Real World shot load perfomance

[Penoe Hunter]

I have a place in the Endless Mountains of pa an a very rural area, surrounded by state gamelands. I had been working on my antique tractor and began putting tools an gas can in my work shop. As I approach the work shop i scan the area carefully because it is snake country . Everything is clear and i go up the three steps and go in,put everything on the counter, I'M in there maybe 10 to 15 seconds and turn around and start down the stairs. Out the corner of my eye I see movement and my right leg is on the middle step and two feet from my right calf is a timber rattler in a half coil facing the direction of my leg.I very slowly pull my S&W 360PD from a hip holster It is loaded with a CCI shot load up number one. i take a careful aim and fire and leap from the steps breaking the steps.

The shot load knocked the snake over with a piece of blue plastic imbedded in it"s neck. It now goes into a full coil and rattling furiously. I aim again this time with a 125 Grain Hornaday Critical defense which takes it's head off.

The snake had plenty of life left in it after getting hit with the shot load I will now be up gunning to a 44 Bulldog for snake loads

 

[Hometeached1]

I've never used snake shot, mostly because it spreads so much when "testing" it out on cardboard out of my 642.

 

[Barry the Bear]

Mmmmmmmm ....Dinner....

 

[MachIVshooter]

I load my own with the Speer capsules, #7 shot. In .38 special, .44 special and .45 Colt; it works quite well on pigeons, snakes and other small animals to about 20 feet. Beyond that, the pattern is so thin it becomes ineffective.

The rimfire shotshells are great for mice at close range, too.

 

[Malamute]

I've had pretty good results from CCI shot loads on snakes. I've used the 38's mostly. The 22's were pretty puny, I didn't trust them after the first couple failures.

Home made 45 Colt loads have worked great, as have CCI 44's home loaded.

30-30 round ball loads work great also, as do rocks, shovels, truck tires,...

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Did you skin it out? A rattlesnake skin makes a great hatband, or even a belt if long enough.

 

[35 Whelen]

I don't how you could not kill one with a .38 shot capsule. I've killed literally dozens of Diamondbacks with .38 shot capsules, factory and handloaded out of a 4" .357 and a 3" .38 Special. NEVER had to shoot one twice, BUT almost all of them still move around a bit after they're dead.

Killed this one just the other day (click for the video):

Rattler in shop

If you'll look carefully at the snakes tail it was still rattling after he was hammered by #9 shot.

I'm betting the snake was dead after the first shot unless you just totally blew the shot.

35W

 

[Pudge]

Timber rattlers are just much tougher than sissy diamondbacks

In all seriousness, once the shot spreads out into its circle pattern, there isn't much mass to the shot. I (also of north central PA) have seen 4+ foot timber rattlers bigger around than my arm, that's actually a pretty big animal. I think your experience indicates that you might be better off with solid projectiles rather than bigger shot shells. Or do you think you just needed to get closer?

 

[Malamute]

As much as I hate the sound of rattlesnakes buzzing, I enjoyed the video, especially the ending.

Yes, a dead snake can still keep moving, I've had them still moving snakelike for an hour or more after cutting their head off. The head can still bite, attached to the body or not if you mess with them. I always cut the head off right away and bury it so my dogs cant get hurt by it, regardless of what the hole digging and head cutting does to the edge of my knife. I stand in the head and hack it off.

I dislike snakes (rattlesnakes) greatly. I can say that shooting a 44 birdshot load inside your house on the floor is hard on the floor, but decidedly devastating to the snake. Small price to pay to kill a snake in the house.

 

[GP100man]

Look no futher , until you read this :

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=204703

 

[35 Whelen]

Timber rattlers are just much tougher than sissy diamondbacks

In all seriousness, once the shot spreads out into its circle pattern, there isn't much mass to the shot. I (also of north central PA) have seen 4+ foot timber rattlers bigger around than my arm, that's actually a pretty big animal. I think your experience indicates that you might be better off with solid projectiles rather than bigger shot shells. Or do you think you just needed to get closer?

Naa...everybody knows things in Texas are bigger, meaner and tougher!

He said the snake was 2' from his leg. At a range that short and even a little further, a .38 shot pattern is devastatingly tight. In the above video I was probably a good 6' from the snake and as can be seen, it killed him right then and there. Here's rather large one, and the only one, I killed with a little 9mm loaded with Speer shot capsules. Again, bang, dead right then and there:



35W

 

[Pudge]

Actually my experience with timber rattlers is that they are not particularly aggressive. That little guy in the video was pretty fierce, all the timber rattlers I've seen just wanted to be left alone. I don't doubt your experience, but I've encircled rodent pests with the shot pattern at a pretty close range for a clean miss often enough that I'd be much more confident of a solid projectile and a head shot. And rattlesnake encounters are fairly rare at my house.

Timber rattlers are considered "threatened" in PA, and I've got a neighbor who will relocate them, so I don't have any snake experience with my .38 shot shells. I wouldn't shoot one in the woods, but if they come into my yard or buildings "threatened" is indeed the correct classification.

 

[Penoe Hunter]

I don't think I missed the shot because it literally knocked the snake over and I could see a large blue plastic piece of the shot capsule protruding from the neck directly behind the head.
After the shot the snake righted itself, got into a tight coil, with it's head pointed where I was standing very much alive. I wonder if the stubby barrel failed to stabilize the shot capsule and it keyholed .

 

[GP100man]

NO , in a snubbie ya get better patterns & `bout 1" per foot from the barrel spread.

 

[gamestalker]

Snakes are very different in this respect. I've cut the head off of rattle countless snakes, skinned them, and when I opened them up I discovered that their hearts, they have like 3 I think, are still pumping. And don't ever let your guard down, just because a rattler is for all practical purposes dead, it can still strike and inflict the same deadly bite unless the head is removed. And even then, you don't want to accidentally poke yourself with a fang, same as being bitten.

GS