A few years ago I killed one just Southwest of Abilene, Tx that went almost 7'. I still laugh about it today, I had taken two young school teachers out to look at some land I was leasing for deer hunting. When I got out of my truck I reached into the pocket on the door panel and pulled out a little .357 pistol and stuck it in my back pocket. One of the guys asked why I was taking it, I said, "just in case." We had walked over the lease and was about 25-30 feet from the trucks walking in a trail where trucks had beat the grass down when I noticed the snake. I knew immediately that it was a big one, whipped the little pistol out and popped off two rounds. One of the fellows asked, "what the heck you shooting at ole man?" I pointed to the snake, he almost messed his pants. One of them walked on up to where the truck was parked and picked up a long cedar fence stay and brought it back, hefted the snake up and carried it up to where the trucks were parked. It covered the bed and tail gate of a Toyota Pickup which I was told was 7'.
What was funny about it, after the guys inspected the snake one of them made a comment, "you hit em in the head both times you shot." I never told them I was shooting my handloaded shot shells in the gun. If you ran across them today they would likely tell you about the ole man's shooting ability.
