Snake Chaps for use in Texas

Anybody ever use the sorta "wraparound" plastic anti-snake leggings? They're about knee-high, with a flare at the bottom which rides on the arch of a boot.

I hate to make a lot of racket when I walk. I've thought of getting a pair of these and doing some sort of cloth liner so I could wear them inside my pants. Not so much for snakes as for all the cactus and lecheguilla that grows around here.

Art
 
i live in texas and hunt all the time in hill country and never have i seen a rattler not in captivity...knock on wood...i have considered buying some but i know that if i wore them, i would be extremely hot. i personally just feel good holding a 12ga in odds against a rattler... if you don't mind 100 degree heat with 2 layers of pants, then wear them.
 
it also depends on when you're going and where you're going and what you will be walking on... grassy pastures you likely will see one but when i dove hunt it is on a plowed up corn field with pastures around it so i don't really see them
 
Snake Boots

Man if it were me I would buy some snake boots.
The chaps are only snake proof to about 16" anyway.
Boots are about that high also.
And the boots are not as hot,if you leave the chaps in the truck,because their,to hot to wear.What good is buying the chaps?
 
roger, most snake bites are from around mid-calf on down to the top of a shoe.

I worry more about getting hit on the hand, if a bird flops down in some brush or weeds...

Art
 
I have seen a few, more eastern than western with a couple of the little spotted varmints in East Texas.
I always wear 12" wellingtons with my pants outside, this should take care of most bites.
I did get in a spot in the brush west of Mission, really thick pear and catclaw, was on a game trail, spotted a big cow pile in the trail, got closer and it had a 3" wide head sticking up, I decided to retreat and after I turned around, I spotted a 2'er up in a false mimosa next to the trail.
After I got out of there, I was walking in a clearing of buffle grass about knee high when a covey of scaled quail took off all around me, must have been at least a 100, I proved that it is possible to levitate, at least 3' high.
Good thing I was in my 20's, now it would have been an instant heart attack.:eek:
 
In the ‘80s, I was fortunate enough to do some work on the King’s Ranch in South Texas, Oil exploration. It’s all fenced off and you must go through Guarded Gates to get in and out. We had to sign an agreement stating that we wouldn’t harm any game, including Rattlers. They told us if one of our guys got bit, just to haul azz through the gate and honk our horn and they would call the hospital in Alice and get them to head our way with an Ambulance. Alice was about an hours drive from the gate near Encino. Beautiful place, wild turkeys everywhere. Lots of snakes. No chaps or Snake leggings then, might should have.

A couple of years ago I got to go back to the King’s Ranch for some Quail hunting. The guide had an extra pair of chaps and offered them to me, and I gladly accepted them.

I hope to be dove hunting west of San Antonio next week, and I won’t be wearing any chaps or snake boots. I will be wearing long pants, hunting boots and plenty of Deep Woods Off. My Retriever goes through a Rattlesnake Awareness Clinic annually and she get the Rattlesnake vaccine twice a year.

My advice would be to get the chaps or leggings. The snakes are here.

Most likely you won’t see a Rattlesnake while you’re in our fair State, or an Armadillo, or a Horny Toad.

Lee
 
I live and hunt in Texas but I don't wear the snake leggings. I usually hunt southeast of Sonora Texas on my 3600 acre hunting lease. One of my friends bgot bit by a Rattle Snake a few years ago. He spent 2 days in ICU and 2 weeks in the hospital. He was allergic to the anti venum:(. I came close in 1990 on the same ranch when I was reaching for a dove:eek:. I did happen to see the snake first and shot it will my shotgun. At the time I was wearing shorts and canvas tennis shoes but most of the time I wear boots because of the cactus.
I also dove hunt on the Ford Ranch out of Brady, Texas. This year the grass was waist high and our group encountered 6 Rattlers. Three of them got shot and three got away. This year I was a little nervous walking through the high grass to get to the spot I wanted to hunt. The grass is high on our ranch at Sonora also.
Leggings are way too hot in the Texas heat. Just be careful and aware of where you step and reach!
 
My Retriever goes through a Rattlesnake Awareness Clinic
Click to expand...

Huntemup - We may be moving from Oregon to Loiusianna next year and I was curious if you could tell me a little about the clinic and how to keep your dog from getting bit. I have a Brittany.
 
Snake awareness clinic

We may be moving from Oregon to Loiusianna next year and I was curious if you could tell me a little about the clinic and how to keep your dog from getting bit. I have a Brittany.
Click to expand...

The ones that I have attended have all been by the same person. I’m not sure how others do it, but I’ll try to describe the technique that I witnessed and participated in. I believe it was $50 per dog this year. Lots of different breeds including Brittanys, pointers, poodles. Both hunting and house dogs were there.

Done outdoors in a field setting, usually the last week of August just before our dove opener on Sept. 1st. The snake handler had several snakes that he would switch out when they would get hot or start to slow down. All the snakes had their mouths stapled shut. Snakes were set out two at a time, about 20-30 feet apart. The first snake had it’s rattle taped so it wouldn’t rattle, no sound only smell. The dog was outfitted with an electric collar. With as few commands as possible, the snake handler would lead the dog as close to the first snake as possible. Of course the dog would stick her nose down to smell at which time the snake would strike and the handler would put a high stimulation through the electric collar. After one or two times the dog would begin to avoid the snake by flaring it. Then the same thing was done with the second snake that could rattle. Then the dog learns what a rattle sounds like and to avoid the sound as well as the sight and smell.

My lab has been the last three years. The first year I wasn’t sure she fully understood what was happening. The second year she seemed to be super obedient thinking that would help, at least that’s what I thought I was seeing. This year there was no doubt that she had learned it well the year before. She didn’t want anything to do with either snake from the beginning. It’s cheap insurance, so I’ll probably do it again next year.

I also use the rattlesnake vaccine twice a year. There’s more information on the vaccine at www.redrockbiologics.com. I know of a couple of club members who believe the vaccine made it much easier when their dogs got bit, both in their backyards. The dogs still were taken to the vet and received antivenin but only needed one course and recovered quickly.

Lee
 
Thanks for the info. Not sure how much my dog will hunt, but moving to a part of the country where you possibly end up with them in the yard kinda makes it a requirement.
 
reading all these post from Texans have taught me one thing, Florida has more snakes than Texas! last weekend alone i stepped on 2 different rattlers while hunting. i don't get out of my truck here in the woods without my snake boots on.
 
I just wear lace up boots ,thick sox & jeans, and watch where I walk. When out hunting my senses are hightened, because I'm looking & listening for game as well as looking for tracks, even if bird hunting. I find I see the snake first, and if you give it an escape route, most times it will head in the other direction. If not, the shotgun is the perfect implement in dealing with angry snakes, but even then be careful, as plenty of people have been bitten by a dead snake.,
 
I purchased a pair of wax canvas chaps in Mossy oak from bass pro a few years ago after spending a few weeks getting the numerous cactus needles out of my legs. I was javelina hunting around Laredo, TX and getting off the scendaro ment getting jabbed, poked and stuck by everything imaginable.

The only rattlers between there and San Angelo I have encountered has been three times walking back from my tree stand after dark on the trails. They come out at dusk and they really like trails.

That is 3 out of I don't know how many hundred trips from the stand. 2 in San Angelo and one in Brady.

Plus 1 to the flashlight idea. I never walk a trail at night in Texas without one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top