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Snakes & Buckshot

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XD 45acp

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My wife asked a question, and I do not have enough experience with 00 buckshot to answer... Info - shotgun is 870 HD 18" bbl cyl bore...

Question was; " You took the trap loads out of the 870 and put 00 buck in it. Am I gonna still be able to use that on a snake at 5-7 yds?"
 
If you are close enough, yes. The problem is the reduced amount of pellets on a small target (the head). Any pellets that hit will do extensive damage.

When deer hunting with 00 Buck I would take a couple of shells of #6 Shot along for snakes. IMHO I recommend #6 - #9 for snakes.
 
It will work just make sure you have eye protection to shield your eyes from the dirt flying up from the crater you make underneath the snake :).

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
Assuming your wife is asking about snakes in the yard, driveway, or around farm buildings??

Using buckshot will for sure kill the heck out of a snake.

But 00 buckshot ricocheting off the ground will also kill the John Deere tractor, the outhouse, and old Bessie the cow.

I'd recommed you always use small birdshot for snakes around the yard, just for safety.

rc
 
I think i would take the time to show her how to take out that expensive 00buck rounds and put in the birdshot for snakes. Then again if you have snakes that big I would probably move!
 
You MAY be able to determine success if you can find anything left of the snake after a few 00 buck pellets hit it. Inside 25 feet or so i would think it would be a 99.9% chance of killing the snake. If she is used to birdshot then she may turn the gun on you after she fires off a 00 buck round.
 
My personal preference for snake control is #12 in a .22lr. I do have some #12 in 12ga though that will pretty much remove the head for me 2700+ pellets.
 
I know a lot of people hate snakes. But remember they eat mice that are disgusting disease spreading vermin.
I will take any snake here if you want to unload some lol..
 
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Thats fine until you have a rattlesnake laying on your porch steps when you go outside in the morning!!

rc
 
I have no problem at all with snakes and will occasionally catch them for the heck of it. I have brought the occasional rattler home and showed my kids but these captures were always on MY terms. I shoot any venomous snake I see on my property but leave rat snakes and others alone to keep the mice under control.
 
Never had any reason to shoot a buzzworm--it doesn`t take too much effort to walk around them. They can only strike for about 2/3 of their body length.

If I had a reason to shoot one and it was safe to do so, I would want the finest, smallest pellets possible to limit ricochets and colateral damage. Around the house I would go for a sharp shovel.
 
Personally, I consider killing anything that could potentially carry poison or disease into my home (snakes, insects, arachnids, rodents) to be protecting my home from a home invasion with a deadly weapon. Granted, I don't have snakes or rodents, but that's how I feel about smashing spiders/bugs, and if I lived somewhere with snakes its how I'd feel about them, too.

That said, I'd rather use 00B on snakes than #6 shot on a person, so if you're only going to have one loaded, that 00B would be my choice. Maybe a shell or two of #6 in the side saddle?
 
I've killed a couple cottonmouths with 6s. Worked well.

My weapon of choice for venomous snakes is a hoe. Non venomous get to live. So do venomous ones that pose no threat to kids, petsor livestock.

BTW, rattler chunks fried in Tempura batter and dipped in Satay sauce are excellent. Watch for bones, and allow one 30" snake per person. Not much meat on a rattler...
 
After reading the posts, I put the 7 1/2 trap loads back in it. Then told the wife I put them back, then listened to a lecture about changing stuff that works.:banghead:
 
Park her car 15-20 yards behind a snake target on the ground and have her shoot it with 00 buckshot.

She will change her mind when she see's the holes in her car door!

rc
 
I like a 357 or 44 with #8 snake loads personally. I don't love snakes, but I don't like poisonous snakes or rats and such either, so I leave the non poisonous snakes alone. Louisiana has I think every variety of snake on the continent. Glad there are only four "native" species I need to be able to I.D.
 
Sounds like the the perfect situation for a coach gun. Bird in one bbl and buck in the other.
Ratshot in a .22 is also a great compromise. If you dont have a rimfire .22 this situation could be just the leverage you need to convince the other half of the need for a future purchase 8)...
T
 
sounds like you need to get another shotgun for snakes ! I would get a little single shot with a 4 or 5 shot side saddle full of trap loads . or a mix of low brass trap and high brass buck .
 
I use a hoe or if lucky the truck. I hate snakes. Luckily the wife knows whats venomous and whats not and stops me killing rat snakes which I am told is against the law here in Ga. Being Irish I liked St Patrick's idea banish them all. I had a friend shoot a rattler once in her bathroom with a .44 magnum, bits of snake and plywood everywhere.
 
A major +1 for the CCI shot shells since they are encapsulated.
Some friends and I were going through bricks of the cheap Federal .22 lr shotshells. They do often leak shot through the crimped brass at the tip not counting numerous duds. Getting that little shot out of the innards of a revolver is a real pain and it will lock up a gun pretty quickly.
We were using so much ammo that we couldnt really afford the good stuff but shooting a brick every two days was an absolute ball. There is a down side to most things and picking up hundreds of rats every morning wasnt much fun.
Good shooting.
T
 
tempura-battered with satay sauce.... i will have to try this. Mr. McCracken, you're about to have me crawling under my house foolishly looking for venemous snakes. Of course, due caution: peanut sauces can kill people.

Milamber/ Pug, yes, killing blacksnake/ ratsnakes will get you in trouble in GA... and if you SHOOT one, they may confiscate your gun... iv'e clubbed me some cottonmouths though... THAT'S a properly battered snake!
 
Or you could not break the law and leave the snakes alone... Yeah snakes are close to my heart however the same applies for many animals people commonly consider "vermin" which are protected under most state's non-game animal laws.
 
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