please brush me up on Rattlesnake safety.
 

going monday armed with bow/arrow to look for tasty cute woodland creatures. got the warning from a friend that has already been thru there; "area is thick with BIG rattlesnakes!". i do not own snake proof boots. trying to remember my snake lore..coming up mostly blank.

i wont be poking about in cracks. i'll check logs before stepping over them..

what else?

any good recipes? :)

Drop them in ice water if you want to handle them, they are pretty docile when cold.

They get mean when they warm up. :(
Part the head pull the skin of like a tube sock


Recipe

Broil in butter with salt and pepper. Serve like lobster with drawn butter.

Mostly they don't want anything to do with you, if you don't step on them or mess with them you shouldn't have a problem. They know they can't eat you. If you do kill one, BBQ it and it will taste like chicken.

Wear good boots that go well above ankle, if you are too cheap, like me, to purchase them, you just have to pay more attention. Prep for eating as above, also have had with beer batter and fried.

There is a thread about turning skin into a belt, by the cat who happened to be the safety consultant for the movie, "Jackass."

That bit of trivia amuses me to no end.

A co-worker got bit a year or so ago - he was out of commission for 2 or 3 months.

how high up the leg does the average snake bite?

say we are both at ground level..

widebody..thanks for the head's up..scary. i have great 8" boots.

My grandmother kept quart jars full of rattlesnake rattles. She liked to shoot them. Apparently, they will line their heads up with the rifle barrel, so all you have to do is hold steady and pull the trigger.

Get a bit walking stick, and use it. Thump the ground every step or two. They can feel the vibration further away than they feel your steps and that gives them time to get ready. They do NOT like to be surprised and can/will strike quicker when surprised.

As well the walking stick can be used to defend yourself but frankly if you see one, or any snake for that matter, take the stick and walk your rear end away from the area. BTW, there there is one there are usually others, so simply backing up with out looking is not a good idea.

Tall boots are a VERY good idea. When you are recovering in the hospital (if you make it that far) you will ask yourself why you did not buy the boots...

Good advice. You don't necessarily have to get into it with them but if you do it helps to have a Y-shaped end on your stick. Pin down the head and slice it off with a BFK. I've done it that way with rattlers, moccasins (mean SOBs) and copperheads from the time I was 12, so I have faith in you . . . I always give them a chance to run first, though, and never kill anything other than vipers.

Buy some chainsaw chaps, cheap protection and you can use them when usng the saw in the future.

Plus a good leather work boot, Good luck!

I was going to say stay the hell away from them... But that doesn't seem an option....

I heard a snake expert say there is no such thing as rattle snake PROOF boots. Good boots will deflect a minor hit but a direct hit will go through bull hide boots. Don't mess with the snake; it does not want to mess with you. Just leave it alone and move on.

A walking stick is a very good idea. Mid calf boots. If you kill one, bury the head. Skin by cutting belly, you have to tease the skin off around his butt. If he's coiled, you'll have to get within his strike zone if using a long handled shovel, and its reflexes are way faster than yours, so I'd walk around him versus going for a trophy.

sucking the poison does NOT work..
do read up on the bite protocol..
it changes / has changed..

Rika

A snake can only strike 1/2 if its body lengh and that is pushing it, 1/3 of the length is closer to the truth, so a 3 ft. snake can easy strike you from a foot away, but give them a wide margin cause they can quickly close the gap and strike. Like mentioned above the worst thing is to step on them cause you will get bit but if you give them a wide berth they will think that you don't see them. I would never eat one ever, and I do my hunting at Safeway, be effin careful.

A coiled snake can supposedly strike it's entire body length in distance.

"Stay away from the wildlife." Is the philosophy i adhere too.

If you get tagged, do not panic and do not sprint for help. Keep bite area elevated. I've come across a lot of snakes in the wild and only got tagged when trying to play Crocodile Hunter with them. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone.

Go to home depot and get some cold air return pipe (the round ones) and put them on like boots over top of the work boots; let's see a rattler get through aluminum :D

Just don't let anyone see you walking through the woods looking like the tin man from wizard of oz....


:D :D

If the rattlesnakes win i'd like first dibs on the SC and Tacoma.........just say'n

You're sure?