Snake encounter

[12string]

Having a problem here in Florida with snakes, particularly around the in-law's place. What do you suggest as a good load to buy for snake-shot? In 38 spec. or 9mm. Brand and type please.

 

[Trooperdan]

CCI makes the most available snake-shot loads. It is available in 9 mm for sure, not sure I've seen .38 but it must also be loaded.

 

[andyo5]

What kind of snakes? If you shoot a 15' python with snake shot, you will just make him mad. I'd recommend a 45ACP or a shotgun with buckshot.

 

[planojack]

I lived in Florida for a dozen years and found the CCI 38 SP shot loads effective -- sent a few diamondbacks to snake heaven. My current favorite is a Taurus light weight in 44 Special. CCI makes shot caps in several sizes.

 

[suckersrus]

In my 360 PD's I load one shot shell (CCI Snakeshot) followed by four 125 gr Gold Dots.

9mm? All 124 gr Gold dots. I've never tried shot in 9mm.

Whether the varmint has legs or not, keep shooting until the threat has been neutralized.



I figure a light HP spattering near a snake's head will do the job.

 

[JohnK]

I figure a light HP spattering near a snake's head will do the job>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I thought so to, until a close miss sent a HUGE Texas rattlesnake up in the air about 15 feet. He was on the way down on my head, but I side stepped him enough not to wear a snake necklace.

The .38, and .45 shot capsules by Speer are excellent, but both contain #9 shot. Sparse pattern to my taste.

I obtained 10 pounds of #11 shot a long time ago. Load all my own with it. Great pattern, and the snakes are DRT !

 

[44 Mag Fan]

410 #8 or #6 shot in the snake charmer works great.
CCI in 38 followed by a good dose of +p.

 

[brucev]

Having a problem here in Florida with snakes, particularly around the in-law's place. What do you suggest as a good load to buy for snake-shot? In 38 spec. or 9mm. Brand and type please.

Go buy the CCI snakeshot loads. I have used them with complete success on all manner of creepy crawly snakes. They work very well. Even a big heavy snake gives up the ghost when you blast them in the head with these things. The .38/.357 load does the business on any normal snake. If you are running into the size extra large whoppers that look like a limb laying on the ground, I'd suggest that you move on up to the .45 ACP or the .44 Special/Magnum loads. They do not go faster. But they carry a bit more lead. Regardless, they work.

Whatever you do... do not ever shoot a decent sized snake hard off the muzzle w/ a .44 Magnum loaded with 180 gr. JHP's loaded at red line maximum velocity. At least don't do this while walking barefooted through the backyard with a fresh clean load of laundry to hang out to dry. You just wouldn't believe what a 180 gr. JHP at warp speed will do at almost contact distance to a good sized rattle snake! It goes everywhere! And when I say everywhere, I'm not kidding! It goes everywhere... skin and blood all over the place, on the clothes, etc., etc., etc. My wife was very impressed with my results when I rewashed everything. Since then I've decided to just stick with the snakeshot. It is a lot easier to use. And it makes clean up easier!

 

[varmint243]

If they aren't poisonous snakes why would you worry about them ? If they are poisonous that's a different matter.

a quick Google search returns these as the only venomous snakes in FL.

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Canebrake Rattlesnake
Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake
Southern Copperhead
Florida Cottonmouth
Eastern Coral Snake

 

[BowhuntnHoosier]

I have found that the S&W Governor is great when mushroom hunting or just walking through the woods. .410 shotshell in 4 shot first three then go to .45lc or .45acp.

 

[quinn]

Varmit243: as a recent departee from East Texas cottonmouth and copperhead country, I saw an amazing range of coloration on copperheads and color and pattern on cottonmouths. I probably shot a few innocent bystanders but nearly got my wife bit when I mistook a big cottonmouth for a common water snake. I like it better back here in south Texas where our poisonous variety is nice enough to provide audible ID. Having been copperhead bitten once, my dog bitten once, and the near miss on my wife, I sometimes shoot first and ask for ID later.

 

[JJEH]

Check out the CCI shotshell options.

CCI Ammunition - Pest Control/Speciality

 

[Nevada Ed]

If I remember right, there is no deaths on the books from a Copperhead bite........... but they will make you very sick.

I hate Cotton Mouth and Diamond Backs !!

My sister in Oklahoma is having snake problems also but
has a .410 that does nicely. Real bummer when they get up on the porch.

 

[smokey04]

CCI Speer shot loads work very well. I've used them in .45 ACP, .44Mag./Spl, and .38 Spl/.357 Mag. But, the ,22 LR works just as well for me. I have found the shorter the barrel the better the pattern and currently use a S&W 317-2 with a 2" barrel and a Colt Cobra 2". I don't know about shotshells on Pythons and Anacondas but the largest snake I killed with shot was a 7' + Eastern Diamondback and that was with a .22 Mag. High Standard derringer.The .22s are cheaper and work just as well as the bigger bores at snake killing ranges.I use paper plates to check patterns at various ranges and have found the plastic caps do a lot of damage along with the shot! Reading back this is sounding like a Colt forum I better quit here! Nick

 

[Skeetr57]

I lived in northern Alabama 3 times, the last time for over 20 years, and saw plenty of poisonous snakes. I was too far north for Eastern Diamond Backs or Coral snakes but we had plenty of Timber Rattlers, Copperheads and Cottonmouths. A .410 loaded with skeet loads of #9 does a nice job, but I found that a .22 LR with the CCI shot capsules was adequate for anything I encountered. I would not hesitate to shoot an Eastern Diamondback or a Python with them either, but I would prefer to get a head shot at 10 feet or so.
A 9mm or .38 loaded with the CCI shotshells would just be more overkill.

 

[vipermd]

Nevada Ed: Unfortunately there are documented deaths from copperheads ( see CDC ), and the bite can be extremely painful and damaging. Personally I like 410 for small pests. Be Safe,

 

[12string]

Thanks for the help guys, you are much appreciated.

 

[varmint243]

I guess I'm lucky.

I believe have only seen a poisonous snake once in my life. I was out chuck hunting and saw it. It was sunning itself in the road. I stopped my truck and looked for a little bit. There was no mistaking the triangular shaped head. It would most likely have been a copperhead. I was glad I was in my truck.

Also, I used to live in an old farmhouse that had blacksnakes living in it. I much preferred the blacksnakes to the other critters that they would eat. They never bothered us.

 

[Calaveras Slim]

I guess I'm lucky.

I believe have only seen a poisonous snake once in my life. I was out chuck hunting and saw it. It was sunning itself in the road. I stopped my truck and looked for a little bit. There was no mistaking the triangular shaped head. It would most likely have been a copperhead. I was glad I was in my truck.

Also, I used to live in an old farmhouse that had blacksnakes living in it. I much preferred the blacksnakes to the other critters that they would eat. They never bothered us.

Your lucky. Wish I could say that. I kill anywhere from 3 to 8 or 9 rattlers every year here in S. TX. 12ga at about 10 feet, nr 71/2 shot. Works every time

 

[SMSgt]

I step back out of the way. If it makes you feel better to shoot the one you see, you probably aren't worried about the ten you don't see. A broom will send them scooting without disturbing the neighbors.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I like "em" with Goodyear skid marks on their backs if i can't shoot "em".

 

[safearm]

Although I've used, and still have some stored, the CCI shot loads in 9mm and .38 Special/.357 Magnum (same round), the best is the .45 Colt. You get about 150 grains/170 pellets of #9 shot. I've dispatched all manner of vermin with them and you don't have to be very close.

 

[44 Mag Fan]

Sorry, around here the only good snake is a dead one. To many grandkids to wonder if the snake could be dangerous or not. Most of them are.

 

[Wee Hooker]

If you can get access to a reloader these work well and cost next to nothing to make.

Snake Loads

I've also made them with a combination of shot capped by a 000 lead ball as shown here.

Snake Stopper

Kind of a fun project to be honest.

 

[Riverkilt]

Wasted a lot of rattlers that came into camp when desert camping in southern Arizona. Used my old LEO service revolver - S&W M&P10 and .38 special snake loads. Found it effective to thrust the revolver at the snake, who would then bite the front of the barrel, then I'd pull the trigger. You can also kill them with a BB gun shot to the center of the head - they have no skull there. Clean them like a fish. Skin handy to cure out and decorate lots of things. Meat fries up in a skillet and tastes sort of like chicken and pepperoni. Folks will cringe that you eat rattlesnake but once they risk a bite they'll fight you for every last piece.

 

[darmtn1917]

"Found it effective to thrust the revolver at the snake, who would then bite the front of the barrel, then I'd pull the trigger."

Yaaa - not in this lifetime or the next

 

[sophie]

How about a long handled shovel or a chopping hoe? I have both that I keep real sharp just for that reason.

Can't find any .38 caliber shotshell around here anymore. I think they quit making it.

 

[loc n load]

Snake loads

I load Speer shot capsules in 38, 44, and 45 LC with #8 shot for snake eradication.....lived in Az. for years and lived on an old ranch that was infested with a lot of rattle snakes......the old guy who owned the place came over one day while I was hunting snakes with my 45.....He was berry brown,abt 90 yrs old, whipcord thin, wore white cotton long sleeve shirts buttoned at the cuffs and neck, and wore a white straw Stetson ( he was a "native" - I was a "transplant")....he watched me for a bit and asked " whatcha doing?" my response "hunting rattle snakes"......his response "what's the pistol for?".....my response "killing rattle snakes"....about that time I flipped over a piece of corrugated tin and there was a big whammer jammer of a rattler, which curled and buzzed.....the old rancher, walked up with a stick, flipped the snake horizontally along the ground and b-4 it could coil back up, he grabbed it by the tail, cracked it like a whip and popped it's head off......I kid you not.....he looked over at me grinned and said "snakes ain't worth wastin a bullet". Arizona was an interesting place.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

If you can get access to a reloader these work well and cost next to nothing to make.

Snake Loads

I've also made them with a combination of shot capped by a 000 lead ball as shown here.

Snake Stopper

Kind of a fun project to be honest.

First one is the same as my carpenter bee load "setp" I use less shot & powder.

 

[LimaCharlie]

When I was about eleven, I went in the back yard where we lived in New Mexico one morning to chop some wood for our stove. I pulled a piece of wood out with one hand and had an axe in the other hand. About a seven foot diamondback came at me from under the wood pile. I swung the axe for his head and chopped about a foot off his tail. That made him madder. He chased me around the yard with me chopping away running backwards. It ended up in about seven or eight one foot long pieces. If I put a stick by his mouth for quite a while, it would still snap shut. I had a shoe box full of rattles when I was in high school.