Exactly. It only takes ONE to ruin your month!

Any of y'all carry a snake bit kit? I'm not too worried about my feet since I have the boots, but I'm paranoid now about putting my hand down to sit down against a tree and getting tagged on the hand.

I do not carry one, probably should, one thing I make sure I do is before I sit down I probe around the tree with the but of my gun to make sure nothing is waiting to bite me...

I've always thought that a rattlesnake will usually be found around an old barn or some place rats are commonly found. Now that there are deer feeders all over the place the rats will be near the food. I find a lot more snakes on the roads, near homes than I do in the woods.

On one of the Turkey Thug shows, they asked each guy what was the one thing that was always in their vest. I believe it was Greg Briggs that said he never left the truck without a snake bite kit. I don't know why, but I thought that odd coming from one of those guys.

I'm not even sure a snakebite kit is nothing more than a gimmick. Once you're bit, the venom is in you. There isn't a way to suck it out like legend tells us.

Truth be known, very few people die from a snakebite these days. If you are bit, stay calm and get to the hospital. Case in point, my son was bit by a cottonmouth last May. It was under a boat and got him on the big toe. Pretty nasty strike. We got him to the ER and on the antivenom. They kept him for observation to make sure the swelling stopped. He was out the next morning.

The nurse was telling me of one patient that had come in that week had been bitten on the inner thigh by a cottonmouth and waited 24HRS before coming in. He had swollen all up into his crotch. Because he waited so late it took 2 days for the anti venom to do its stuff and he was released.

Moral, if you are bit don't panic. Just head on to the ER and don't be a dummy and think you are going to shake it off.

My father was bit by a cottonmouth on his hand but it must have been a dry bite. It never swelled up and he never went to the hospital. The main reason for him not going to the hospital was, well, it was in Selma. There's one area I know of that is just slap loaded with cottonmouths.

I bet you say that to all the guys.

I do. I realize it may not do much, but if you're way back in there then it surely can't hurt. I was waaaaay back in the Sipsey Wilderness with El Matador a few years ago, and stepped on a copperhead that I never even saw. I think I stepped right on its head because it didn't tag me, but that shook me pretty bad, because like I said we were a good ways in, really rough terrain, and I'm a big ol' boy. Could got bad real fast.

Don't most doctors advise you to NOT use those kits??

We have problems with rattlesnakes getting in our trough feeders. Got to approach with caution.

Yeah this does concern me. I roam around a lot. I think I may have gone 6 or 7 miles last Thursday. If I'm 3.5 miles from my truck and get bit and have to climb fairly rugged hills to get back, ... I don't really want to think about that.

I hate snakes......

Heard of a guy that got bit by a juvenile copperhead earlier today.He went to scratch in the leaves, and was hit on the finger. Fortunately it was a dry bite.

No idea but I figure if I'm a good ways back and going to exert a bunch of energy to get back to my vehicle/help, it would do more good than harm.

Probably because you spend at least 10 x more time in the residential areas than you do the deer or turkey woods.

I hate a water moccasin - if Satan crawls this Earth, he's certainly occupies their body.

From my experience, I will try and answer as many questions as i can.
1. I do carry a snakebite kit in my vest, but being one of those things you barely use, I forgot it was in there.
2. As far as a kit working, it won't cure the bite. Some of my Drs said that even if you use it just to calm the patient down , it is worth using it.
3. It is not advisable to put a turnicate (spelling?) on because that will keep the venom concentrated in an area and will cause more concentrated damage.
4. Stay calm and don't be an idot. Go to the ER if you are bit.
5. People have bad allergic reactions to the anti venom that are sometimes worse than the bite can be. So they are going to monitor you before they pump in some expensive meds.

killed a huge moccasin about 5' from me yesterday morning.
this was in mulberry wma