gelcaps for snakeshot loads?

[fireflyfather]

I was reading something somebody said about using gelcaps instead of the speer shot capsules for making snakeshot loads. The standard gelcap sizes don't seem to have one in an easy .357 diameter. The closest without going over is .337". Any ideas on how to use these? Would it even be worth the trouble? It sure seems like 2 cents a pop for a shot capsule is better than 25 cents (midway's cost after shipping). I'm just not sure that it would work very well. (I have visions of paper patching with masking tape......)

Any thoughts?

Edited: I want to do this out of a .38 special.

 

[Walkalong]

You don't need either to make snake loads. Cut some cardboard "wads" to place over the powder charge. Use 2. Put in the shot over it. Cut some plastic "keepers" to to put on top of the shot at the top of the case and crimp the case over the "keeper". Works great. That is how I got around buying the capsules.

 

[Iron Sight]

Are people shooting that many snakes?

 

[ReloaderFred]

When I lived in rattlesnake country, I would shoot a couple per year in my yard.

If you're going to use Walkalong's method, which I've done, use .357 Magnum brass so you can get more shot in the column.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[swampshooter]

depends on where you live. we've got plenty down here.

 

[rcmodel]

I used pill caps years ago.
They don't work all that well.

They are easily broken in your pocket or when crimping, and will melt if they get wet!

Most also do not hold nearly as much shot as the CCI shot capsules.

And they require a cardboard base wad or gas check over the powder charge to halfazz seal the pressure.

For the volume of shooting you do with snake loads, it is very very difficult to beat the Speer shot caps.

Their main benefit is the built-in base wad that seals the powder charge when it lights off. That stops blow-by and increases velocity considerably.

And the fact that they simply will not lead your barrel like loose shot loaded in a case is going to do.

rcmodel

 

[Mr. 16 gauge]

They are easily broken in your pocket or when crimping, and will melt if they get wet!

For the volume of shooting you do with snake loads, it is very very difficult to beat the Speer shot caps.

I was going to make those same points.

Are people shooting that many snakes?

They have other uses, such as shooting rats/mice inside of farm buildings w/o putting holes in the walls, ect. Also, the snake shot is useful when your fishing from a boat and a cottonmouth decides to 'drop in' from and overhanging limb.....you don't put a hole in your boat and then have to worry about the alligators!

 

[rcmodel]

+1

I took a 2' snake off the back deck a week ago with a CCI .22 shot load in my Winchester 62A.
The sucker was trying to get in the house for winter I guess!

Didn't even mess up the deck flooring, but it ruined the snakes whole day!

rcmodel

 

[Vern Humphrey]

In long cases like the .38 special, .357 mag and .45 Colt, I like to use a light charge of bullseye (below the recommended starting load for a bullet) and a gas check, seated open-end up. Then I fill the case with shot, cap it with another gas check (open end down) and crimp. You might add a dab of silicone sealant if you're going to be carrying them in all weather and treating them rough.

 

[fireflyfather]

That's kind of what I thought. Thanks.

The original post I saw for this was for someone trying to load for a .32 cal revolver, and since speer didn't offer that size capsule, they were using gelcaps (which, ironically, will fit a .32 fairly well using standard gelcaps, it looks like).

I guess I'll just bite the bullet (so to speak), and buy some of the speer capsules. Oh, and these are strictly for plinking and experimentation on inanimate objects on BLM lands/open ranges. Absolutely no need for these where I live (urban Southern California).

We have rattlers here, but you are about as likely to see a running gun battle with the police and bank robbers as you are to see a rattlesnake in these parts.

 

[Jeff F]

I've used a gas check on top and bottom with some .357 snake loads I made. Worked pretty well.

 

[Crazy Fingers]

I have always wanted to go out and shoot hundreds of locusts with shotshells out of a revolver. Up until now it was too expensive to even consider. You guys have made my day.

 

[Remo-99]

Are people shooting that many snakes?

You bet, more than I like to deal with, King Eastern Brown Snakes (think Rattlesnake that tries to attack and kill everything it sees) I only have to walk out the house and sometimes there's a supprise waiting to greet me.
I made the .357mag shotshells myself, but i think the CCI shotcapsules could be an easier option, but then again a .410 or even a 12ga loaded with rice will do the trick.

 

[RyanM]

For a sorta all-purpose anti-critter load, you could try something like this:

http://www.gunblast.com/Snake_Stopper.htm

The round ball would be able to kill something up to fat racoon size pretty quickly, with good placement.

 

[rcmodel]

That's pretty neat, but also defeats the purpose of shot-loads the way I use them.

The last two snakes I killed with shot-loads could not have been handled with bullets or round balls as there was too much danger of ricochet.

The snake on the back deck I mentioned, and a copperhead my Boxer was about to jump in the middle of a couple of years ago on a hiking trail.

As I use them, I usually carry a cylinder loaded with a couple of shot-loads and 3 or 4 rounds of regular ammo depending on the gun.

Shot first for close range with no big holes in things I value.

Bullets come up next, for things I don't!

rcmodel

 

[dogrunner]

I load both .357 & .44 shot loads using a fast powder (BE) and gas checks. One's seated firmly on the charge and the balance of the case is filled with whatever size shot I happen to have handy. I vary from most formulas in that I then dribble Lee's liquid alox on the charge and seat an inverted check on top and crimp firmly. .30 cal. checks used in the same fashion'd work in that .32 mentioned.

Blows hell out of the big diamond backs we have in Fla..

Had a friend tell me that those loads do wonders when applied to the backside of a camp raiding bear too!

 

[Remo-99]

Had a friend tell me that those loads do wonders when applied to the backside of a camp raiding bear too!

LOL. He's sure keen for upsetting a bear with shotloads from a handgun. I imagine it was the noise more than anything else. But i don't know if i wanna be provocking a bear with stinging butt rounds only.

 

[GP100man]

here in the river swamps of the waccamaw i had fifty in my pocket & ran out , had to cut a stick to tap with .
it was dry & i was hunting near the river , the only source of water, a snake layin under every twig!!!!!

GP100man