Snake cartridges

Did you use a smaller caliber gas check for the one over the powder?

If I remember right I gave that a try with a .45 gas check & it wouldn't go down deep enough because the inside diameter gets smaller as the case walls thicken closer to the base.

Liked to never get it out. :p

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It was probably 25 years ago I'm guessing,, and I only recall buying one size gas check. I was following instructions from a magazine article if I remember correctly.

If I were to build more now, I think I would just use card stock over the powder and a gas check on top. I still have a couple of the original ones here somewhere.
 
~50 years ago I made shot cartridges for my top-break .38 S&W Model 3 using .38 Special shells.

There were no dies available for sizing so I'd tap the shells into the cylinder a few times, seemed to work ok.

I can't recall the powder or shot used (something small) but I do remember using leather wads over the powder and sealing over the shot with melted wax.

Not really good for much, but a lot of fun to make and shoot.
 
All I can say to those killing snakes at over 0 to 8' with a shot cartridge out of any caliber is luck. Two tests, #1 put up paper at your snake shooting distance and check your pattern. #2 put up a piece of generic cardboard at this distance and note penetration. You will find it very poor. The smaller shot that would tend to give better pattern hasn't enough weight to penetrate much. The bigger shot had lousy pattern and still very limited range.
I have fooled with it all and never found anything I consider dependable.
I even made full length cartridges from aluminum 410 cases for 45 Colt.
Running them in 41mag die for slight " neck".
For situations where bullet is out of the question and some type of small vermin or snake must be shot, the CCI 22LR will suffice at 4'.
 
I made some for a neighbor who had a rat problem. I used 357 cases and cut some cards from cereal boxes. One over the powder and one over the shot. Then a light roll crimp and some melted candle wax over the shot card to seal it. Old shotgun shells used paraffin to seal also. The 357 case can be used in a 38 Spl. cylinder. No bullet.

If one is already loading 357 a caveman can do it.

I tested the pattern at 10'. It was good enough. Tested in a 6" model 19. YMMV.

I found the Speer caps too fragile and very expensive when you could find them.

No load data unless you want to PM.
 
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Years ago, for unfathomable reasons, became very interested in handgun snake rounds and got inspired by some magazine article on building shot-loads for the .45 Colt. There were no .45 shot capsules then.

I had an old S&W .455 BSR that had been converted to .45 Colt.
I cut down some empty .30-06 cases to absolute cylinder-length. Primed with LP primers (which sat a little deep) and put in a un-recalled quantity of Unique. Cardboard over-powder wad, filled case with #9's, cardboard over-shot wad, a roll-crimp and a dab of Elmer's glue atop the top wad.

Used some ultra-thin half-moon clips for chambering 3 at a time.
It was a decent payload of shot, and the BSR's rifling was somewhat indistinct so patterns were OK out to 9-10 yards for most purposes.

Looking back - it was a lot of fiddly work for not much result. IIRC, I never shot a snake with it. ;)
 
have some 357 shotshell reloads a friend loaded some 35+ years ago. yellow plastic? cap on the brass. 9 shot i think. but at 3 ft., snake range, they only shoot a 3" pattern. the 22 cal snake loads work better on snakes.
 

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