Have any of you ever been bit by a snake or had a very close encounter? I have ran into several rattlesnakes here at home (very close to being bit on one occasion). The three times I was in Africa, I have only seen the grass move. Family member saw a puff adder, but saw it well in advance.

With all the Africa hunting, I am surprised that there are not more "bites".

Almost stepped on a rattle snake in new mexico on an antelope hunt. My son 13 at the time looked down when he heard it rattle thank god next step and I would have stepped right on it

Got bit by a rattlesnake in my garage about 10 years. I’ve seen a lot of mambas, cobras, and puff adders in Africa no really close calls.

Closest I’ve been to a rattle snake was on Feb 14th, Valentine Day, was quail hunting in South Georgia and stepped on this 3 foot long rattler. He had crawled out of a fox hole burrow and was sunning himself. It was a bright sunny day, but temps were in the upper 50’s. Never did rattle, even after being stepped on. My hunting buddy shot him after I jump away.

Jason,

Most of the hunting in Africa is in their winter so the snakes aren't active. I've been on several safaris were we never saw even one snake. I've seen pythons, cobras, puff adders and mambas but sightings just are not a common occurrence by any means.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Jason,

Most of the hunting in Africa is in their winter so the snakes aren't active. I've been on several safaris were we never saw even one snake. I've seen pythons, cobras, puff adders and mambas but sightings just are not a common occurrence by any means.

Mark

That is true Mark and another good reason for me to hunt the cold times of year.

When I was about 11 or 12, I was on a scouting trip. Me and a friend were fishing on a small creek in Northern Utah. I was walking fast through the weeds and brush and heard a buzz and looked at my feet to see a rattler with its mouth open (yes, it was open). I screamed and ran faster than I ever have. To this day, I do not know why it did not strike. I was in New Mexico a few years back hunting with a couple of friends and my son. I asked our guide if he ever had issues with snakes. He said no and that he had only ever seen a few. Fast forward a few hours and I was walking behind the group and just happened to look down (do not know why) and there was a large rattler coiled up (not rattling). If I would not have looked down, I would have stepped right on it.

I am NOT a fan of snakes.....

My son ran over black mamba with a small atv. We were told that it didn't strike because it had just come out of hibernation.

My wife stepped on the tail of a small spitting cobra and it just slithered away. (the PH and tracker identified it.) I was walking behind her and was more scared that she was. ( I am more afraid of snakes that Indiana Jones.)

We had a mature spitting cobra meet us at the door of the dinning room. Lots of excitement, barking dogs, screaming women, men with shovels and rakes. The jack russell dog grabbed the snake and shook the hell out of it but got sprayed in his eyes. Fortunately the Ph was a PHD in pharmasutical medicine and had an antidote.

One time while stalking a wildebeest and we passed a huge python ( He was so long it took two dogs to bark at him.) at about 30 feet away. I didn't even cry.

I met my wife bc a copperhead bit me. Too much to type.

Do your own pet pythons count? Had a Olive Python that used to tag me all the time.

Never bit by anything poisonous, just my own pets growing up. Couldn't afford store bought snakes, just the ones I caught. One had to be force fed and he bit me a lot. Finally let him go. He never got used to me.

I've seen a few snakes in Africa. Most just flee. One mamba was a bit aggressive, but ultimately left.

Growing up in South Texas I was taught to kill every rattlesnake and cottonmouth we saw.
Back then, had some close encounters. I don't kill snakes anymore. Since I took that attitude, I haven't had any issues. Have a great picture of a about a five foot rattlesnake from last year. He was never aggressive and just posed nicely.

Got bitten on a finger while unknowingly handling what turned out to be a Stiletto instead of a Common House snake and an experience not to be recommended.

Copious amounts of antihistamines seemed to do the trick but my arm was swollen twice its size up to the armpit and fingers looked like a bunch of bananas; I was in severe pain for a week and lucky not to lose the offended finger.

Lesson learned ... not playing Rambo again in a hurry.

I had never run into any snakes in Africa, until 2018. We ran into (3) black mambas on three separate occasions. What an exciting adventure that entire safari turned out to be.

A few times.

By our own non poisonous snakes.

I was young out dove hunting and decided to walk to field to flush a few before we had to turn in for lunch. I first busted a covey of quail, which always has an automatic instinct to shoulder my shotgun (I was alone in the field) and didn’t fire (obviously out of season). I then had a rabbit leave cover just a few feet ahead. That produced a similar reaction. Just about 20 yards further, with a heightened sense, I came upon a large rattler. I did not refrain from firing.

On an early trip to Argentina before my Spanish was decent, my outfitter buddy and a birdboy grabbed machetes and told me to come on. I assumed we were going to collect chop more wood for the asado. While on our way to a pile of rocks, I asked why here because it was bare of wood. I was then told a rattlesnake was just seen here. It may have been one of those trucks on a gringo, but I didn’t like it!

I was on an archery antelope hunt in Wyoming years back sitting in a blind made out of an old gas station tank that was nicknamed appropriately the gas chamber.

After sitting for several hours I had to go to the bathroom so I quietly snuck over to depression that was full of large sagebrush. As was I pulled my pants down and started to squat It ran through my mind to look out for snakes. Not a second later I heard the buzzing and turned to see a large prairie rattler about four feet away. So I shuffled forward a few feet and continued my business.

Following Victor Watson on the hills behind his sheep farm he stepped over a log. As I went to step over it the log reared up. I didn't know I was still capable of such a ballerina-like backwards leap. The huge puff adder retreated under a bush and Victor wanted to force it out for photos. I like snakes but I didn't get to grow old by pushing my luck that far.

I was helping mama pull weeds in her flower beds three years ago and felt something bite my finger I immediately pulled my hand out of the bed and there was about a 18" skinny snake attached to it.

I shook my hand so hard it's a wonder I didn't throw out my shoulder and the snake went sailing across the yard and slammed into a tree hard killing it. I knew I'd better quickly figure out if it was poisonous or not so I examined it and the head and eyes / pupils were not shaped like a poisonous snake.

Looking at my finger I had two small puncture wounds and figuring even if it was not poisonous his mouth probably contained all sorts of bacteria so I came inside and doused my finger with alcohol, squeezed the area hard and repeated the process three or four times....the area around the bite stayed red and tender for about a week and then all was well.

I never did take the time to actually ID the snake.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
Got bitten on a finger while unknowingly handling what turned out to be a Stiletto instead of a Common House snake and an experience not to be recommended.

Copious amounts of antihistamines seemed to do the trick but my arm was swollen twice its size up to the armpit and fingers looked like a bunch of bananas; I was in severe pain for a week and lucky not to lose the offended finger.

Lesson learned ... not playing Rambo again in a hurry.

I had an identical experience!

Yes.

I was playing golf with my dad - and losing - when I found a snake. Figured I'd pick it up and throw it at him, and that would scare him and I'd win. Picked the damn thing up, and it wrapped three times around my arm.

I'd grabbed it too far back from its head, so it turned around and starting biting the hell out of my hand. And it was wrapped around my arm, so I couldn't throw it.

Just a harmless snake....no fangs, not poisonous. But man, did I lose after that. Shaking like a dog shitting razor blades....

While coonhunting I got hit by a 2.5-3ft rattler on the left legg.
It hit me twice before I knew what was happening.
Luckily i had chaps on it left a bruise about the size of baseball.
The force it had when it hit was more than I would have thought.

quote:

Originally posted by LHeym500:
I met my wife bc a copperhead bit me. Too much to type.

You've never been bashful about long posts. I'd like to hear the story...

Many times, often several times a year hauling rat snakes out of my poultry barns.

That said, only once by a 'hot'. Got poked by a massassaga many years ago.

Out here this is rattlesnake country.

Have lots of snake stories.
Thought I'd been bit. Rolled the car to
where I figured the front tire was on one.
Jumped out and was a few inches short. Had
the wife roll fwd on it about 6-8" behind the head. Pinned down though. Only thing I had to kill it with was a 16" 1/2" breaker bar. Whacked it on the head and turned out it flipped it's tail and hit the back of my hand.
Took awhile to figure out if I had or not.

May 30,'97 Dad took me to the old farm he was raised on. Cold and windy. I had canvas deck shoes on and decided to put my boots on to keep weed seed off my socks.

He was off looking elsewhere. I was in the old yard and thought I heard something. Looked all around and nothing to be seen. Just happened to look down and was standing on a rattler! Didn't know I could jump that far. Dad came over and after a long search we found it still stretched out. Hadn't moved and very plain to see was my boot heal print right on it's head. I was safe and didn't know it. We let it alone as he said there was always lots of rodents on the place. OF course he told his friends: "Took the city kid to the farm and first thing he did was step on a rattler"

I offered to clean up a years old pile of lumber at the range. Seemed like every time I picked something up there was a damned rattle snake. Couple dozen within two feet or less. I got concerned and told them I just couldn't do it any longer. They hired a bucket loader to put it in a roll off dumpster. Turned out there was a nest of them under that pile. Just wasn't worth getting snake bit. All agreed after the nest was found.

George

non-poisonous? A few times.

Poisonous? No but I have come damn close.

I have no idea why so many people are actually petrified of snakes!

We have one python left here in our house.

We used to have several years ago, and as they dies we never replaced them.

One snake we had was I think called indigo snake.

It is black and looks mean.

In our shooting room, we have an L Shaped bench.

One end points to the door.

The ceiling is low because it is underground.

We had a visitor who mentioned that he is scared of snakes.

We somehow arranged for him to sit at the other end of the bench, furthest from the door.

I also asked a couple of friends to stand on either side of him talking.

I went up and got the snake.

Walked up and threw it at him.

He screamed!

And as there were two men blocking his exit, he jumped onto the bench, whacked his head in the ceiling tumbled head first on the side.

He ran off, git in his car, and left!

No sense of humor!

Most hunting is done in africa's winter time so the chilly nights probably make them pretty inactive.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:

quote:

Originally posted by LHeym500:
I met my wife bc a copperhead bit me. Too much to type.

You've never been bashful about long posts. I'd like to hear the story...

I was working in a rock quarry. One of my task was to climb into this piece of equipment. I always called it a Screen House. The contraption was over 20 feet off the ground. It is a steel housing on shocks. Inside is a series of large metal screens. The screens are bolted to the contraption.

The screens are arranged from top to bottom and flat. Material comes out of a crusher on a belt. The material drops into the contraption which is vibrating or shaking.

The material is deprecated by the screens according to size.

Well, ground limestone, dust, and the water you have to keep on the belts to keep air quality approved bakes on the screens inside this metal contraption. The waste material gathers on the screens and turns into a cement like substance that builds up on the screens rendering them non-functional.

The temperature on a rock quarry is hotter that off the quarry. At least, the heat feels worse because the whiteish limestone and steel equipment radiating heat and rays.

I had to go into the contraption at each level and remove the cement like waste from the screens. You have to crawl in head first on your back. You are working on your back past head sledgehammering the material to clear the screens. I reach up over my head and got bit by a copperhead on the right hand between the ring and middle finger.

The foreman made me go to the ER. He must have called the owner who is know my Father in Law.

My Father in Law had been in Lexington with his daughter at a golf thing she was in.

He stopped at the ER bringing her in. I was still on ER waiting room. My hand swelled very bad.

His daughter had and has this unique Diamond ring. The design is made of diamonds under glass. The emblem spins. I said, “That is a cool ring. Can I see it?”

She held her hand out with the ring on her ring finger. I took her by the fingers with my non-swollen hand. I flicked my wrists causing the emblem to spin.

“Now, you can’t have your hand back to you give me your number.”

July 30, we will have been married 11 years.

Ask PH John Sharp about being bitten by a Puff Adder!! It has affected his life, once he survived...after a VERY LONG BATTLE!!

He writes about it in his New Book.... worth the read... yes, they were playing with it for the camera....!! UGLY!!

On my first Safari, hunting with Clive Lenox, I killed a fairly large Puff Adder. I was instructed to do so by Clive. I shot the head off with my 375 H&H rifle. Clive then took the snake back to the Land Cruiser an threw in with the Trackers. They were out of the Cruiser in micro seconds. Clive then told me The story of his good friend John Sharpe being bitten by a Puff Adder while playing with it. He was going to have a hatband made of the Puff Adder skin and give it to John Sharp. I wonder from time to time if it ever happened.

When I went on the first of my five safaris with Jan du Plessis in Namibia, I asked him if he had any venomous snakes where we would be hunting. The answer was SEVEN different species: Black Mambas, Horned Adders and five types of cobras. My first trip we ran into a beautiful Rock Python. On my third hunt with Jan I almost stepped on a very large Horned Adder. I insisted on taking a closeup of the snake with my IPHONE, but Jan wouldn’t let me get any closer than 7’ or 8’.

quote:

July 30, we will have been married 11 years.

Happy anniversary, I wish you many more.

Thank you.

Just got back from visiting my 85 year old father.
Semi-jokingly, he said he failed in his raising of me in two ways. One is irrelevant, but the other was that I didn't kill rattlesnakes.

Lavaca: Sounds like my late FIL.

He'd been bit as a teen, his dau (my ex)
had been twice. Still had a band aid on a toe
from her second bite within 9 months when I met her.

Tell him he ain't alone in such feelings.

George