I wish that I could remember where I read this, but I recall that a majority of venemous snake bites in the U.S. were on the hand or lower arm, and/or involved alcohol. The implication was that a lot of the time people try to handle the things, especially while drunk.

This seems to reference a similar stat: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-News/2008/07/07/Veno...

True. A copperhead bite definitely requires a hospital visit, but as pit vipers go a copperhead bite is generally on the less dangerous side.