Who's been bitten by a venomous snake?

[RifleBowPistol]

The time I got hit or my pants leg got hit, still not sure what really happened, just know it scared the crap out of me.

I was 15, working on a farm, outside of Kennedy one summer, as a summer job. In the afternoons, the old farmer said I could go hunt jackrabbits or whatever. So I hunted jackrabbits and tried to shoot ground squirrels. Turns out they are faster than a 22 LR, when the 22 has to travel 100 ish yards.

The old farmer warmed me and his son about rattlers all the time. He and his wife killed many of them. He told me I did not have to worry about rattlers in the costal fields, the rattlers could not get around in the coastal, he hardly ever saw a rattler in the costal. But watch out for them in the corn field and Johnson grass. So I was walking across one of his costal fields, carrying my 20 ga., as I was walking over a furrow. I stepped on something that rolled under my right foot. As my left foot was in the air to step forward, my right foot was sliding forward, because something was under my foot. I basically started to fall backwards, as this was happening, I heard a very fast buzz, then heard and felt a loud pop on the back of my right calf.

I somehow managed to jump forward off of my right foot as I was falling backwards. I hit the ground spun around to shoot the snake and there was no snake. I looked around in the coastal, no snake. Then I realized when I was falling backwards, I was on top of the furrow, I realized the top of the furrow was about 30 ft. away. I looked on the top of the furrow, there was my rattler, coiled up tall and looking very mad. I did not hesitate, I blasted him into two pieces. Then went and looked at him. Then set the shotgun down and looked at my right leg. I had two red spots on the back of my right leg, just below the large muscle of my calf. So I started to panic, then it did not take long and my right leg started to hurt.

As I walked back up to the house, my leg started to hurt more and more. I got back to the trailer I was staying in. Then remembered that Mr. Johnson and his wife had gone for the week to visit their son. Then I started to panic a bit more. This place was about 10 miles west of Kennedy. There were no other farm houses around, that I could see. There were not cars or trucks around. Now days, I realize there were a couple of tractors around, but it never crossed my mind back then. My leg was hurting from top to bottom. I kept expecting it to start swelling up pretty badly soon, but it never did.

I kept thinking I should try and find a way into the Johnson's house and use there phone to call for a ambulance. But I could not find anyway in, without breaking a window. I determined one of the windows in the kitchen door would cost the least to replace and be the easiest way in the house. So I kept watching my leg, expecting things to get worse, but they never did, so I did not break into the house and call for help. By some time that night, most of the pain in my leg had subsided. It was still sore the next day, but nothing like the hours after, I got hit or my pants leg got hit. Really don't know what happened.

[RifleBowPistol]

Some years later, while hunting at the Aransas Wildlife Refuge, I was probably 19. A buddy and I were walking trying to scout and find something to shoot at. We spooked a pig, that ran up in some thick oak brush. We were less than 15 yards from the pig, but the brush was so thick and it was so dark up in that oak brush, we were having a lot of trouble seeing the pig. We were trying to find a hole to shoot through.

So we were moving very slowly, focused on the pig, trying to see it, then look for a way to get a shot. At some point, I was stopped looking, trying to see the pig through that thick brush. Then we were not sure if the pig had snuck off or if we just could not see it. So I stopped looking as intently, then realized, I was feeling a thumping on my right boot. I looked down, and saw I was standing on a water moccasin. The snake was not happy at all, and was very rapidly striking my boot. Lucky for me, I was standing on it's body close enough to it's head, it was only able to strike about ankle high. But it was trying very hard to find a soft spot. It was hitting all along the right side and as much of the top of the boot as it could reach. So I froze, thinking if I lifted my foot, the snake would be able to strike higher, and seeing how mad the snake was, I was sure it might strike me above the boot.

So I pulled a arrow out of my quiver, thinking I would whack it in the head and maybe stun it to the point it would quit striking my boot feverishly. Then maybe I could stab it in the head. Well, I took a swipe at the snake and sliced it's head in half, first shot. Had no idea the broadhead was that sharp. Fixed the problem a lot quicker and easier than I expected.

Back then I used to kill water moccasins, by stopping on their heads and grinding them into the oyster shell roads we had around the area. If I found one on the road. Don't try stomping their heads into sand, you will probably get bit. The area we lived was infested with moccasins. I found them all the time. They were actually pretty easy to kill, because most of the time, they would just lay there with their mouth wide open hissing at you. That's when I would smash their heads, with a tree limb, stomp them with the heel of my shoe or boot. Or I would stab them in the head, with a flounder gig, get some gigging practice in. Never had time to go look for a gun, usually too far from the house to head back home to get a gun. So would just kill them with whatever I could find quickly.

[huntingfanatic]

Never struck but got REALLY close twice. First time I’m airing up tractor tire in pasture. As I’m putting air in a keep hearing a buzzing/ humming sound. Sounds like lot of air escaping on backside of tire. So I’m on all fours and stick my head around tire to find leak. He was about 3-4 inches from my face. I don’t know why he didn’t strike but he still got a lick in. I about knocked myself out on the three point getting out of there
Second time I’m sleeping in an old rock house we stayed in at our old lease. Middle of night I gotta go pee. But before I get outta bed , I take a drink of water from bottle on my night stand. When I set the bottle down, I hear that buzzing right next to my bed where I am about to swing my feet down. I reach up and flip on light switch and there he is coiled up, rattling. Lost the lease same year and I was okay with it !!

[Geezy Rider]

Hundreds of times but I always had boots on so no problem.

[brokeno]

I was bitten by a rattlesnake on my little finger on my right hand while playing cars outside when I was 2.5 years old. That was over 64 years ago so I guess I survived it. I cannot straighten out my little finger but it kept me out of the military by not being able to salute without it looking like I was shooting the finger.

[DTala]

twice. First when I was 16 a cottonmouth hit my left foot, got some swelling but not bad.

second in 1986 turkey hunting a five foot Timber Rattler hit my left calf thru a Lacross Grange rubber boot(One fang). Got silver dollar rash and swelling around the fang hole ....and had a dime size cyst removed right there five years later. Doc said it was from the snake bite. Got him mounted in my trophy room.

[Tx.Fisher]

Never struck but got REALLY close twice. First time I’m airing up tractor tire in pasture. As I’m putting air in a keep hearing a buzzing/ humming sound. Sounds like lot of air escaping on backside of tire. So I’m on all fours and stick my head around tire to find leak. He was about 3-4 inches from my face. I don’t know why he didn’t strike but he still got a lick in. I about knocked myself out on the three point getting out of there
Second time I’m sleeping in an old rock house we stayed in at our old lease. Middle of night I gotta go pee. But before I get outta bed , I take a drink of water from bottle on my night stand. When I set the bottle down, I hear that buzzing right next to my bed where I am about to swing my feet down. I reach up and flip on light switch and there he is coiled up, rattling. Lost the lease same year and I was okay with it !!

That will get your heart going!

[okrattler]

I'm not 100% sure but I think I have a rattlesnake loose somewhere in my house so I may have another story to add at some point. I had a box of them in my room so they wouldn't freeze during cold weather and I was missing one. Might have miscounted might not have. Won't know unless it shows up somewhere. It's been about a month since then and so far so good so it's probably alright.

[GIL HUNTS]

My daughter got bitten by a copperhead a few years ago. Blood chilling scream from her and I knew what had happened. Ambulance ride to the hospital and several doses of Benadryl followed by about three weeks on crutches and she was fine.
Our dog is a heck of a snake locator, she managed to find the entire nest of copperheads in the root system of the Live Oak tree in our yard. We ended up killing 9 of them.

[RR 314]

Here is the chronology of my bite I posted on Matt’s post a couple days ago. . .

Was out at the ranch in Llano. I was rolling dirty in running shoes and shorts. Went out to get something from the truck and got nailed. Grabbed a boomer from the truck and beat the tar out of the snake. Cut its head off for good measure. :-). My pulse was around 100 bmp and I called a neurosurgeon friend and asked him what to do. He wanted to see pics of the bite and then told me I had tachycardia because I was a [w]ussy. Haaa. He told me to wash it off with peroxide. I did not have peroxide but took a shower and I dumped a bunch of bleach on it. Sat down on the couch and relaxed a bit and called the doc again. He advised against going to the doctor as I mentioned in my other post. He told me to go to town in case I did have any complications. Somewhere around this time I remember my lips going numb.

My wife and kids were at a UT football game and I sent a text to my wife simply stating I was thinking about coming home. I drove into town and sat at the chicken express for about an hour. Sweet tea heals all. Felt pretty good and headed home. Sat in a recliner and about four hours later it looked like I sprained the hell out of my ankle.

Woke up very much alive the next am. :-)

[Drop Tine]

I'm not 100% sure but I think I have a rattlesnake loose somewhere in my house so I may have another story to add at some point. I had a box of them in my room so they wouldn't freeze during cold weather and I was missing one. Might have miscounted might not have. Won't know unless it shows up somewhere. It's been about a month since then and so far so good so it's probably alright.

I would burn my house down.

[bugleboy]

Been close on rattlesnakes many times, but never bitten. I shaved one morning and grabbed a towel to dry off. A few quick rubs and I looked down to see broken off spider legs in the sink. Opened the towel and there were the remains of a brown recluse. Never felt a bite, but had three different spots swell up on the right side of my face. Doc said just mashing the spider against my face could’ve given my the “bite” reaction like I got. Steroid cream cured it in a couple weeks.

[Hart8]

I've had a few close calls with rattle snakes.But far,and away the funniest(now,not then)I was leveling some tomb stones at a cemetery,I take care of.I had the forks on the bobcat..On the way back to load up the bobcat..There was an old pile of brush that'd been needing to be picked up,and put on the burn pile.It'd been sitting there for years.So I slid the forks under it,and picked it up.It was about as big as a pickup bed.So when I picked it up,I couldn't see where I was going.So I lifted it as high as it would go,so I could see under it..As soon as I start moving a snake(probably a chicken snake)Fell out of the pile,right into my lap! He was going ape ****.I'm going ape ****.The loader's going ape ****!!!Makes me laugh still to this day! My quads hurt for two weeks,from trying to get out from under that safety bar that crosses over your legs!

[mr. buck]

Checking feed pens for sheds in the spring have produced multiple close calls for me. The worse was this year when i looked really closely before stepping over but couldn't see a a small area below the canopy of the cactus, but behind the tall grass in front of it. second my foot hit the ground, the rattler struck but missed up and away. I'm not sure the mechanics of it, but I went from inside the pen to outside in one terrified move.

[JewellHuntress]

Close call, found perfect little hidey-hole in some bushes on Baker 3 to bow hunt from. Set out in the dark by myself excited and got comfortable, then realized I need to break a few limbs, after I got situated again I got still and heard the leaves by my foot move. Shined my light down and took a second to figure out what it was, coiled and ready. I shot out of there and Luckily I had my bow in hand and pack a little further away, because he got my quiver, chair and anything else for the day. I drug the pack for a while to give anything that may have climbed in time to get out, then went somewhere else to hunt. Close call with no service and no one near you, that’ll get your attention. I stood the entire rest of the weekend hunt.


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