SC hog hunt in June..snakes?

[khardrunner]

I don't have an abundance of money and I rarely hunt in snakey areas (less than 1 time a year probably). I'm going on a hog hunt for 3 days in June near columbia SC.

Do I need to worry about buying snake gaitors? Are they an absolute must have or am I just paranoid about snakes?

[Caughtandhobble]

Wear rubber boots, you'll be fine.

[awbowman]

I think with a little care you will be fine.

I wear them because I have them.

[Benjy]

Are you coming down to hunt with ToxophilitePastor?

[straitera]

Yesterday saw my first poisonous snake (2' cottonmouth) in quite awhile. 7:10PM & he was stretched out (not coiled up) on the trail about 6" from my hiking boot. Not so many snakes anymore due to all the hogs. That's still closer than I care to get w/o knowing where they are. He lived.

[Hoyt]

Just watch where you step. Closest I came to being bit was in the face...twice. Big diamondback and timber rattler.

The diamondback almost crawled in my lap when turkey hunting and he struck up towards my face when I was coming down with a big long stick.

The timber rattler was coiled up about 12" from my face when I was on my hands and knees looking for specks of blood. Real cold weather saved me then.

[TRT]

I come from Louisiana and it is SNAKE country.  You will be fine provided you watch your step.  I do not step over logs or cut corners around trees.  I also watch where I put my hands.  My dad drilled this into me as a little guy following him through the woods.  Some of the best stories in a hunting camp have a snake as the main character.

[Izzy]

Snakes are the least of your worries, its the skeeters and chiggers that will kill you.    

[khardrunner]

Yep toxophilitepastor is my Dad.

Looks like I just need to pay attention. Here in PA we have some rattlers, but not many. I hate snakes and I certainly prefer not to see one at all. BUT I'd spend the money if I need the protection.

[Rick Richard]

For a little peace of mind, I think I would also purchase the snake boots.

[Biggie Hoffman]

If you want to enjoy your hunt buy the snake boots. Only a fool would "not worry" about the real possibility of an encounter. If you want to spend your whole hunt watching every step you take instead of enjoying the beauty of the SC Lowlands, that's your choice.
Another thing to consider is that if you shoot a pig, he's gonna take you into the parts of the swamp where you won't even be able to see the ground and more often than not, it will be in the dark.
A good pair of boots will last you a lifetime and are well worth a few hours of overtime at work for the piece of mind they'll provide

[Izzy]

Biggie, do you think you should warn him about    smg's or are they indigenous to hog heaven only?

[Biggie Hoffman]

Izzy, nah....snake boots won't help with those

[wapiti792]

I am a yankee-living southern born snake fearin' bowhunting fool. I got bit by a copperhead 20 years ago and although the treatment wasn't bad the little snake that nailed my leg is kinda burned in my brain. I wore my snake boots at Ray's last month to say the least. It gave me a ton of confidence to just quit being so paranoid about snakes, put the darn SC fickle coastal wind in my face and hunt. Biggie is right...the pig I shot went to the nastiest part of the swamp. Invest in the boots and go huntin'. Oh yes, one of the two snakes I did get to greet was a fanger. Wouldn't you know it was the bigger version of my old nemesis    I thought I heard a SMG yell a couple of times near Hogg Lake though. I had my snake boots on but I think that anything that could rip my arms off and beat me with it wouldn't be too scared of my size 14s.
 

[TexasStick81]

I don't know about SC but it's been a very snakey year already here.  I've killed two copperheads within 20 yerds of my ground blind (that last one was in there with me and I stabbed with the my broadhead), saw about a 4.5-5' rattlesnake,and almost stepped on a bull snake yesterday.  I've heard many others talking about seeing more snakes this year.  The Dallas Morning News just did a piece on how much more active they are this year but I wasn't able to read it.  I always wear my snake boots and when I'm going to be in tall grass where I can't see the ground well I wear my chaps as well.  My snake boots are nice but a 5' rattler can easily strike higher than my boots go up.

[Benjy]

Originally posted by Biggie Hoffman:
If you want to enjoy your hunt buy the snake boots. Only a fool would "not worry" about the real possibility of an encounter. If you want to spend your whole hunt watching every step you take instead of enjoying the beauty of the SC Lowlands, that's your choice.
Another thing to consider is that if you shoot a pig, he's gonna take you into the parts of the swamp where you won't even be able to see the ground and more often than not, it will be in the dark.
A good pair of boots will last you a lifetime and are well worth a few hours of overtime at work for the piece of mind they'll provide

Biggie is absolutely correct! My hunting boots ARE snake boots.

You will most likely not see a snake, they have great camo and can be very still!

Benjy

[khardrunner]

If I go to buy...

Can I get away with gaitors instead of boots? Cabelas has a set that is reviewed highly.

If not, what brand of boots do you guys reccomend?

[JohnV]

Like many, I have a healthy fear of snakes and after joining a hog hunting lease in south Georgia I quickly invested in quality snake leggings.  While the leggings give you confidence, you will quickly find them to be heavy, cumbersome, and make you legs heat up and sweat like crazy in warm weather. After 2 trips I took mine off an hunted most of the time in high top black tennis shoes as you often need to wade through water sloughs that may be deeper than any hip boot.  Just be careful where you step and stay out of places like thick cutovers where you can't see the ground and you should be fine.

[Hoyt]

Originally posted by JohnV:
Like many, I have a healthy fear of snakes and after joining a hog hunting lease in south Georgia I quickly invested in quality snake leggings.  While the leggings give you confidence, you will quickly find them to be heavy, cumbersome, and make you legs heat up and sweat like crazy in warm weather. After 2 trips I took mine off an hunted most of the time in high top black tennis shoes as you often need to wade through water sloughs that may be deeper than any hip boot.  Just be careful where you step and stay out of places like thick cutovers where you can't see the ground and you should be fine.

X-2 I had some snake leggings back in the early 60's that weren't bad to wear, but never got past trying on the new type.

I've bought Chippewa, Bass Pro and some other brand of snake boots, but didn't like any of them..too heavy execpt for the Bass Pro Lightweights. I did wear them in Fl. when I knew I was going to hunt the hill and be in high palmettos.

Seems like every time I would wear snake boots I'd end up over my knees in swamp water with boots full of water. In Fl. used camo tennis shoes till the weather got to cold.

However..I would recommend them to everyone else...especially if you don't look where you step.

[TexasStick81]

I have the turtle skin snake chaps and wore them two days ago.  Obviously they will be hotter than not wearing them but they are worth the extra money because I don't think they are that hot.  If you are stalking pigs you have to have the wind anyways so the scent of sweat doesn't make too much difference in my opinion.