HOW TO MAKE ...SNAKE CHAPS??

BubbaJon

Greenie
Nov 29, 2009
19
2
Austin, TX
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Shortstack said:
BubbaJon:
There's a type of rattlesnake (I think it is a Timberrattler) that strikes with enough force that it can break the femur bone of a grown man. I think striking power of a large rattler is enough to push a hypodermic needle through a sheet of waxed cardboard rather easily. I'd pay the $100 for those snake boots and wear them for many years to spread out the cost per year factor. But, getting hit just once would be enough.

Lastleg:
You can buy some .38 cal snake loads for you pistol that beats the heck out of the smaller .22 cal shots. Those .22 cal loads are actually RAT shot and not snake shot. Those would probably just p---off a big ole rattler. I KNOW it would make a cottonmouth even MORE p-----. Like the other poster wrote, Cottonmouth Moccasins are naturally bad tempered. They will not back down from humans.........especially when they're on the hunt.
Nahhhh - I'm telling you that ain't true. Especially a timber rattler which are very shy and incidentally are protected in Texas. Diamondbacks are the biggest and baddest in these parts. There's no need for a snake to use excessive force and in fact excessive force risks breaking the fangs which quite literally would doom the snake. That'd be pretty dumb risk for something too damn big to eat. In fact studies have shown a snake uses the coils not involved with the strike to decelerate at the last minute to reduce the force of impact. Pretty impressive considering a rattlesnake strike lasts less than half a second! A snake is designed for prey that it normally encounters and for a really big snake might include jacks. Point I'm trying to make is that it doesn't take a lot of force to pierce skin on critters the snake is designed to eat. They don't hunt buffaloes fer chrissake! ;)
 

liftloop

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May 7, 2008
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BIG61AL said:
I think if you need snake proof boot or chaps you may want to concider browsing a hunting catalogue and get a pair that you know will protect you instaed of maybe protecting you. The first time you get bit and the protection works it will be worth ten times what you paid for them.
holy@#$%,I'm glad that thing doesn't live buy me.
 

BubbaJon

Greenie
Nov 29, 2009
19
2
Austin, TX
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liftloop said:
BIG61AL said:
I think if you need snake proof boot or chaps you may want to concider browsing a hunting catalogue and get a pair that you know will protect you instaed of maybe protecting you. The first time you get bit and the protection works it will be worth ten times what you paid for them.
holy@#$%,I'm glad that thing doesn't live buy me.
LOL - nope in Michigan you're spared of these unless some idjit lets one go in the wild. This is most likely an Eastern Diamondback - which incidentally some folks mistakenly call a timber rattler - and is the largest by far of all the rattlesnakes. Lucky us in the Southeast are home to these things.
 

RGINN

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Oct 16, 2007
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I think you should wrap duct tape around your legs at least a triple layer thick up to your thighs. It provides entertainment for those of us who come from the north side of the Red River, Tejano!! Just kiddin, I'm 1/8 Texan, 7/8's Oklahoman, but now live in Colorado. Havin experience in the field, I can say BubbaJon down in Austin knows what he's talkin about. My son's also a herpetologist in SW OK. The timber rattler is a laid back snake and doesn't get too excited. Western Diamondback is pretty much the baddest one of all, but I've had the crap scared out of me more by prairie rattlers for some reason. My boots all have 18" tops and I've been struck by rattlers to no effect. (so far) They don't strike hard enough to break bones. Mostly, they just want to get away. We used to say about rattlers that the 1st guy in line gets his attention, the 2nd guy gets him po'd, and the 3rd guy gets bit. I heard some conjecture that they could sense the currents from a detector coil too, but might just be weird science. Have a good time out there in the tall weeds!
 

lastleg

Silver Member
Feb 3, 2008
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I used to have a couple stock tanks on property in Far NE Texas that had
snakes One day I shot one with 16 gauge birdshot and he was lying still on top
of the water so I took a hoe to pull him in. Soon as I touched him he almost
pulled me in. Those cottonmouths are S-T-R-O-N-G critters and hard to kill.
 

niffler72

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Mar 26, 2010
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I've worked with and bred reptiles my whole life and the best thing you can do to avoid a snakebite is be vigilant. Rattlers give you a pretty good warning when they're getting upset. Learn to identify the sound and spend the cash on the chaps.

An envenomation can run up to $40,000 depending on species and the amount of venom injected.


Learn to id all species in your area. One more thing, a snake can strike 3/4 of their body length. A 6 foot rattler can hit you almost 4ft. up. Your hands swinging around are prime targets.

The best thing to do to be safe is be alert, walk the area before you even start to swing, and try to go when it's cooler. Reptiles are coldblooded so they need to bask in the sun to get active.
I've got a western diamondback and have had many others. They've never been aggressive but they don't have a sense of humor either. You bug them too much and you'll get tagged.

Just be alert.

Last thing baby snakes are born fully loaded and will nail you with out a second thought. Also they inject 100% of the time.
Good luck and be safe
 

UncleVinnys

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Dec 27, 2007
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Order Topo Maps for your area - get the kind that are laminated. They send them in
mailing tubes. Use one tube on each leg. :sign13:


:laughing9:

Sorry - sometimes I just can't help myself.
Gotta get back on them medications.

:dontknow:
 

Elwood P. Dowd

Jr. Member
Sep 12, 2008
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I am from Texas and have hunted rattlesnake many times. Get a polyethylene 3-ring binder. The kind that has the bendable covers that are solid (you know, the ones you could never keep from sliding around when you carried more than one together in jr. high). Cut the cover off and fold it around your leg. Easy to walk with and impervious to snakebite.

And if you get in an area with a nest you can clear it out by pouring gasoline into the holes. This makes them blind to every other smell for awhile. Have a buddy help you club them as they come out in a panic. I killed 8 with a put-put putter when I was in high school by doing this. Fun Fun Fun.
 

Roland58

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Oct 3, 2010
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Bubba Jon has made all the sense, listen to him. As far as boots, I think I need a set of waders........."breaking femurs"......"pulling you in".........it's getting pretty deep in here! ;D
 

WilliamBoyd

Hero Member
Sep 22, 2007
647
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California
You asked for cheap:

I would get some used linoleum that somebody has removed from a house,
cut it, wrap it around my legs, duct tape it closed.

May look and walk like the Tin Woodman but that is the point.

Bringing a gun is silly and dangerous, likely shoot yourself or a partner.

:)
 

Roland58

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Oct 3, 2010
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WilliamBoyd said:
<snip>
Bringing a gun is silly and dangerous, likely shoot yourself or a partner.

:)

I don't agree with a gun being "silly and dangerous" or "likely to shoot yourself or a partner", but, if someone sees a snake in time to shoot it, certainly, they would have time to avoid it. That is, of course, unless that person has the ability to lay down his detector and draw/shoot a gun faster than the snake could strike. :notworthy: It should be noted that I "carry" all the time and have never shot myself, a partner or anyone else. Also, I think it is fine that someone doesn't like/own guns, as long as, they don't impose on my right to do so. I know, that is OT and a big subject of debate.....I will say nothing further on the matter. :icon_thumleft:
 

txconservative

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Jul 26, 2010
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WilliamBoyd said:
You asked for cheap:

I would get some used linoleum that somebody has removed from a house,
cut it, wrap it around my legs, duct tape it closed.

May look and walk like the Tin Woodman but that is the point.

Bringing a gun is silly and dangerous, likely shoot yourself or a partner.

:)

Not stupid at all... If you are aware of how to operate a firearm, then there is no worries...
 

littlebear

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Jul 24, 2006
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Don't be dumb I bought snake chap about 6 years ago for about 60.00 that means it cost me 10.00 a year to be safe I live in Texas also and have came up on many snakes and also have had friends that has been bitten and I promise you if you ever seen a bite in person you would spend a little money or try to make something that MIGHT work and spend thousands to a hospital and doctor. good luck in you hunts
 

BamaBill

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Nov 8, 2006
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I'm in N. Alabama and a guy I used to hunt with got bit by a cotton mouth while getting out of his jeep . He had parked next to the woods and almost run over it. He got out of the car and stepped down and got bit as his foot hit the ground. The pain and suffering I saw convinced me to get snake guards and not to park too close to the woods when getting out to hunt.
 

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