Good shooting there susieqz. Iggy and caj's posts reminded me of growing up on the farm, we would kill rattlers with a .22 but there was an old bull snake that would go near 6 ft long that dad wouldn't let us kill, it kept mice and rats down. Poor guy made the mistake of slithering up behind my mom when she was hoeing weeds. It appears you can get a lot of chunks out of a 6 ft. snake.

I'm kind of glad that the only snakes we got on my neck of the woods are small constrictors. And the only ones who should worry in my backyard are the rodents who pop up for a free meal.

Edit. Me and whatever snakes might, be just ignore each other(or better yet, they make themselves scarce in my presence).

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Expect the unexpected

I can see myself making a good hit with shot, but the snakes still alive and writhing around so I empty my gun trying to shoot it again but it gets away to go off to suffer and die. The hoe is my preferred weapon. I have used the edge of a piece of plywood to dispatch some rattlesnakes and one that kids said was a water moccasin but turned out to be a red belly water snake. (They said they saw a big white mouth) but back then I was stronger, faster, more coordinated, could see, etc. etc.

Now I would get ready to hit the snake and fall down right by it and not be able to get up without something to steady me.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I was in Cabela's the other day and saw some new CCI brand snake shot in .38/.357 and .44 caliber with the shot cartridges loaded with #4 shot. .38/.357 claimed 81 grains of lead with greater penetration. I don't doubt that at all. Be interesting to pattern one on a piece of cardboard to see what kind of spread those fewer pellets of #4 shot will produce and at what ranges. My considered opinion is that the #4 shot would be more effective than the #9 shot, but only if they produce a decent tight pattern at up to about 6 feet.

I personally don't have a problem with getting within three feet close to a rattler that I see first and is not overly stirred up and I'm guessing the #4 shot might be a better option than the #9. Either way, one shot of the snake shot isn't much, if any. cheaper than a plain old bullet, but the shot might be a better option if you can't hold still to make a certain shot with a single bullet!

I used to work with a guy regularly who always wanted to kill the rattlesnakes we found along buried telephone cable routes in the country. He would get my wooden handled shovel out of the truck to do the killing, but the closer he got to the snake, the shorter that shovel handle got! He broke three or four handles out of my shovels because when he finally swung it at the snake, he was holding it way out on the end of the handle. That's a good way to break 'em! Trouble was, if the snake happened to move toward him or even strike, he wouldn't hit the snake and the shovel handle was broken anyway! I'd usually just pick up a good sized caliche rock (which were everywere around) and chunk it at the snake's head with pretty good results. Talked the boss into buying shovels with those fancy new fangled fiberglass handles in them and those were a great deal harder to break!

I'll be interested to hear a report on those new snake shot loads with #4 shot in them, if anybody happens to try them.

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So long ... Ken

That would not work shooting against my shed roof or walls. As is I can shoot up against the tin roof with no damage.

Attached Images

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S&W Accumulator

I have never carried snake shot, and never will. I have been struck by a copperhead, he didn't get through the shoe. A snake strikes in a blink of an eye, but they have to be close. After the strike I put more effort into paying attention where I am stepping. If the snake is a safe distance I have all the time in the world to take an aimed shot.

Not really. All the writhing is post-mortem random
neural activity.

Snake shot works fine, if aimed and used in-range.

Post #43: Twenty-two Plinkster cowboyed the cylinder on his 617 after reloading. While he’s a good shot and i enjoyed the video he’ll ruin that nice revolver if he keeps it up.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I used a shovel to kill a copperhead last summer but do keep some .38 snakeshot handy. We live in a HOA community so I’ll try to find another way before using my Model 10 snub. I have tested this stuff at the range and believed it would work before reading this.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

My homemade "snake shot" has be field tested successfully. :-) I carry it when I go to the lake bass fishing. I have shot copperheads, cottonmouths, rattlesnakes, and several water snakes. The only time it has taken more than one shot was when I got excited and shot from too far away.

Whatever works for you is what you should use.

As Frisco Darling would say "more powr to ye."

Have a blessed day,

Leon

I’ve killed enough snakes with my 410 Bond Snake Slayer that I’m a little confused here. I use number 4 shot, and one is all it has ever taken to kill a snake. They sometimes wiggle around a bit if you don’t get a head shot, but I’ve never had one come after me. I’ve even used the same gun on an armadillo once, and it killed him. I think maybe the OP is talking about snake shot from a pistol?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, that’s what the OP is talking about.

Hmm, I've had good success with so called snake shot, in everything from 22-44spl.
Had a rash of water moccasins getting in my Koi pond a couple years ago. 5 in one month. Didn't want to puncture the liner with bullets and killed all of em with shot shells. 2 with my 63 and the rest with my 67 #9 shot speer capsules. I loaded myself in the 38. Have a rash of carpenter bees every year. Great fun to shoot em flying with the 67.

After having a close encounter with a venomous snake, there's a possibility my BP may be elevated & my normal shakes exaggerated somewhat, making precise shooting more difficult. Even though it is a remote chance.

[QUOTE=kthom;140047428]

I personally don't have a problem with getting within three feet close to a rattler that I see first and is not overly stirred up and I'm guessing the #4 shot might be a better option than the #9. Either way, one shot of the snake shot isn't much, if any. cheaper than a plain old bullet, but the shot might be a better option if you can't hold still to make a certain shot with a single bullet!

IF a snake can strike 1/2 the distance of it's body length & 6' diamondbacks are not unheard of, I WOULD triple that "safe zone" to about 9 feet. Plus for every one you see there may be, who knows, how many you don't see. As to the shot size, 7 1/2 sounds like a perfect combination of shot count/ pattern/ & penetration for CLOSE range, BUT I have never tried them.

I grew up and live now in a part of SC that only has copperheads, and a shovel or hoe has been sufficient so far to dispatch them, but I lived for 20 years in north AL where I had to contend with copperheads, water moccasins, and timber rattlers, While there, any gauge of shotgun loaded with #9 shot was my first choice, but I have also killed them with a pellet gun and a number with a .22 revolver loaded with CCI shotshells. The .22 shotshells were entirely adequate for any size snake that I encountered. One shot did the job, except on one occasion when I hit the snake a little behind the head and I used a second shot to make sure.

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Tom
1560

Cain't use fire.. Could start a prairie fire and that ain't good.
Diesel and a shovel works pretty good.

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Eccentric old coot

Whoa... that's a lot of rattlers. That might require a bucket of diesel fuel and a torch.

#10-12 shot is very effective, quickly killing prairie rattlers & leaving them limp on many occasions, has been my experience.
The Remington 45 ACP shotshells will feed & function in a proper 1911. Killing well in the process.
Using a single bullet is sometimes not advisable;

CCI .38 sp shot load done all right on this Timber Rattler in my backyard a few years ago. About eight feet away, I guess.
I currently keep a mini-revolver in .22 mag loaded with the CCI stuff in a cabinet in my living room for quick access when needed.

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Georgia On My Mind

Dang, fat rattler!

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C & L

Pistol shot loads are worthless, imo. I shot a mouse once with a .44 Special. Good thing it wasn’t a rat.

perhaps that's the difference. i require a snake to die with what i have on hand, my side arm.
so, i need actual bullets.
i can't be running in the house for the rifle every time i see a snake.
nah, i'm not gonna use shovels, hoes or ropes.
if i had my choice, i'd kill them from the next county.
all i ask is for them to stay away from my house.
my shootings are essentially self defense.

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susie

At my buddy’s sand and gravel pit he hit a nest of snakes with the bucket loader. He just tilted the bucket down to the ground and dragged it back. He killed them all.

My favorite snake killer is a rock if there close. I lost it one day when one tried to bite me. The dual wheels on my one ton truck rips them open. I hate snakes no legs or two legs.

I use a 45 acp 1917 revolver for snake shot. Cut a 30-06 case off just short of cylinder length. Run the case into a 44 mag resize for about 1/4 of it length to clear the cylinder throat. Moderate charge of unique, 41 mag gas check, all the #8 shot it will hold and top it off with an upside down 41 gas check. Then a touch of glue to hold it together.

Charlie

nacho
I should be more clear! The three feet minimum I mentioned is measured from the end of the barrel of whatever handgun I hold in my outstretched hand. That allows my feet, legs, and body to be about a couple more feet away from that rattler. Where I've lived most of my life among rattlers, a six foot one would be a remarkable speciment. I have seen a few of them, but the big majority of them are no more than about four feet long and many of those about three feet or less.
A strike from any rattlesnake is an unsettling experience, from any distance. Rest assured that I take no chances with a rattler that I have seen further away than it's maximum striking distance. And anytime I have done my part, my experience with the .38/357 snake loads have done their part. But the very large majority of the snakes I have killed have been done in by a large rock, maybe a heavy wrench thrown, a shovel, hoe or a large stick or branch. What ever is handy!

I've been bitten several times by (large) bullsnakes or racers. Not a big deal after the initial surprise. Needs disinfecting and good cleaning to keep infection at bay. Used to catch the bull snakes in the fields and pastures and bring them to the hay barn or other outbuildings and release them there. We had pack rats that were difficult to control because they tend not to eat poison bait like regular rats and mice. We caught a ton of them with jump traps or catchem alive traps, but the bull snakes caught a lot more of them than the traps. Sometimes the bullsnakes in the hay barn after dark would give on a fair startle though! But having the bull snakes there seemed to keep the rattlesnakes away for the most part. I was taught to watch for and see snakes from my earliest recollection. I do that without concious thought. That said, if preoccupied with something else, I have still actually stepped over a few. Seeing the movement when one strikes generally encourages a fairly quick and high jump away, but I have also probably been lucky that the strike did not connect. That's an uncecessary feeling! Poisonous snakes are not to be trifled with!

If I know I'm going to be in serious snake territory, I generally have some snake shot in my handgun or I find a suitable stick or limb and carry that, absent any snake loads. As Iggy says, the end of a lariat rope does the job very nicely if a snake needs disabled.

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So long ... Ken

The problem with using shot shell in a revolver is that they may not pattern around the point of aim. Maybe this is why suzieqz had such poor results. doesn't hurt to pattern a couple shots at snake range into a piece of cardboard to find how they pattern and where the center of the pattern is with respect to the POA. My home cooked 32 S&W loads shoot 2-3 inches high out of my 3 1/4" Safety Hammerless.

John

I shoot "em" on the wing too. But with my much cheaper homemade loads in 38 spl..

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S&W Accumulator

Hello, I’m glad nobody has mentioned the GOVENOR for it’s 410 capabilty! Maybe a rocket propelled grenade would be better(lol)
PS
My GOVENOR takes care of business!

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NRA Life Member
CPO

Make your own. Best recipe I've found is to cap the case off with a lead ball. That way you get a blast of shot along with a single ball. I've played around with them in 38/357 and they shoot pretty accurately. Shorter barrels seem to give better patterns in my testing BTW.

Snake Stopper

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Dave

We keep a model 17 loaded with the CCI shot shells here and have used them a number of times with good results. Of course shooting a copperhead that is 2 ft or less with such a load is different from shooting a rattlesnake that may be 2 or 3 times that length and with a head the size of my fist. Shoot twice, first shot at 6 ft just behind the head gets both the head and just behind and a second shot at 3 ft and copperhead Heaven. A bonus is two .22 rimfire shots will not have the neighbors wondering who is shooting at who or what. If we had larger snakes like rattlesnakes it would probably be .38 Special shot shells.

Yeah-I like my Mark II Ruger if I don't have a shot gun. I have killed a bunch of snakes with it.

I found the same thing. The longer they’re in rifling, the more centrifugal force expands the pattern. I get good patterns 12-15” at 10 feet with my 67 and my 4” target bulldog 44sp with 9’s. Also good with cci in my 63. Even put a few ptarmigan in the pot on AK fishing & hunting trips.

I use grits for carpenter bees.

Or this

XL18 Flamethrower For Sale | Thowflame.com

I do my best not to shoot snakes, but would not take a chance if I felt there was danger. In every case so far, I encountered only one at a time, so I just walked away. Closest I ever came was less than one meter before I heard a rattle. I just kep' on moovin'!

I did see a friend hit a rattler with a .44-mag shot shell he loaded himself. I have no memory of what the load was, only that at a distance of about 1.5 meters it blew the snake's head off.
I suspect that like a lot of other things, the load makes a difference.

I’ll take serving warrants for dangerous felons ANY DAY over being near poisonous snakes! ....actually make that any snakes in general.

The S&W Governor is the perfect carry revolver for field and garden duty, IMO. I load the 1st 2 rounds with anything from #7-9 shot .410 shells and the remaining holes get some Federal 230 grain HST's or Federal Handgun 000 Buck, or a mix. The .410 shells do a number on the cottonmouth and copperhead snakes that frequent the yard.

Yikes...!!

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C & L

My dad showed me how to do that when I was a sprout. It did not go as advertised. In the midst of whacking it with the lariat it struck, bit the rope and got jerked back toward him as he snapped the rope back. Dad bailed off the horse to avoid the snake flying straight at him. Funny as hell...after the fact.

I prefer to just shoot them if they break the rules.

The rules are:

1) I stay out of fence lines and other places they naturally hang out, or I go in knowing they may be there and conduct my self accordingly going around them if encountered.
2) They stay out of the yard, out buildings, etc, otherwise known as the "free fire zone".

In my deputy days I lived in a canyon in a 100 or so year old log cabin that had a cellar under the cabin where the (modern) washer and dryer had been located.

One evening just after dark hopped outside and down the short set of stone steps to the gravel drive way to run around to the entrance to the cellar to throw a load of laundry in the wash.

Just as I stepped off the last step I heard the angriest rattle snake I had ever encountered ratting and loudly hissing right underneath me. That step turned into an adrenaline fueled 10 ft standing long jump (with a basket of laundry no less).

Upon landing I dropped the laundry, did a 180, offset a couple steps to the right to ensure I had the ridge behind the cabin as a back stop, drew my 1911 and fired 4-5 rounds at the (very dimly seen, and mostly heard) snake now coiled a few feet out in the drive way. A couple of the shots connected and .45 ACP 185 gr hollow points do a good job on snakes.

At that point however, I heard car doors slamming and gravel flying behind me as the golfers who'd been shooting the **** in the parking lot of the 9 hole golf course located in that same canyon right next door were all busy getting out of dodge as soon as possible.

From their perspective all they would have seen and heard were muzzle flashes and guns shots. I expected a call from the dispatcher regarding shots fired, etc, but it either never got called in by anyone, or dispatch figured it was me doing the shooting anyway.

In any event it was a very impressive snake pushing 5 foot that had apparently decided the west facing face of my bottom stone step was a great place to soak up retained heat after the sun went down. He was useful in proving my contention that there were in fact rattle snakes in the area. The popular wisdom was that there were not as rattle snakes supposedly didn't like pine needles. That's as close as I've ever come to getting bit and I'm still not entirely sure how he missed me or how close he came to getting me.

-----

My other semi-close call was about 15 years later when I walked in my hangar and got charged by a dozen little baby rattle snakes. They are small, but aggressive and I unfortunately happened to be wearing sandals. There was a shovel by the door so the next minute or so involved them furiously charging my naked toes while I furiously cut their heads off with my shovel.

I had not had any rattlers in the house shop or hangar until then, but we had a lot of them over the next year or so, and it was due to a large housing develop being put in on a ridge a couple miles south of us. They pushed all the snakes living there in our direction.

Back on topic, I've experimented with various snake loads over the years and I've never found them to be all that satisfactory. Regard less of the cartridge used, the patterns open up at ranges much over a yard and leave holes large enough to miss the head, and unless you get a solid head shot, you are not going to incapacitate the snake.

So if you use one, you need to get the muzzle in close - just outside striking range with a large snake - before you fire.

And rattlers. I fired one out of a Glock 30 from about 3 feet and it was dead as a door nail; just about took the head off.

Bill

I don't count on handgun shot capsules being a one-shot quick snake stopper. Too many failures observed. Actually have had more one shot stops from the plastic capsule striking snake in a critical area.

NSF the forum, but funny if you are not easily offended: go to youtube and search for "Pat Rogers Death on a Sunny Afternoon". He and Louis had differing opinions on the events - I think Louis wrote a response in SWAT.

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NHI, 10-8.

i see i got hit with an infraction for putting this thread here.
but, where else would i get funny responses?

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susie

good job for a flame thrower - especially if you like to eat them....

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Merle, retired
western PA

My preferred method for social interactions with snakes involves the Remington 870 12-gauge and just about any bird-shot load close at hand.

Three years ago we moved into a nice home right next to a couple million acres of southern Colorado prairie. Several rattlesnakes show up on or around my patio every year, and all the neighbors are elderly folks who call on me with similar problems. Being in the city with a lot of picky neighbors nearby, I rely on Mr. Garden Shovel and his assistant, The Rake. Pin him with the rake, whack the heck out of him with the shovel.

Here in Colorado our State Legislature has decreed rattlesnakes to be a protected species. Small game hunting license required. Established season and bag limits. Mandated lawful methods for taking these game animals. Sometimes I have to ignore such nonsense and just take care of business around the house.

Never had any real use for the piddly little shotshell loads for handguns.

Agreed...I have shot MANY cottonmouths with a 12ga.that required more than one shot.They are tough! I have a Governor I want to line up with a 410ga.round (or two) against one of these critters.We have lots here in Virginia

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Really? It's about ammo.