Dang Close

[Featherdfishead]

Great tale Ray, As a kid my buddy and i would bunny hop over them on our bikes when we found them in the road until he crashed next to one and it struck his bike. Lol My closest call was while climbing up a cliff face to take a look at an ospreys nest when i pulled myself up face level with the ol rattler i sketched and dropped down quickly nearly falling.

 

And some how i forgot to mention that Rattlers are Great Eating. Fry'm with batter, tin foil and lemon butter, or right on the BBQ. Just be sure not to wash them with water because snake meat gets all stringy and comes apart in water, never eat one thats bitten itself and the longer there agitated before you kill them the tougher they'll be. Yum, Yum.

 

AjR

[NuggetBob]

Weedoggie, fry that ol snake up with some beer batter! 

[Rick Watkins]

Heres a mohave that i shot the head off right where we were working i went to pick him up with a shovel and bury him with the others and he coiled with no head or rattles and his own head bit himself that was laying beside him. Too ugly for me to eat.

[Rick Watkins]

Oops heres pic.

[deathray]

Like Spicoli would say "Gnarly!!"

[vanursepaul]

First aid of snakebite

The aim of first aid is to retard the systemic absorption of venom and prevent life-threatening complications by prompt transport to a medical facility.

First aid can be performed by victim himself/herself or by any person who happens to be nearby.

 

Traditionally, first aid included making local incisions or "tattooing" at the site of the bite, attempts at suctioning venom out of the wound, use of tight bands (tourniquets) around the limb, and/or local application of ice packs. None of the traditional remedies have any proven medical benefit.

They should be discouraged as they do more harm than good and delay transport to a medical facility.

 

Incision, suction, electric shocks, cryotherapy, or washing the wound are contraindicated as any interference with the wound introduces infection, increases bleeding from the site, and hastens absorption of the venom.

The current guidelines for first aid include the following:
 

1. Reassure the victim (70% of all snakebites are by nonvenomous snakes and 50% of bites by venomous species are dry bites^[19] )
2. Immobilize the affected limb (by bandage or clothes to hold splint, but tight arterial compression is not recommended)
3. Promptly transfer of victim to hospital

 

I have first hand knowledge as i was bitten when i was a freshman in high school---i was walking down a country road and nearly stepped on the copperhead that bit me....

I got to the hospital with in 45 minutes, but sad news for me was that after i got the antivenom shots i became very sick because i was allergic to it....

 

It probably hurt me worse than the snake did!!!

 

I hear there are newer anti-venoms on the scene now... so dont screw around,, immobilize and transport--that's it...

 

----- dont be super medic and make things worse..best thing you can  do with a snakebite kit is to throw it at the snake!...lol

 

paul

 

PS---The bite scares you worse than anything---you'll probably live thru it...... if you dont have a heart attack first!!!

[tvanwho]

So does anybody wear  snake gators or chaps or boots for protection? Just wondering what the insurance options are besides sheer luck? Thanks for the input Vanurse. Speaking of killing the snakes, do you shoot them with pistol shot loads, throw a big rock, or I spose a shovel would be best if available...we have 2-3 foot water snakes here in the Midwest that will bite and draw blood cause they don't let go. But most who are bitten either stepped on one or tried to grab it as it swam by them in the creek while gold digging.

I did have an odd looking orange one swim down to a log we had our sluices resting on in the creek He saw us 2 miners and slithered down the big log to inspect our operation I guess? We stepped back real quick !!

 

-Tom

[deathray]

I had my gaters on TVanwho. Dont usually kill em.

[Ken Walls]

  I wear my boots and snake gators. I would rather be safe than sorry.

[Featherdfishead]

Love the Pics Rick - Gnarly for sure! 

 

Thanks for the pro advice Paul and survived a copperhead bite as a kid wew. If i remember correctly around 800 people a bitten per year with 2 dieing on average. 25% of bites are Dry Bites which means no venom was injected. 

 

If i hunted the deserts like you guys the chaps and boots would likely be good to have. Up were i am i'm not as concerned. I usually only kill rattlers that are by my house or in camp. I'll kill one or two a season just to eat but find them very useful alive and health controlling the rodent population. Shootn ums fun but i just try to chop the head off with a clean strike of the shovel or pick. One time i found developed eggs in a female and boiled them up. Trippy texture but yummy.

 

AjR