive. 

 Never saw a snake in Colorado, Wyoming, N. Dakota, nor S. Dakota.

Maybe my eastern walk in the woods technique and awareness help automatically avoid them????

BEAR

I've been charged by some wild animals.  But the one I remember best was a tiny blonde in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1967.  No it was actually Appleton Wisconsin in a place called the Right Guard (maybe the Left Guard) owned by a Green-Bay Packer line-man at that time.

See 'wild-life' memories do last.

BEAR

BEAR,see these boots in this pic.They are Rocky low countrys.Guaranteed snakeproof.I dont mind a snake I can see,it is the one you don`t see that`ll bite ya.

Nice deer timber....and great boots.  My bro' and I have the same ones.  But in hot weather Igo with heavy wool socks in non-insulated boots with chaps.  The Rockys are good and waterproof too.

The model 29 smith works.  But as someone said.....only if you see him early.  My smith m-39 caught a 6 footer about 4 inches back of the head from 10 yds with hard-ball 9mm.  True it was my second shot.  But that guy went 3+ foot in the air when I hit him.

BEAR

Cabelas have them.  The 15 inchers are about $100.

A cheap price for a dry foot and some insurance.

BEAR

  Do a search on e-bay ,I got my rockys on close out for $70.

  Down here we have Cottonmouths,Rallters and Copperheads. A Copperhead will flat out chase ya if they get ticked enough and when your in the woods they are usally in pairs and give no warning,talk about nasty attatudes,turkey season is the worst. Had one about 3' away from me and my little Turaus 92 in .22 mag put him away for good. Some may not agree with this but the only good snake is a Black or Chicken snake the rest need killin.

Usually too cold for snakes where I'm out and about.  But, I am looking for some good high boots for SC boar hunting and have been advised that a snake-proof rating might be advised around March since they can come out if the temp is right.  Dang cottonmouths down there!  Had more than one run-in with them buggers while in the service.  They convinced me that they are of an agressive nature.  Rattlers and copperheads or any snake doesn't bother me a whole lot so long as I don't get surprised.  If I see them before they see me then everybody's happy otherwise it's liable to end up like Gunrunner's specimens!

Chicken snake is a generic name for any snake that eats eggs or baby chicks.
, which is most everything bigger than a garter snake.
Usually, refers to hognosed, bull, racer, indigo, red rat snake or diamond back water snake.
The only snakes I have ever had actually come after me were cottonmouths, a really surly, bad tempered snake and the racer aka coach whip.
I have had a few copperheads dare me to continue on with the lawn mower, guess what a lawn mower does to a coiled copperhead?
It has been 3 or 4 years since I have seen a rattler and that was just a massauga about 16" long, about as long as I have seen them.
The most fun is to be hunting in thick brush in South Texas, see 2 or 3 rattlers and then be in the middle of a 40-50 bird covey of scaled quail when they flush, will get the old adrenalin to pumping.
Don    

I see snakes on occasion fishing and really don't enjoy it On one trip I was fishing behind a ranch house and somebody had killed a rattler and stuck a stick thru it's head and threw it in the creek, when I saw it it was about six inches from leg wiggling in the current. That wasn't a good day. The only snake I've witnessed to be agressive was a cotton mouth when I was at Ft. Benning. There were a lot of snakes at Ft Irwin in California, so much I got used to it, sorta. A rattler is pretty much dead when I see it. I moved last year to place that *looks* like rattler heaven, so far I've seen none and my wife only one. I've never used boots and probably never will but that doesn't mean  they don't spook the shit out of me.