I lived in an area with so many of them I simply leapt backwards without thinking at the first shake of a rattle. This was pretty reliable until I ran into the 1/100 rattler that pursued me regardless of my retreat. I was lucky to nail him without getting bit. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing.
Not so long ago I opened an electrical box on an abandoned property unknowing it was a giant wasp’s nest inside. Thankfully that old reflex was still there. An interesting moment where I could see a cloud of wasps before my eyes actually straining to catch up with me as I literally ran backwards, before twisting around into forward motion and higher gear. Luckily they gave up the chase after 50 yards or so, a bear can move quickly but only for short distsnces ;)
*** “ wasp’s” ****
For some reason they always seem to go for my eyes ... therefore I always get hit in the nose or cheek, either of which immediately blinds me and I start sneezing while I run blindly in what ever direction I was pointed at the time.
Then I come back and kill them (from a distance)
That happened to me a couple of years ago, but I didn't quite make the pivot to forward due to tripping over a lawnmower. Landed very hard, fractured my arm, in addition to getting stung. Knew it as soon as I hit the ground, even though I'd never fractured or broken anything larger than a finger before.