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Post by dougader on Feb 19, 2016 16:19:32 GMT -5
It is a little known fact that both non poisonous and poisonous snakes can kill at a distance around here. Snakes are fully capable of giving me a heart attack, just by surprising me.... They can also make a grown man scream like a teenage girl in a horror movie.... My Uncle David was a big, tough fireman. He was neurotically, deathly afraid of any and all snakes. He came over to pick some green beans one afternoon in our shared garden. He was walking down a row of the pole beans, bent down a bit to pick some, and immediately screamed, and fell backwards, grabbing at his chest as he went down. Now, I was only about 10 at the time and didn't know what to make of it. He finally opened his eyes, looked up at me, and said; "Sorry, Doug, that durn frog jumped up and hit me in the chest and I thought it was a snake and had killed me for sure! I didn't laugh as I was mostly shocked by the display. But when I told my Dad about it later he laughed for at least 15 minutes. ![8-)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/cool.png)
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Post by perterra on Feb 19, 2016 16:54:05 GMT -5
LOL
I'm okay with snakes, but damn do I hate a spider that I dont know what it is.
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Post by contender on Feb 20, 2016 22:32:33 GMT -5
"I don't like spiders & snakes,,,,,,""
Seems I recall a song with these lyrics!
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Post by medicdave on Feb 21, 2016 11:16:04 GMT -5
Ran two snake bites from big eastern diamond backs that fractured lower leg bones when I was a medic in central Florida. Ran a lot more that didn't but it is possible. When a snake big enough to break your leg envenomates you have bigger problems than a broken leg. the majority of the bites I ran personally ran were dry bites as well not to get to far off topic.
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Post by sixshot on Feb 21, 2016 14:44:34 GMT -5
medicdave, thanks! So, it is possible, not too likely but possible. I believe this fellow was talking about Arizona rattlers, I might be wrong. Maybe its just me but when I see a rattler its always a 12 footer with a head as big as my boot. I've seen lots of them over the years here in Idaho, never been bitten but came close & I don't show them any mercy once I land back on the ground. Lots of them in the back country where we bear hunt. Thanks again!
Dick
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Post by medicdave on Feb 21, 2016 15:07:52 GMT -5
No problem Dick, it doesn't take much to break the lower leg, it's relatively weak compared to the femur. I'm not overly fond of the leg less critters either. We had a big indigo snake living under our house as a kid that took care of all of the bad guys for a mile or two around. That was a good snake and I remember the threats to life and limb from my father if anything was to happen to him.
Believe it or not most of the bites we would run were from people picking up Pygmy rattlers, coral snakes, and such, because they were small and cute. The big boys would hit hunters stepping over a log in a game trail rather than on it and seeing what was on the other side first. The big guys also don't rattle much as there's not much they're scared of in their own backyard. The things you learn growing up where everything is poisonous, prickly, or wants to eat you in one way or the other lol. It can always be worse, you have to keep an eye open for Cobras over here in the Philippines. Hit one with my motorcycle and it got interesting real quick.
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Post by perterra on Feb 21, 2016 15:14:49 GMT -5
No problem Dick, it doesn't take much to break the lower leg, it's relatively weak compared to the femur. I'm not overly fond of the leg less critters either. We had a big indigo snake living under our house as a kid that took care of all of the bad guys for a mile or two around. That was a good snake and I remember the threats to life and limb from my father if anything was to happen to him. Believe it or not most of the bites we would run were from people picking up Pygmy rattlers, coral snakes, and such, because they were small and cute. The big boys would hit hunters stepping over a log in a game trail rather than on it and seeing what was on the other side first. The big guys also don't rattle much as there's not much they're scared of in their own backyard. The things you learn growing up where everything is poisonous, prickly, or wants to eat you in one way or the other lol. It can always be worse, you have to keep an eye open for Cobras over here in the Philippines. Hit one with my motorcycle and it got interesting real quick. I suspect it's more from jumping 10 feet in the air and hitting the ground running after the bite. Opossums will keep them thinned too, at least when the snakes are young. They are immune to the poison.
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Post by sixshot on Feb 21, 2016 15:31:29 GMT -5
Well my hearing has always been bad, a combination of working on F-102's in the Air Force & over 50 years of shooting sixguns. Many of the early years without ear protection. When we spring bear hunt I always have the boys walk in front because I can't hear the snakes buzzing, no one has ever been bitten & they've heard a bunch of them. If they are close to our camp we give them a quick hair cut & move on. Dick
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Post by cherokeetracker on Feb 21, 2016 17:31:36 GMT -5
No problem Dick, it doesn't take much to break the lower leg, it's relatively weak compared to the femur. I'm not overly fond of the leg less critters either. We had a big indigo snake living under our house as a kid that took care of all of the bad guys for a mile or two around. That was a good snake and I remember the threats to life and limb from my father if anything was to happen to him. Believe it or not most of the bites we would run were from people picking up Pygmy rattlers, coral snakes, and such, because they were small and cute. The big boys would hit hunters stepping over a log in a game trail rather than on it and seeing what was on the other side first. The big guys also don't rattle much as there's not much they're scared of in their own backyard. The things you learn growing up where everything is poisonous, prickly, or wants to eat you in one way or the other lol. It can always be worse, you have to keep an eye open for Cobras over here in the Philippines. Hit one with my motorcycle and it got interesting real quick. Medicdave how you doing? I don't care if you PM with the story,,, but I got to know about hitting a cobra, on a motorcycle.
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Post by medicdave on Feb 21, 2016 19:35:32 GMT -5
Cherokeetracker I'll share it here while we jaw about snakes. I really enjoy going out and getting lost out in the province and the roads being pretty small and gas stations few and far between means it's usually on a motorcycle. I had just gotten a 2012 ZX-14R (1441cc hypersport about 210hp not an easy bike to keep in control.) and being in love with the new bike was riding it everywhere. On a half paved, half dirt provincial road I saw what I thought was a stick in the road, and the roads not being the best there wasn't the option of going around it. About a second before I hit the stick I realized that the stick was a 7ft cobra sun bathing in the road. As the front tire hit the cobra he tried to get away and the tire kicked him up into the lower fairing and he ended up partially inside the fairing on the bike. I had slowed down to hit the stick, but was still doing around 35mph at this point now sitting on top of the tank with my feet over my arms trying to brake, balance, dodge cobra bits and not lay the new exspensive motorcycle over. A good 20 ft after the impact, the cobra came loose from the chassis and gave up the ghost, while I managed to keep the bike upright and extricate myself off the top of the tank back to the seat and stop. Whole incident was over in less time than it takes to tell the story, but not one I'm likely to forget. Have hit a few others in my truck, but the one on the bike was "special".
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Post by MackaySagebrush on Feb 21, 2016 19:49:23 GMT -5
Spoken due to experience? ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) OOOH Yeah! Bull snake or rattler, makes no difference. If I am surprised up close, things happen simultaneously. Mostly it is high pitched swearing, dancing, stuttering, and flinging of lead, all while being propelled by natural gas..... ![](http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/RattlesnakevsBisley.jpg) ![](http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/G19Snake_zps00f6f375.jpg) I would much rather deal with bears or jihadists (or jihadist bears) than step on a snake. This antelope does a pretty good impression: ![](http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/P1000228_zpsc3b065ec.jpg)
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Post by buckheart on Feb 21, 2016 20:52:12 GMT -5
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Post by contender on Feb 21, 2016 20:54:14 GMT -5
medicdave,,,, that had to be one heck of a very intense few moments! I'd bet good money if it had been videoed,,, you'd be able to win $100,000 on the funniest video show! Hitting anything on a bike can get exciting,,, but when it's alive,,,,, hoo-wee!
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Post by sixshot on Feb 21, 2016 20:54:40 GMT -5
I think we've all got a few snake stories, I know I have. Lucky to have never been bitten, especially by that Mohave Green a few years ago in Arizona. Even now I get the Rocky Mountain Quick Step (similar to crapping your pants) just thinking about it.
Dick
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Post by shortbarrel on Mar 5, 2016 12:40:58 GMT -5
No rattlesnake could break bones.The problem here is that people get really wound up the subject of snakes comes up and that's when the stories start to fly.Think of impact energy as weight times velocity.Weight are also exaggerated.I weighed a big,heavy bodied Western Diamondback at 9 lbs.It's said that Easterns rarely get to eleven pounds but it has happened.
A rattlesnake normally strikes with the forward,1/3 of it's body.This is the lightest part of the body.Say we assign 4 pounds to that portion.This would be a very rare,huge specimen.
Now speed of strike is also exaggerated.The most reliable information I can find,says 14-15 feet per second.Now how can a soft projectile weighing 2-4 lbs,traveling at 15 feet a second,break a leg bone?It can't.Shooters no something about velocity and projectile weight.There is no magic in a snake.It is pure physics.
Another factor to consider is how a rattle snake's head is built.Look at a picture of a rattlesnakes's skull and you will see that there are many light bones.Snakes bones are light and fragile like fish bones.This day in age,most herpetologists won't grab snakes behind the head,because of the potential for causing damage.A rattlesnakes head would be crushed before it could break a much heavier and stronger,human leg bone.Common sense,that's all.Common sense is often disengaged when the subject of snakes comes up.
I've handled venomous snakes for 55 years and felt the strike of various sizes on boots and tools.There's not much to it as far as impact.Big rattlers can be dangerous if you step within striking range but if you are hit,broken bones won't be your problem.
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