Nice Aim, Sweetie Pie...

But you need to work on threat assessment a little bit, though.

That's what I found when responding to a call this summer. Its a Rat Snake that a resident had found on her back patio. She was so freaked out at the sight of it that she ran back into the house, got her .38 revolver, came back outside, and started blasting away.

The neighbors called the Police because of the gunfire. When I met the police officer on the scene she was a total sobbing mess. The LEO had to tell me what happened, because she was too upset to even talk. Apparently she thought it might be poisonous and didn't want it to get away.

It's hard to tell how many times she hit it, since snakes coil when hurt/frightened and some of the holes maybe from the same round. Still pretty good shooting considering how freaked out she was.

Rat Snakes, in case you didn't know, are completely harmless. Actually very beneficial critters to have around. I pick them up at work all the time from Spring through Fall every year. We just turn them loose elsewhere, when they aren't full of bullet holes that is. The one below I picked up a couple of weeks ago. Exactly the same kind of snake, but very different coloring.

That's why its not a good idea to go by color/pattern alone when identifying snakes.

Its also a really bad idea to shoot your gun in your backyard when you live in a residental neighborhood with folks going about their lives all around you, just a few feet away...... but then again you already know that.

Don't you.

No charges filed by the Cops. Just a "Hey, you realize this was stupid now so don't do it again" warning. I don't know if the neighbors nearby had any words with her after we left, but you can bet that if one of MY neighbors went wiggy with a gun in their backyard one day I'd be in their shit big-time about it.