.22 Mag Shot Is Not Enough for Timber Rattler

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scotjute

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Just had encounter with a 5' Timber Rattler. Shot it twice with .22 mag shot shell. There was no visual effect on the snake that we could tell. Only when we switched to my daughter's .38 spl shot could we tell the snake was effected by the round. Finally killed it with a .357 to the head. I have carried the .22 mag pistol with a couple of rounds of shot in it for snakes for years, but the few I have killed were around 2 ft. or so. After what I witnessed will not carry anything less than the .38 spl shot round for snakes as it had no visual effect on this large rattler.

Incidentally this Timber Rattler was non-aggressive, matching what I have read about them. The other thing this brought to mind was my Father's saying, "Never step over a log without looking first." This snake was coiled up right under a log.
 
For what it is worth:

The Timber Rattler (aka Canebrake) is a protected species in Texas (most other States too).

IF that is where your encounter took place, might be best not to advertise it.
 
I dont usually kill snakes unless they are venomous and near the house. I'm more then happy to leave em alone, and you should too. If we kill everything thats dangerous without thought simply because it exists how many species will we lose in the long term?

Now back on topic, .22 snake shot is a terrible idea. I was in an old barn trying to get rid of some rats that were chewing up the wires and feed bags. After shooting 2 or 3 rats and having them run off I promptly switched to standard plated hollowpoints.

the pellets also fail to penetrate aluminum cans at around 5yards
 
For what it is worth:

The Timber Rattler (aka Canebrake) is a protected species in Texas (most other States too).

IF that is where your encounter took place, might be best not to advertise it.

...and considering the OP claims the snake was "non-aggressive", I wonder why it had to be disposed of, other than a hatred for snakes or just the desire to kill something.
 
Not enough info on the circumstances in the OP to make a judgement. If he were actively hunting snakes, rather than being defensive, it would not have taken years discover the limitations of .22 mag snakeshot.

Poisonous snake in the outdoors, if we can part company peacefully, I go my way, snake goes his. Poisonous snake around the curtilage of a home or workarea? I don't want any rattlers or copperheads establishing a den in human population. I don't believe in wantonly killing snakes if it is avoidable.
 
Effectiveness of "snake shot" depends on the gun. Most rifling scatters the pills way too much.

I have an ancient el-cheapo .22 rimfire revolver which I'd thought to drill out to mostly smoothbore as a snake gun. First, however, I tested it. With both the crimp-nose rounds and the CCI capsule rounds, almost all the shot was evenly spread within a 12" circle at five yards. So, no drilling. I figure that at my normal two- to three-yard snake-shooting distance, it will work just fine.
 
I tried using 22 mag snake/rat shot on a large rat from just a couple of feet, it just looked at me after 2 shots and walked away and I didn't miss.
 
The snake was not killed in Texas, but in a more easterly state. It is not listed as endangered there.
While I do sympathize with not wantonly killing animals, I have grandchildren 6-8 yo who will be camping in the area. A 5' rattlesnake could be the death to one of them. Or it could be the death of me at some point in the future. A snake this size can sink its fangs clean thru boot leather.
I will be removing any logs in the immediate vicinity of the campsite to discourage any others.
 
22 shot should be called mouse shot. I doubt if 22 mag shot is much more powerful.
 
Thinking you can make an area "safe" by killing a few snakes is fantasy. You'd be far better served by providing those kids a dose of snake education. You cant eliminate snakes from the area, but you can still take steps to keep the children safe.
 
The snake was not killed in Texas, but in a more easterly state. It is not listed as endangered there.
While I do sympathize with not wantonly killing animals, I have grandchildren 6-8 yo who will be camping in the area. A 5' rattlesnake could be the death to one of them. Or it could be the death of me at some point in the future. A snake this size can sink its fangs clean thru boot leather.
I will be removing any logs in the immediate vicinity of the campsite to discourage any others.

^^^^^^^^^

Works for me.

Given the circumstance above, perhaps it was the best thing to do.

Hope the Grand-Kids have a great time camping. Not too many young folks get out of doors these days.

Be safe, have fun.

Flint.
 
Range (distance) has a lot to do with the effectiveness of 22 snake shot. The shot in .22 shot shells is very light and as such wont do much damage more than a few feet from the muzzle.
 
If you killed a timber rattler in Texas it would be illegal. If you shot a timber rattler in comifornia with a fully automatic 22 it would be illegal too. And shame on you for using your own judgment in shooting a "harmless" 5 foot long rattle snake obviously in the vicinity of which you and your family travel in. All this without first asking everybody else's opinion on whether or not you should shoot this animal. Next time post a poll thread and please ask first..........wait what was this thread about again? Oh sorry i thought it was about whether to shoot a potentially dangerous animal back to the real subject
Guess it is about like anything else once an animal is too big rounds need to be more powerful probably like shooting and ostrich with regular 22 birdshot, probably need to use shotgun shell shot for a bird that big..........but be sure and ask whether everybody else thinks it is within the law of your state an their state and whether it is potentially dangerous immediately or could be in the future etc.

:neener:
Just funnin guys
 
The shot in .22 shot shells is very light and as such wont do much damage more than a few feet from the muzzle.

That's the point of .22 shotshells. When my mother-in-law reported a copperhead curled up under the clothes hamper in the bathroom and I tipped the hamper over and lowered the boom with a 6" barrel .22 LR auto and a CCI shotshell, there was no structural damage to the floor.
 
I think the law in Texas has more to do with organized snake hunts for eating than with folks killing snakes out of necessity; at leat that is the impression I received.
 
Years ago I shot a fairly sizable milk snake with rat shot. I was walking around the outside of my parents shed and saw him coiled up near a corner. To my eyes a milk snake looks just like a copperhead. I shot him from a few yards away with those crimp-top .22 scatter loads. It looked like he was "sweating" blood. I dumped all 6 shots into him and it seamed to have no effect. I ended up using a shovel to finish the job. As I was digging a hole to dispose of him my father informed me that I killed a completely harmless milk snake. I can't say that I was upset, I've never really been a fan of snakes.
 
A drilled out, smoothbore revolver would be NFA, right?

I wonder if rifling type makes a difference in performance of rat shot. Mostly I've used marlin 22's to shoot rats. Their rifling is a lot smaller than typ rifling.

I don't remember much about it, but a friend of mine had a 22 rifle that was smooth bore and made just for 22 shotshells.
 
The reason "rat shot" is commonly ineffective is because of the rifling. It causes the shot to scatter quite widely.

I don't know about the legality of creating a smooth-bore pistol, but my plan was to leave 1/2" to 1" of rifling in front of the cylinder. So, not really a shotgun-pistol. :) I dunno.

I once went on a rat-rampage with an S&W 4" Kit Gun. I found that I had to be within no more than about three feet for it to be effective.
 
I don't know about the legality of creating a smooth-bore pistol, but my plan was to leave 1/2" to 1" of rifling in front of the cylinder. So, not really a shotgun-pistol. I dunno.

A smooth bore pistol would be an AOW, so if you have an 07/02 ffl do it then you could have it transferred to you for $5, though it would be $200 to make. I've been thinking about getting myself a Taurus judge and registering it as an AOW or SBS so I could make it smooth bore and see what kind of effectiveness I could get with shot, but it's not high on the list of NFA items for me.
 
I think the law in Texas has more to do with organized snake hunts for eating than with folks killing snakes out of necessity
Fair enough, but in the OP's case (yes, I'm aware it wasn't in Texas) "necessity" may be stretching it.
 
Let's stick with guns, ratshot and effectiveness thereof, okay? No point in harumphing about snakes. Right, wrong or indifferent, nobody who hates any snake of any sort will have their mind changed by argument. Same for spiders or worms in apples.
 
If I were unknowingly doing something illegal and talking about it on a public Internet forum, I would appreciate it if someone told me so I can clarify or stop the illegal activity.
 
I found that with CCI 22 shotshells shorter barrels will hold tighter pattern than longer barrels. I've shot couple cottonmouth around my house with 2" S&W model 63 and they were effective from about 6 feet. I usually "double tap" with 2 shotshells.
 
I never had much luck with .22 snake shot. A pellet pistol is more effective.
 
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