9 mm as snake gun?

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wdk535

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Moving to Florida and they have a snake problem in rural areas.Always heard shotshell was best for snakes but have a 9C and understand shotshell does not feed well in autos.

Any thoughts/comments, especially from Floridians, would be appreciated.

Thanks-
wdk
 
I used a S&W Model 63 revolver. Wish I'd never sold that beauty.
You may be able to cycle the slide manually.
Others may chime in who have tried it.
Good luck.
 
I had a model 10 .38 with 2" barrel. Had it for 30 years, then traded in on 9c. Should've kept them both.
 
snakes !

Here in N.C. we have a lot of black snakes and copperheads, I use my Ruger security six as my snake gun loaded with CCI snake shot, and when not in use as a snake killer I drive nails in fence posts with the but,who cares, its a ruger, never tried any shot in a 9mm, but it should work , like the above said you can manually do it if it does not feed good. I have looked for some 9mm around here but cant seem to find some.
 
You CAN shoot a shot shell with a full size or compact M&P 9. Place one in the top of the mag and carefully load the round into the chamber. You are good to go. I have never tried loading more than one at a time. I shot a pair of large (2" diameter) solid black snakes a few months ago at the edge of the yard. They were coiled together and laying on a large dead tree that had fell over.

I shot from about 10-12 feet away. Now I had multiple snake pieces. The pattern was probably somewhere around 6-10" wide at that range.

CCI 9mm shot shells have a blue plastic translucent rounded nose on them with aluminum cases. They MIGHT feed OK on multiple shots.

If the snakes are farther away than 20', you need to shoot them with a regular 9mm round.

In south Florida you might get to encounter some transplants from South America. Those can be very big and very long. I doubt a single shot from a 9mm would kill them unless it was brain shot from very close.
 
gordon21 said:
I shot a pair of large (2" diameter) solid black snakes a few months ago at the edge of the yard. They were coiled together and laying on a large dead tree that had fell over.

I shot from about 10-12 feet away. Now I had multiple snake pieces. The pattern was probably somewhere around 6-10" wide at that range.
Click to expand...

I would encourage you to reconsider killing black snakes in North Carolina. They kill Copperhead snakes.
 
Springguntunes: They were very close to an area where the grandkids play when they visit once per month. At the time I didn't know better.

wdk535: This would be a good lesson for you. Ask what snakes are in that area you SHOULDN'T kill. Get pictures so you can recognize them. However, I think the rule of triangle shaped heads will apply in central Florida. Triangle head=bad snake=venomous.

All imported invasives should be killed, period.
 
Speaking of autos only, I have had my best luck
with 45acp in a 645. It never failed to cycle.
In 9mm I have used a 915. The cycling was ok but
did not care for the pattern.

The .38, .357, .44 in any 4” barrel works well.

If you are really worried about snakes get a judge or
a governor and you’re done.
 
I live in SW Florida and it's really not a problem. If you come across a snake just go the other way and so will he. Very seldom come across one. I worry a lot more about the two-legged snakes.
 
Mostly I think that they don't cycle well, but you could always get a snubbie revolver to carry around for snakes and have the 9c loaded for two legged snakes. ;)
 
I have not tried snake loads in an M&P. I have shot multiple magazines out of my 1911 9mm. I didn't have any issues with the 1911 and snake loads. Years ago I shot a rattler by some horses I was watching. Emptied the mag that had the snake loads reloaded with "real" bullets and shot him some more. I am pretty sure the first shot killed it, but I wanted to make sure he was dead. I was watching miniature horses and the snake was by the foals barn, not good.
 
I've effectively used CCI snake shot in my model 66, but I would be hesitant to load up a semi-auto magazine with them. I'd expect a failure because of the shape and compositon of the plastic hull. If you don't want the expense of a Governor, a reasonably inexpensive alternative would be a 410 or 20 gauge side by side Stoeger Coach Gun with #7 target loads. The shotgun would also work very well for HD.
 
45 ACP Shotshells

My choice is/was 45 Shotshells in a Colt Govn't Model. They are very effective snake medicine! They cycle the action without failure and one shot is all it takes at ranges of 12' or less. Just keep 2 or 3 rounds on the top of your 7 round magazine when you might encounter those intruders. Speer loads them in aluminum cases, but are very hard to find. I've reloaded them for years from Starline 45 Magnum brass using the special order RCBS 45 Shotshell dies.
 
Here in Arizona, we just step aside. Snake goes his way, you go yours. If we had a non-indigenous infestation, as Florida does with the Pythons, I'd shoot them. Otherwise, leave them be. If you kill them what you get in their place may be worse.
 
9mm/.380 and even .22 Shot-Shells have been hit or miss as far as extraction goes (for me anyway). If you're gonna carry a Snake Gun, make it a Revolver, or Derringer. No Extraction issues there. ;) :)
 
No expert here, but they got snakes in Florida that eat alligators! :eek:

I'd get a judge or a gov if I lived there.
 
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