Not a Fishing Post but...

[BullHound]

Hey guys, I know a lot of people on this forum are avid hunters as well so please take warning to this. I hunt just North of the FL/GA line and have seen a lot of snakes this year.

Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:49 pm Post subject: Georgia Deer Hunter Killed by Rattlesnake

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Man bitten, killed by rattlesnake
By JOE VANHOOSE


A Winder man died over the weekend after a rattlesnake bit him while he was hunting in Oglethorpe County with his grandson.

Dick Rupert, 68, was climbing down from a tree stand in the woods off Thaxton Wynne Road about 7:30 a.m. Saturday when a rattlesnake bit him in the calf, Oglethorpe County Coroner James Mathews said.

Rupert died at Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington about an hour later, Mathews said.

Rupert's 12-year-old grandson tried to drive him back to the road on a four-wheeler, but he passed out and fell off twice, Mathews said.

Rupert's grandson and his son, who was hunting nearby, dragged him to the road, and he was unresponsive when Oglethorpe EMS workers arrived at 7:44 a.m., Mathews said.

"The grandson was doing CPR when our crew got there," Mathews said. "But Mr. Rupert was already in full cardiac arrest."

The puncture marks on Rupert's calf barely were visible, said Assistant Coroner Howard Sanders.

Thaxton Wynne Road runs between U.S. Highway 78 and Georgia Highway 22 about seven miles southeast of Lexington, not far from the Wilkes County border.

Timber rattlesnakes are the most common in the wooded area, said John Willson, a snake researcher at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab. But timber rattlesnake bites rarely are deadly, he said.

"Most venomous species in the Southeast, you can recover if you make it to a hospital within two to three hours," Willson said.

While about 8,000 people get bitten by venomous snakes in the United States each year, only about 10 die, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Deaths in the Southeast are incredibly rare, but they can happen," Willson said.

Bites vary in severity depending on the snake, he said. Snakes can control how much venom they inject.

"It all depends on the circumstances," Willson said. "He could have had a particularly bad reaction. Sometimes, the reaction can be worse than the bite itself."

While Mathews will not order an autopsy, he suspects that Rupert died of such a reaction. Rupert had a history of high blood pressure, he said.

"Lots of times snake bites speed up other problems," Mathews said. "Whatever it may have been, the immediate cause was the snake bite."

Rupert is the second person in Georgia to die of a rattlesnake bite this year.

A 65-year-old Dothan man died in September after a rattlesnake bit him in the neck.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/101 ... 8762.shtml

[Jumptrout51]

Bummer.

[cmccord]

Hate to hear of a fatality like that.

Oddly enough, while they are out this year, I have not seen as many this year as I have in year's past. This shows good reason to wear snake boots or chaps while hunting in these woods and use caution when walking in ground cover that prevents good visibility.

[BullHound]

Went hunting last evening and ran across this...



What are the chances of posting a warning last Thursday and running across a 5+ foot rattler yesterday evening. Almost stepped right on him on my way to the stand. He was laying across the firebreak getting some sun. As soon as he heard me cursing, he coiled up ready to strike.

He didn't stand a chance. As soon as I finished cleaning out my undies I introduced him the the 30-06.

Once I located the back half of him I found he had 10 rattles on his tail.

Very scary. BE CAREFUL!!!

[Jumptrout51]

Poor snake. No more suntan for him.