Wow, Michael you have lead some interesting life. 

A Ranger lopped the head off a rattler, with a bush hook, that 
had an eye on my lunch or me—-we were in the mountains outside San Diego in 1945.  The Naval base had volunteered a bunch of us for forest fighting detail.  Sitting on a rock, in the dust and smoke, with the temperature 100 degrees and no shade——and this snake in the grass disturbed my few minutes rest.  

There was a big fight over the rattles while I was being revived.

OK Michael can you top that ?

 

Well, when I was around 9 or 10 I used to catch copperheads by hand, but I can’t top having a rattler’s head lopped off right next to me.