Snake boots: A warning

[kix]

   Yesterday a friend's son was helping out on the annual San Patricio Rattlesnake Roundup and was bitten by about a 5-footer that struck above his Chippewa snake boots. This is a shock to me since I always figured rattlers were used to biting such things as mice,rabbits,etc. and had no reason to strike higher. I don't know about you but this is an eye-opener for me because I have longed for those boots;now I think the extreme care I have in snake country is far better than relying on some form of protection.  Just my opinion.  Kix

[Oldshooter]

Assuming those boots were knee high that is a high strike! If not knee high then they werent high enough!

I wear the plastic wraps that go to my knees and still watch like my life depended on it!

I have seen a german sheperd get bit on the shoulder and thats higher than my knees.

[v-man]

Can you provide more details? Most snake boots I've seen are 18" high. A 5ft rattler is supposed to be able to strike about 20 inches high so he had to be right on top of the snake unless uneven terrain gave the snake an edge. (like when I walk the trench between rows of planted pines. A snake on the mound could get me. I'd just like to know if my assumptions are correct or if everything I've "learned" is crapola.
BTW, I hope the boy is going to be OK.

[kix]

 V-Man. I will get more details tonite;there's a few questions I have as well.   Kix

[GeneRector]

  Howdy!  I were snake boots from Cabela's. However, everytime we leave the ranch house to go to the barn or just for a walk we carry a 20 gauge shotgun.  Snakes seem to be almost anywhere at almost any time of the year in my part of Texas.  Take care!  Hope your friend is OK. 

[kix]

  Ok I learned some more details. Wayne was holding the snake during a spectator "petting session" and then dropped it in front of him;the rattler instantly struck him about 1.5" above his Chippewa boots. Evidently the venom dose was low because he only spent a day in the hospital and although his leg swelled slightly he is now at home. Right now we are trying to find out if the snakes were "milked" previously or he just lucked out. At any rate it makes me think about the effectiveness of snake boots;after all,snakes strike at a heat signature and maybe the boots prevented this. I just don't know.I did learn the snakes were captured on the King Ranch and were released unharmed at the same location. If I find out anything else I will definitely report.   Kix

[Oldshooter]

Great news, I'm glad he will be OK

Even when I wear protection I pay close attention to my surroundings because I fear a strike that I may not survive when I'm alone in the brush.

You may not be able to be protected enough to be too confident.

[Mohawk]

  Adult rattlesnakes can control their venom dosage. Defensive strikes are low dose, feeding strikes are high dose. Juvenile rattlesnakes are more deadly to humans, because they can't control the dose.

[SHOOTALL]

Knee high , the copperheads around here fall out of trees to bite ya. And i never saw a snake proof hat .

[markc]

SHOOTALL, hahahaha,  a snake proof hat.  That cracks me up.  I wear the Justin Western snake boots and pretty much walk where I want, but in the warmer weather, I still do not want to step on any snake.  Now, holding the snake during a spectator "petting" session?   I never really understood that, at the hunting shows I generally walk by and don't pay much attention to the snake pit etc..  Some critters just weren't made to be petted.

[v-man]

Markc, It sounds like you've met my mother-n-law.

[Oldshooter]

Markc, It sounds like you've met my my mother-n-law.

 

[SHOOTALL]

looking back over life , the few times a snake decided to share a boat with me and dropped in from a tree still is vivid in my brain .

[markc]

 

Not sure I've met your mother in law, but I have known mine for ovewr 30 years now. LOL   

[Dee]

Knee high , the copperheads around here fall out of trees to bite ya. And i never saw a snake proof hat .

I never saw a copperhead in a tree (lotsa water moccasins in trees though), and we got lots a copperheads. Well, at least we did until I got my Jack Russel "HUFF".
The high strike COULD BE, explained by the fact that the boots "insulated" the boy's body heat, and the rattler struck toward the "strongest source" of body heat, which was higher.

[Yankee1]

I bought some chaps from Cabala's that are supposed to be snake proof.
I have not used them yet. Can't really say how well they work yet.
                                             Yankee1

[INresponse]

Snake boots are like kevlar vests.  They protect you where they are, but they should not be thought of as a force field.  You still have to use care to keep you out of harms way whenever possible, but having the equipment to protect you is a good back up plan.  Like a vest, they will protect you most of the time, but occasionally you get hit where you are not protected..

Glad he is OK.