Friday night about one am, I awoke to the urgent desire to step outside and relieve some pressure, as it were. My sewer has some issues, so I hate to stress it and I like stepping outside. It may mark me as an uncivilized lout, but oh well.
It isn't all that unusual to have some wildlife encounters during these trips to commune with nature. I've written before about finding rattlers close to the front door. So, I wasn't completely surprised to hear the buzzing sound of one of the poisonous bastards when I walked out. I couldn't see the damn thing (which makes me nervous), but I had needs that had to be met.
So, I needed a flashlight and a killing tool. What to use? My shotguns weren't just real handy, but I did have my Henry Golden Boy .22 rifle loaded and ready by the front door. I prefer shotguns, because I'm a wuss and like some distance between me and the biting serpents. But, like I said, the .22 was ready to go and fully capable if I was as well.
Shining the flashlight on the porch revealed the snake on the porch with me. This was not a pleasant thought. It was trying to force it's way into a crack in the foundation over the side - mice live under said porch, and it would be a feast for any mouse eating reptile. I just had a shot at it's belly. I figured I'd give it a major gut ache, and it would roll off into the dirt where I could eventually finish it off. But wait - it pulled it's head out of the crack and it was looking to the north of me! I had a head shot!
I've been somewhat concerned with my shooting abilities for some time, since my hands are not fully functional nerve wise. I have discovered that I can still run just any firearm I own, and all it takes is practice. We've all been shooting .22s primarily because we feel it is still affordable - the heavier stuff could break us if we shoot a lot of, say .45s or .308s. So, I have been shooting the little lever action a bit lately, even if it is just once a month or so.
It was with some trepidation that I lined up my first shot - I figured I'd miss, the snake would become more active, and I'd be scattering .22 shots all over the place. I shot and bzzzzzztt---- it was over. You can see the head shot in the top picture. There wasn't even a twitch out of that sucker three seconds later.
My buddies made me pose with my hunting trophy the next day. I'd just come home from work and they were here doin' some shootin.' The rattler wasn't very big - maybe 2.5 feet long if that. They ran over another rattler about a hundred yards down the road on their way home.
I felt pretty good about that one shot.
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8 comments:
Nice shot. As much as I'd like the quiet of the living in a rural area, the idea of snakes and other critters creeps me out too much.
If he was a smaller snake, there must be a lot of brothers and sisters slithering around. Be careful!
Nice shot, Jeffro!
Are you gonna make a (teeny tiny) pair of boots outta him?
rt: I think what has them stirred up is the owner of the ground across the road has decided to do something with all the weeds and such. They're mowing it all like it's CRP or something. Maybe it is, I dunno. It sure hasn't been planted with the .gov seed or anything.
jerry: Maybe one for each of my little toes!
Nah, don't make booties. What you need is a hatband.
I mean, bein' a trucker, you do wear a cowboy hat, right? :)
Or, is that snake not long enough?
/me ducks
Jed: I guess I'm pretty atypical - I rarely wear a cap, much less a cowboy hat. There isn't enough headroom in the majority of vehicles I pilot to wear one were I so inclined.
I do wear a hard hat on location quite a bit, though.
And yeah, my melon might be too large for this little bugger to be utilized as a hatband. Not only do I buy clothing from Omar the Tentmaker, the hats I wear have to fit Goliath as well.
That isn't a lucky shot, that was an effective shot, luck would have played a hand if you had your eyes closed. I always pretended that the snakes struck at the incoming bullets and guaranteed a head shot, but they are fast but not that fast.
Good shot!
I want to thank you for your comments and prayers, their working.
I think the photo is sexy.
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