[masraum]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

I've hunted, camped, and backpacked in country infested with these damn things my entire life. Thank God they do not live in Western Washington, it's too wet around here.

Snake safety is a no brainer. No reason to ever run into trouble with them no matter how many you encounter. Even just a few feet away from them is enough to where they will not strike out of fear, which is the only reason they will strike something as large as us. Give them no reason to defend themselves and you will never have a problem.

This poor guy only died because he is allergic. Some people will die from a bee sting for the same reason. Most of us will be fine after some medical attention and several days of some pretty severe pain.

Yep, 100%

Oh, and with snakes, "size matters". The smaller, immature ones release more venom, pretty much shooting their entire load. The larger, older ones have learned not to do that, so we don't get nearly the venom that the young ones unload.

It's my understanding that this is an old wives' tale that is often repeated, but not actually true. And one of the arguments makes a lot of sense. Smaller snakes have smaller heads and much smaller venom glands so a lot less venom to inject.