I was 16. Some of my classmates with me on a dove shoot. I got notion the doves were seeing me so I climbed over the fence with my ammo can of shells. The can was open and the doves were coming.
I heard some little squeaking and thought "a nest of mice, I'll kill em when doves ain't coming". Up & down shooting & kneeling, digging shells & stuffing them in my shotgun. Still kneeling the doves took a break, a long break and I decided to kill the mice.
I looked down and Oh My God it wasn't mice. It was a big ole rattlesnake coiled right there tween my knees. Well I had been up & down shootin doves but there wasn't another up in me right then. I looked at that rattler, he looked at me and was close to my crotch. I thought, "ain't none of my buddies here gonna suck that outta me" but I just got to do something. I looked at that rattler and he's looking at me and outlook I said "Mr. Snake, you've been a mighty good boy....but now you got to die!!"
He was too close to level that shotgun on so I slid the stock up over my right shoulder, grabbed the barrel with my left fist, aimed it best I could and reached back and pushed that trigger with my right thumb. Hoping and praying that I was gonna hit him right in the head. Boom! When I stopped shaking he was still there.
His head was gone and I wasn't gonna have to ask nobody to suck out a bite in the privates. I didn't shoot no more doves that day and here it is 50 years ago almost to the day and that big old rattler ain't been forgotten. He was a might good boy. The only good rattler I ever met.
