Anyone been bit by a rattlesnake in back country?

[Jbogg]

Yup. Four miles into the back country and a rattler bites me.
1st: How do you remain calm after a rattler bites you?
Second: How do you keep your heart rate down when you have to hike out four miles? And... how do you keep your heart rate down after bitten by a poisonous snake?

Always got a kick out of these guidelines.

I have often thought the same thing, and that’s what the SOS button on the Zoleo is for.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Im in Oklahoma and the copperheads are everywhere.Not bit but been close.
Mainly in wood piles.I have heard there some new meds in the works,just something I read awhile back but can’t remember what it was.

 

[JMasson]

Growing up turkey hunting the swamps of central and southern Florida had me close to being bit a couple times. Been rattled at more times than I care to count. I’ve been close to moccasins a lot as well. I’ve heard rumors of sightings of green mambas and cobras in the Everglades so I don’t think I’ll be headed down that way again anytime soon.

Had a cobra rise up and flair its hood at me in Afghanistan in a unharvested wheat field in 2012…had 3 frags on my kit and I thought about using one.

 

[Quadzilla32]

Stepped on one once and didn't strike, surprisingly. I felt something tugging under my shoe and looked back over my shoulder to see what it was and noticed an average sized rattler trying to slither away, i was on his tail. It seemed more interested in getting away at that point.

More interesting experience was seeing three separate black mambas while in Africa. One was cruising through our camp, one was on the road, and the other had just got into one of the tents.

 

[Hayduke541]

Never been bit but a few close calls. I was returning a shovel to a cabin on some property my inlaws own in N CA. I had to cross a shallow river and set the shovel head in the grass as I stepped up. Heard a tink and looked down to see a small coiled rattler had just struck the shovel. Could have easily been my leg. The shovel got put to use.

My buddy and I used to regularly fish a deep canyon in Southern OR that is widely known to be lousy with snakes. We stayed to late one evening and had to hike out in the dark with no headlamps. On the way up we had 3 different snakes start buzzing but we couldn't see any of them. I'm still puckered 25 years later.

I generally wait until it's cold before chuckar and quail hunting. I have one spot that snakes will routinely get into the shade of the truck during early season. Best to wait until the weather cooperates.

 

[Jbogg]

I have stepped close to a couple of Timber Rattlers but thankfully they just reacted like most Timbers and buzzed. I’ve heard they are pretty mild mannered compared to other rattlesnake sub species, and it takes a lot to get one to strike. The one in the pic was a good size.

 

[Terrance Lee]

Not yet, have come close a couple times in Colorado. One got my dog and he died.

 

[manitou1]

Not yet, have come close a couple times in Colorado. One got my dog and he died.

Sorry to hear about the pup. Glad it didn't get you though.

 

[DawnPatrol]

More interesting experience was seeing three separate black mambas while in Africa. One was cruising through our camp, one was on the road, and the other had just got into one of the tents.

I’m pretty sure the snake that gave Eve that apple was a black mamba.

They make rattlesnakes seem about as intimidating as a wet rope.

 

[Dejhavu]

I wear lightweight hiking pants and like to believe that the likelihood of a rattlesnake strike actually contacting my leg is lower because the pants cuffs are not tight against my skin.

 

[rmelville]

I've never been bit, I did have one slither over my foot while fishing.

 

[TAArrowood]

Got bit by a copperhead when I was in my early 20s while trout fishing in E. Tenn.. I was about .75 mile from the car and walked out as slowly as I dared.. Longest walk of my life.. I was wading in shallow rocky bottom when I started to get into some sucking mud.. I was wearing tennis shoes.. When I steped backwards onto more solid footing I saw the snake, but was comitted to the step or completely fall down.. He struck about 6" above my shoe top and drew blood... I killed the snake with a large stick and cut it's head off and took it with me so that the ER could identify the type snake.. The ER was about a 30 minute drive.. By the time I got there I was starting to get stomach, back and leg cramps.. They administered the anti-venom, and admitted me for 24 hrs for observation, but other than the inital pain and some leg swelling I recovered with no long term issues... I worked in surgery at the same hospital and saw several patients who had been bitten by copperheads and timber rattlers.. We had a golf course in the area with signs that warned you to leave balls hit into the long rough there and to not try to retreive them It is a nasty wound if they get you good..

 

[Axlrod]

Was with a buddy when he got bit on his manhood. Called a doctor friend that told me to make an "x" on the bite with a knife, and suck the venom out. My buddy said "what did the doc say?"
Me: "doc said you gonna die"

 

[eddielasvegas]

Was with a buddy when he got bit on his manhood. Called a doctor friend that told me to make an "x" on the bite with a knife, and suck the venom out. My buddy said "what did the doc say?"
Me: "doc said you gonna die"

First time I heard that I kicked the slats out of my crib.

But it still makes me laugh.


Eddie

 

[nphunter]

My wife's uncle use to live on the snake river and spent a lot of time wandering around that area. He was camping one night in the backcountry and sleeping under the stars, woke up the next morning and reached for his canteen in his pack and got bit on the hand by a baby rattler that crawled into the bag at night. He was a long way from civilization and said he lay in a spring up there soaking his hand for two days until he felt right again.

Another time he was climbing up a steep face and a snake was in the rocks he grabbed onto and he was bitten on the arm, said he just soaked in the snake river for a couple of days and drank booze.
He never went to the doctor for either bite.

I can't confirm the stories but knowing him I would bet they are true, defiantly looks like he's straight out of deliverance. He has drank a lot of booze and smoked a lot of dope in his day.

 

[yfarm]

Second the suggestion to join and read the posts on National Snakebite Support. Are toxicologist/ ER docs and vets. Learn the right way to handle bites in the field and how to evaluate the care the patient human ,canine or equine is receiving. How to determine whether the hospital you intend to go to should be bypassed for a longer drive. Lots of ,
misinformation, unnecessary or inadequate treatment out there.

 

[Spread5150]

Been very close in west Texas a few times. I’m always thinking about them.

 

[semasko]

The common theme in this thread is close calls. This shows how reluctant most snakes are to bite. If you frequent any area with venomous snakes, chances are you have stepped on or within a few feet of several without ever knowing it. "Legitimate" bites aka truly accidental bites are rare, and fatalities from those bites are not common. Most "illegitimate" bites occur from people trying to kill them or generally messing with them. There is no reason to kill a snake any snake in the wild.

 

[Beendare]

I had one 6" from my face while crawling on a Nevada mule in the sagebrush...that could have been bad.

I had one strike my pant lag...just caught the fabric...bu then took a little bit to shake him loose as he was hung up.

I used to do hog depredation at night and we lost one dog to a snakebite...it must have caught an artery as that dog was dead in 45 minutes. I've been on a single track dusty trail following 2 other guys and 7 dogs and come upon snakes still coiled up in the trail that everyone just walked right over, a miracle no one stepped on it.

 

[frank church guy]

Last year. Dry bite. Still hurt like heck.
And I killed two others. This was my fault. About a week after the bite