Snake shot

[84B20]

I just tried to kill a rattler that was attempting to enter my house with 8 rounds of .45cal snake shot from about 5 feet away and it barely fased him. I'm a good shot and had pleanty of time to aim but all it did was open a small wound. I have him trapped under a bucket but not sure why the ammo didn't do the job. Any ideas? I do have .44cal snake shot but the .45 should work.

 

[TallPine]

Wow - about $4 of ammo to not kill a snake

I've used the .38 special snakeshot with fairly good effects - didn't kill, but took the fizz out of him/her. I think a headshot (shot centered on the head) would work best.

Could you see where the shot was hitting? It is pretty easy to shoot way low at extremely short distances, because of the sights being above the barrel.

You could try to slip a thin piece of plywood or heavy cardboard under the upturned bucket in order to move the snake outside. Then apply a shovel or a shotgun

 

[Dr_2_B]

I'm very surprised. I'm interested in what other snake-shooters have to say. Although, I'm sure when you get into the bucket, you'll find a dead snake.

 

[KINGMAX]

Use a .410 3 inch w/ 7 1/2 shot

I use a H&R .410 SS snake tamer. I shoot 2.75 or 3 inch shells w/ 7 1/2 shot. They will bust a snake in half. If you feel the need for a little more, go to a #4 or #6 shot. If you need more get a 3 inch w/ # 1 buck shot. I think it has three #1 buck shot pellets in each round. Go for a head shot w/ those. I have used a .410 for a snake gun all my life. It has never let me down. Try it - you might like it. I hate Copperheads and Cotten-mouths.

 

[84B20]

When I removed the bucket it was dead. It just took longer than I thought it should. And, TallPine, you were right, it did hit lower on the body. I have never shot a snake before. I just moved to rural New Mexico and I guess I need to prictice at closer distances.

 

[fixyurgun]

I carry a NAA mini revolver in 22mag with a 15/8 inch barrel. over the past two years i've killed four diamondbacks in the yard. three were one shot kills(snakes under two feet long),the fourth i shot twice.
The cci shotshells are the best snake killers i've ever used. distance on these shots were all under four foot. jim

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I have had CCI snake and rat shot fail to disperse, and the shot capsule acted like a single projectile. It kills, if you hit with it, but kind of negates the idea of using shot at all.

 

[Fire4Effect]

You are dealing with a trapped rattle snake so poke a hole in the bucket, insert water hose, funnel in gasoline, add 1 match, and dinner is served.

 

[Fire4Effect]

or just insert barrel of m-44 into bucket and cook it with the muzzle blast.

 

[Dr_2_B]

Can I brag a little? Found a very small snake in grandmother's back yard in North Alabama. She wanted it killed. I actually killed the thing with one shot from a 1 5/8 inch NAA 22mag using a plain ole bullet, squeezing the trigger with a splinted, broken trigger finger. Make no mistake, I am NO hero and NO dead-eye, but that was a good shot.

 

['Card]

I've used .45ACP snake shot (the CCI brand) in a Glock and an XD-45, and it's always worked prety well for me. I even killed a squirrel with it once at about 10 feet, but I'll be the first to admit that was just a lucky shot.

You might want to try "patterning" the loads on a big piece of paper the way you would a shotgun, so you can see where the shot's going. Might be something about your pistol that's making it do odd things.

 

[lbmii]

So will those snake shot rounds cycle an auto?

 

[Chad]

I've killed 3 with CCI shot in my .38sp swamp beater.
From +/- 5 feet it only takes 1 shot to the head to kill any rattler.

It's easier...and quieter...to use a machete.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

So will those snake shot rounds cycle an auto?

Just as soon as I say no, someone will pop up and say his will. But I've never found them to reliably cycle any auto I own.

The last poisonous snake I killed (last week, as a matter of fact) was with a pre-'64 Winchester Model 70 in .30-06. I was squirrel hunting and had a Hammond Game Getter up the pipe.

 

[CubDriver]

This is interesting; I have used these in a bolt .22lr, but never a pistol. I may have to pick up a box of .40 and see what they can do.

Here is a link to the CCI Shot shells page.

 

[trapperjohn]

snakes have a VERY primitive nervous system. Therefore they can be dead and act very much alive. Even if you cut the head off killing it instantly it will still thrash around violently for a while, and if you pick up the beheaded body, the body will try to strike you. this can continue quite sometime after death. I once killed a snake, gutted it and skinned it. The carcass would slittl wrap around my hand and try to strike even though there was no head, no organs, and no skin. There is a good chance you killed the snake and it's nerves and body just didnt know it.

let that be a lesson that even trully dead snakes can still bite.

 

[TallPine]

And, TallPine, you were right, it did hit lower on the body.

Never mind how I figured that out ...

Shooting (and killing) snakes is hard. It's like shooting somebody in the leg. There's not a lot of vital stuff to hit. You may eventually kill them, but for a while all you do is annoy them.

 

[atlctyslkr]

We get a snake or two from time to time. They love our great sewer system! I have thought about snake shot but decided against it for two reasons.

1) I would have to either keep a dedicated gun loaded with snake shot or unload one of my carry guns and put in snake shot.

2) I must clean my gun if I fire it.

3) I'll get lots of attention from neighbors that I may not want.

For that reason a handy garden tool usually suffices. I've killed a few with an ax and one with a shovel.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The good news is snakes are very vulnerable to infection -- being cold-blooded, they can't generate the temperature rise mammals can. So a snake that slithers off after being shot is usually simply going off to die somewhere else.

 

[XLMiguel]

Re: Snakes not knowing they're dead. A buddy of mine in NC once pinned a rattler down with his boot just behind its head and decapitated it with his hunting knife. The body was writhing about and the head was bouncing around like those wind-up chatter teeth, and his dumb dog went over and sniffed at it and promptly go bitten in the nose. Fortunately, the dog lived, but was quite sick for a couple days and was pretty useless for hunting thereafter. Best to smash 'em to pulp and bury the damn things.

 

[84B20]

atlctyslkr,

I keep a magazine loaded with snake shot in my truck so I'm usually ready. As for my neighbors, the closest one is almost 1/4 mile away so I don't worry about disturbing them.

 

[DMK]

So will those snake shot rounds cycle an auto?

I tried some 9mm CCI in my CZ-75. After the first shot, it jammed the gun so bad, I couldn't even field strip it without a lot of effort. I finally got it apart and found that the second round smashed the plastic cone when it tried to chamber. The tiny shot got stuck everywhere in the gun. It took a lot of flushing with brake cleaner and compressed air to finally get it all out. I'll never shoot that stuff in an autoloader again.

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

Try patterning some from your gun. They fire, funtion, and pattern great from my 5" Kimber but dont pattern worth a darn from my stepdads taurus.

 

[Biker]

I generally leave snakes alone. There's a reason they're here. Early last summer, my wife and I went on a ride on a country road that passes through an Indian Reservation. We stopped by a stream for a break and a beer and had been sitting there relaxing for 20 minutes or so when off to my right, about 8' feet away, I noticed a coiled up rattler. It was a bright green/light brown which meant that it had very recently shed its skin. It didn't seem to mind us, and after calming my wife down (she wanted me to shoot it), we finished our break in peace with the snake. It was an experience for her.
Me? It just reinforced my opinion that we all just want to be left alone.
BTW, that was about a 4' rattler - very big for these parts.
Biker

 

[M2 Carbine]

I've been using a J frame S&W 38 Special loaded with #8 shot since the mid 60's.
Killed numerous Rattlesnakes and Copperheads around the place from distances of 5 foot to 12+ feet. Only once did the shot fail to drop the snake with one shot.
On the other hand I emptied a little North American 22 loaded with shot at a fairly big Copperhead from 5-6 feet and it didn't stop him.

Sometimes it's hard to see all the little shot holes in a snake.
I load shot with a gas check over and under the shot. If the gas check hits the snake it will take a bug chunk out of him.

As said above, check your pattern.