Snake Loads! What do you use.

[RugerMcMarlin]

My brother has been Carrying his Glock 23 with CCi snake load in the chamber.

and had disapponting results, on a big diamondback. He shot this one and it just made him mad at @10ft. Second shot was Flatnose FMJ 40S&W, Right Between The Eyes.It's 11 or 12 buttons he was full grown, between 4 and 5' long

We both also carry them in revolvers what do you guys use? I carry the first 2 as CCI shotloads, solid SWC 158 for the rest. In a 638.

 

[shiftyer1]

.22lr cci rat shot/snake shot or .38 spl rat shot, I think it's also cci. I haven't had any problems with either...maybe it just doesn't pattern well from the glock?

 

[Tomcat47]

I use the CCI Shotshells in a lot of different calibers!

Perfect for the task at hand!

22
9mm
.38/.357
.40 S&W (Dont own this caliber - But they have them!)
.45 ACP
.44 Magnum

They All work Marvelous!

 

[Owen Sparks]

Use a 12 ga shotgun. Cheap Wall-Mart bird shot will do just fine. The shells cost a lot less and are much more effective.

 

[shiftyer1]

It's alot less work to pack a pistol all day than it is a shotgun. Although a .410 is perfect for large snakes.

 

[Ron James]

Unless he was close to a house, at 10 feet, he would have been free to go on his way. When in the High country I always carry a small 22 magnum derringer with CCI snack shot. At 5 feet or less it works very well. At 10 feet it will not even penetrate denim. Here in Arizona, Diamondbacks and I have a understanding, they leave me alone and I leave them alone. Once in a while I run into one that doesn't know the rules, but other wise we get along just fine. As far as center fires on snakes, I have seen a experienced gunner empty a Colt .45 at a rattler and it only made the snake anxious to leave the area, no hits at all.

 

[shiftyer1]

I have alot of copperheads and they don't have the courtesy of announceing their pre sence so they have to go. Although lately it seems that the few diamond backs i've come across don't really rattle.

I really hate snakes, but their not that hard to kill except for running them over.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

.38 Special shotshells work great, both the CCI factory and the ones I load using CCI plastic cases. I use #9 shot in them.

 

[TexAg]

Have used .22, .38, .45acp and .45 Colt. I found the .22 mostly useless. I've used the other three with pretty good success in our chicken barn against rats and snakes. The range is between about 4' and 10'. It usually dents the corrugated tin siding and occasionally penetrates. The neighbor uses .410 out of an old Savage and it punches big holes in his tin; me, I don't want to add that much ventilation. Hitting the running rats at close range is the biggest challenge, but I can't say I haven't enjoyed using my .45 Colt Vaquero, GP100, or Glock 36 to thin 'em out.

 

[sixgunner455]

The one snake I have killed on purpose in my life, I used a square-nosed shovel.

Instant decapitation.

If I had to kill one using a pistol, I would not be using the fine-shot (sand grains, they look like) pistol shotshells. I would just use the regular bullet and actually aim. If I was hunting quail or doves, I would use my 20 guage.

 

[xjsnake]

Ok, based on my screen name I'm a snake guy. The question I have is, what's the fascination about shooting snakes? The vast majority of snakes will leave you alone if you just walk away from them and they will move on. Not to mention in many states it's illegal to kill non game wildlife...

Mods: sorry if this is a little off topic for this thread, just needed to vent for a second...

 

[moonpie]

hoe

 

[Sassi]

22 snake shot works well on rats but not on snakes. 9mm snake shot surprisingly does not work worth a flip in my experiences. There is not enough pellets in the load, nor is there enough energy in the 9mm snake shot to cause the slide to work properly. 38/357 snake shot is what I carry, and use in my 38 special revolver all day, every day here where I live in middle Georgia. I carry snake shot in the first two holes in the cylinder, and 158 grain Buffalo Bore lead bullets in the other three holes. 45 snake shot works well, but my 45's are to heavy for me to carry all day long when working outside.

 

[RugerMcMarlin]

Well, a little background. at any given time there, are 3-5 dogs running loose, and I don't know if you have ever witnessed it, but a snake rattling is a damn effective dog call.

Its kind of thick cover, little gravel much less, concrete. Our buddy and his wife live there full time, one of wifes conditions, is snake free. My brother is a tight wad too, if he'd had time to grab a hoe or stick he would have. He used a piece of hickory to end a Copperhead couple months later that was under the picnic table. My point is by the time we see them, its up close, I dont know what size shot was in it. What ever CCI uses in .40. I have always had good luck with the 38 shotloads, I just wandered if there was something better. My preference would be a dove load in anything. But pistols are what we have on our belt.

 

[ForumSurfer]

Well considering snakes eat small rodents, the number one breeding ground for young ticks...I leave them alone. The tick problem here is bad enough without me attempting eradication of nature's very few tick disposal methods. If he becomes a "regular" in the yard, I just use a garden hoe. I keep my carry weapon loaded with 2 legged predator loads, so by the time I go fetch something else he'd be relocated. When I encounter them on the trail or in the woods, I do my best to live and let live.

I use the CCI Shotshells in a lot of different calibers!

I've seen those work. They do work, but only if you are lucky enough to get one of those tiny pellets in the kill zone. A well placed standard round in the same caliber works better, but it is a tough shot for most.

 

[TexAg]

I shoot them because they eat our chicken's eggs and I've got 3 kids under five running around. I don't use solids because we have neighbors and I don't want to punch big holes in my barn.

 

[MCgunner]

I have no problem hitting a snake's head with a .22 hollow point that is accurate in my revolver. Hell, I've done it with a 1 5/8" .22 NAA mini revolver. Shot loads are for those that can't hit a barn from the inside. If I need a shot load, I'll just take my .410 Contender. I've shot snakes and running rabbits with that one. At 10 feet, though, the pattern is more like a bullet. Takes the head right off.

I've actually hunted rattlers. They're good fried, taste like chicken.

 

[MCgunner]

When in the High country I always carry a small 22 magnum derringer with CCI snack shot.

Hell, a 6 ft rattler is a meal, more than just a snack.

 

[RugerMcMarlin]

They do not. They taste like snake. Game must be be scarce around there.

 

[MCgunner]

Game is abundant, but I'm just always hungry.

I first ate rattler at a Wildlife Biology Asso. banquet in school (Texas A&M Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries science). I was chompin' away, trying to figure out what that bone was, when the head department herpetologist sitting across the table from me asked how I liked it. I said, "It's good, tastes like chicken, but I can't figure out this bone." He rolled laughing and told me it was rattler. I've eaten a few since then. They're easy to clean and great table fare.

I DON'T eat Possum.

 

[MCgunner]

BTW, in my yard, a hoe works great. I'm inside the city limits, no guns.

 

[RugerMcMarlin]

Yeah, but it's still Texas, right? You would think you could get a permit.

 

[MCgunner]

Of course, it's Texas. If it were Arkansas, I'd probably LIKE Possum.

 

[cackalak]

I concur on rattler's tasting like chicken. Actually not bad at all.

As far as ammo, I really don't see the need for snake shots? I mean, are these snakes charging you that you need a wide shot pattern? .22lr rounds is plenty. Or, a shovel or a stick works even better. I've got a toddler, so if I see one around the house, it's getting fried up.

 

[RugerMcMarlin]

Yer not talkin bout Colonel Sanders. Do you mean a rubber chicken?