Some times while in the great outdoors you see the darnedest things. Take the time that a hog was hiding from Eddy Chance, Larry Dowden, Ken Farmer and myself by playing submarine in a stock tank. Then there was the time that Bill Smith and I were drawn on by a Police Officer while dove hunting near the city limits. Or how about the time that Eddy went diving headfirst for glass minnows off of Derrich Pollock’s bass boat on a cold February night. Or the time that Randy Slagle shot two Javelina's with one shot. Then there was the time that Eddy caught a Mallard Drake with a glass minnow off of the Cedar Park pump station (as you can see, when you’re with Eddy you often see the darnedest things). Well hears another story for the "darnedest things list".
David Chalmers, Warren Hoke and I went to the El Portillo Ranch on March 23, 2001 for a weekend of hog hunting. Soon after we arrived our outfitter showed us around the ranch. Later that afternoon we drove off to our chosen stands. As I was driving down the dirt road I saw what I thought was a stick standing straight up about 50 yards ahead. Not remembering the stick during our tour I slowed down.
As I got closer I saw that the stick was moving in a circular pattern! A few feet later I was able to make out that it was a big snake with half of it’s body on the ground and the other half standing straight up. Five feet later I saw that it was not one snake but two and within another five feet I saw that they were rattlesnakes.
The snakes were wrapped around each other like pretzels. I originally thought that they were a male and female in the act of mating. However, Warren Hoke later identified them as two males. They must have been fighting over a nearby, and unseen, female! I stopped my truck and grabbed by 12 gauge from the back seat (already loaded with buckshot). The snakes were totally involved with each other and were completely obliviously that death was approaching. I walked up to 10 feet from them, shouldered my shotgun, and waited until their two heads were in alignment. As I stated for the title there are now two less rattlesnakes on this planet.
I’ve been hunting for 25 years (ever since I was 15). Only once before, near Coleman, did I see two rattlesnakes on the same hunt and they were a hundred yards and two hours apart. I count myself as lucky for being allowed to see something that few others have witnessed. I also count it as a privilege that I was the one to get to blow their heads off! I also count myself as stupid for leaving my snake chaps at home!
David Chalmers with my snakes and his hog