by Shawn Skipper - Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Turkey hunters, by nature, put themselves at a heightened state of a risk every time they covertly sneak into the woods to pursue a gobbler. It's true that every hunter and outdoorsman does—it's part of the thrill—but turkey hunters double down on potential trouble, since they tend to spend a fair bit of their time sitting square on the ground. Treestands and blinds offer some vestiges of safety, at least, but when you're at the base of a tree, you're far more exposed to any other wildlife that might be poking around. Last year we shared the video of a Virginia turkey hunter who was attacked by a curious bobcat. These things happen.
A video that has recently posted to YouTube, though, represents what quite a few folks would call a nightmare. Purportedly filmed in Texas, the clip shows a large snake slither right past a ground-based turkey hunter as he lies in wait and eyes his decoy. The video is embedded above—keep your eyes on the bottom left corner. The hunter never seems to react to the snake's presence—whether he's trying to stay calm for fear or provoking it, or honestly never noticed it was there, I don't know. If he kept cool, knowing that the snake would probably go on its merry way, props to him.
Go ahead and give the video a look for yourself by clicking here or hitting the play button at the top of the page. Just try not to think about it the next time you're turkey hunting.
