Can a Timber Rattler bite above the knee?

[Nicodemus]

We put ourselves low to the ground all the time.

Stepping over and through.

Coming up or down a bank or ditch.

Reaching down for anything.

Again, I have seen them in palmettos several times. Catching birds would be my guess?

Walked up on one in a palmetto one day decades ago. He was 3’ off the ground and looking right at me.

Gut check, for sure.


I still think the threat is way overblown but I do not want to be a statistic.

By snake or drunk driver.

When they`re up there, they be ambushing birds and squirrels, and in the case of copperheads, they`re mostly after July flies (cicadas). Canebrake rattlers are more apt to climb than a diamondback, at least in my experience.

 

[NCHillbilly]

When they`re up there, they be ambushing birds and squirrels, and in the case of copperheads, they`re mostly after July flies (cicadas). Canebrake rattlers are more apt to climb than a diamondback, at least in my experience.

I've never seen a rattler or copperhead in a tree or bush in person, but I've seen pics. Remember the thread on here many years ago where somebody found a baby rattler in the seat of their ladder stand?

 

[Nicodemus]

I've never seen a rattler or copperhead in a tree or bush in person, but I've seen pics. Remember the thread on here many years ago where somebody found a baby rattler in the seat of their ladder stand?

I do remember it now that you mention it. That would have been an experience to be eyeball to eyeball with one.


I measured my boot where I tested it. The snake hit 8 and 1/2 inch above the sole, and I had the bottom of the boot about 6 or 7 inches off the ground, so figure the snake struck 14 to 16 inches up. That was with a 5 foot canebrake that I had to get extremely mad to strike, but when it finally did fire up, it meant business. Last strike sprayed venom.

 

[Moose Master]

Came across this fella a couple weeks ago at my place in Glascock. It was a real bruiser. Nearly as thick as a coke can in the middle. Messed with him a few times, but he was far more interested in getting away into the brush. I literally walked over one coiled up a few years ago and my buddy saw it behind me. Enough to make you nervous for sure, but it’s not gonna end my activity.

 

[wiiawiwb]

So, unless we're on a incline below a Timber (Canebrake) Rattlere, or it's on a ledge above ground, is it safe to say that it will not strike above the knee?

My purpose with this thread is to determine if chaps are needed to protect me rather than just wearing snake gaiters.

 

[spencer12]

So, unless we're on a incline below a Timber (Canebrake) Rattlere, or it's on a ledge above ground, is it safe to say that it will not strike above the knee?

My purpose with this thread is to determine if chaps are needed to protect me rather than just wearing snake gaiters.

I think you’d be fine with the gaiters.

 

[rosewood]

I would imagine most likely when a snake strike, it's going to go for what is the easiest thing to hit. Whatever elevation that it can strike and get to the quickest and the fastest is probably what it's going to do.

I would think somewhere between the ankle and the calf is probably about the perfect height for most snake to strike when on flat ground

 

[Chris 195 7/8 B&C]

So, unless we're on a incline below a Timber (Canebrake) Rattlere, or it's on a ledge above ground, is it safe to say that it will not strike above the knee?

My purpose with this thread is to determine if chaps are needed to protect me rather than just wearing snake gaiters.

if the gaiters give you peace of mind, then yes. I’ve found that snake boots mainly help me by giving me peace of mind so I can keep my eyes ahead of me rather than on the ground watching every single step. I like to slip in and out in the dark with no or minimal light. Ain’t no tellin what I’ve stepped on or over (Especially at night coyote hunting) over the years.