Snakes and out 22 cal. rifle Earlier I recounted my terror when I was age 7 and some men fired some shots which hit close enough to me that it "was too close for comfort." We moved from the house on Rose Ranch after they sold their sheep and we moved to a located on Rock Creek a few miles west of Marietta, OK. We lived there for a short time so I don't have very many memories of that place. Another reason for me having few memories of the place can be attributed to snakes. Rattle snakes, cottonmouth water moccasins, and copperheads. Yes that area was infested with them and Mother kept us close to the house. And after Mother stepped out of the house one morning and found a copperhead coiled up on the step ... She was more determined to keep us close at all times. And at her insistance, Dad bought a single shot 22 cal. rifle and taught her how to shoot it. She managed to kill some snakes and was very relieved when Dad got a job near Marietta and we moved to a house on the outskirts of Marietta. Through the years I learned to shoot the 22 rifle, even though I was so small that I had to place the stock under my arm in order to get the rifle into a position where I could see the sights to aim it.. Of course, I loved target shooting and used every opportunity to practice. But I was limited by Dad not having the money to buy as much ammunition as I would have liked. There always had to be some shells available for Mother to use and I had to share the others with my older brother. I remember one day when I found an old 22 shell in the yard. It was a 22 short which is a low power shell for use in a 22 pistol. The ammunition reccommended for the 22 rifle are 22 long and long rifle shells. Well, I ran and got the rifle and put the shell into the chamber and set up a tin can on top of the storm cellar. I then took a position about 20 feet away from the target ... Took aim and pulled the trigger. I then looked in amazement as I was able to see the bullet come out of the barrel of the rifle, skip twice on the ground and hit the tin can !! In 1941 Dad was working a few miles away and boarding near his work, Mother and her five children were living in a log cabin. One morning our dog woke us barking at the kitchen stove. There was a cottonmouth moccasin under the stove. My brother Donal got the rifle and shot the snake. Later in the summer Mother heard the chickens being excited and discovered that a cottonmouth was bothering them. She got the 22 and shot at it ... but missed. She called me and asked me to shoot it and I dispensed with it using one shot. Mother then said that she had forgot how to aim the rifle and I explained it to her. Her next shot hit the mark. One more incident involved me watching a neighbor take the rifle and "stick" a kitchen match into the ground so that it was standing upright. He then set up 10-20 feet away and took aim. When he pulled the trigger, the bullet passed close enough to the head of the match that it lit the match ! Well, the first opportunity I had after that ... I had to see if I could do it also. But the best I could do was to shoot the head off the match, or shoot off enough of the head that it wouldn't light. I was getting so upset at this that Mother took the rifle away from me for a time. Later in life I was recounting this to a friend and expressed the frustration I felt at shooting away the head of the match instead of being able to strike the match and make make it burn. To this he responded: "Hey, I'd feel lucky to be able to shoot away the head !!" I guess it's just a matter of perspective. Thurmon