Should I buy chaps ? No shortage of opinions on that topic. Bought car insurance to day.The agent hunts Chuckers he says just about every weekend. Has spent years of time hunting in the desert. He says "Don't wast your money" Others say most snake bites occure on your hand and arms on drunk 20 year olds.
From this post and the other one further up the forum page Id say your a bit paranoid. I hate snakes! they give me the hee-bee-jee-bees. Yet I grew up in country where they were present. So I learned to deal with them.
I go fishing on many rivers that have some of the worst snake infested river banks in the world imo, and Im akways dressed the same way. I wear river sandles, board shorts, and a fishing vest...............no shirt or any other piece of clothing, no protective chaps, no snake boots, no kevlar. I have had way too many experiences to count where Ive stepped on snakes on the bank, or caused a shale rock slide and had snakes pass between my legs, or been waste deep in the water as a saber toothed buzz worm ''swims'' by. Snakes are not out huntin you. Theyre like most critters that want to avoid you. Some will stand thier ground, but the vast majority will get away as quickly as possible. Ive never been bit by a rattler. I also kill every single rattler I see period if I can get to it in time.
Imo the ONLY place where snake boots/chaps bla-bla-bla would come in handy is where the brush and grass was so thick you couldnt see where you were putting your feet, and even then only in known snake country.
It doesnt matter to me what snake I almost step on they ALL scare the crap out of me. Your addrenilin will spike when youve been thinkin snake all day and nothing happens untill you become complacent. Thats when youll see a snake. and your instantly 10 feet in the air flailing like fred flinstone runnin but not movin. Just train yourself to keep your head and think smart when you come back down to the ground. Gotta controll your fear and turn it into something that will bennifit you. Fear helps breed caution, but I dont buy into the whole paranoia driven snake wear.
Just keep your head on and avoid them or the areas a snake would likely be in the area your in. A big warm rock with a shaded under cut would be a good place to avoid putting your foot. Just walk farther around it.
As I read this post/thread It made me remeber the time , when I was around 16 years old I had a cousin and she was probably 14 at the time anyways we were on the river in a small john boat we pulled up to a rock bluff that had a rope swing hanging out over the water. My cousin was a 100 % tom boy she climbs up the cliff while I'm holding the boat to the rock ledge she grabs the roap swing and goes for it , she hitts the water and low and behold snakes that were lying in the cracks of the rock cliff jumped off right behind her . she comes up for air and says come on it's great . Now being the tuffest 16 year old boy in town their was no way I was going to let a girl show me up so up the rock cliff I went gritted my teath and splash . I hardly had any water on me I made into the boat so FAST LOL.
I handle snakes with a hoe!!
Some folks around here handle snakes in their church. If I had to handle snakes to get into heaven then I guess I want make it
BigBuck
Paw!!! come outside!!! I dinks we gots sum viddles fer tanite........................
....................................................ah ah ah wait a minut Paw... dah ya dinks dey bite???.....ums figrin we gud jist slap em