.38 Special
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- Sep 15, 2006
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I've used them to kill quite a few rattlesnakes. I keep the range very short - two or three feet - and the results are final. Head shots (which I use exclusively, because I enjoy snake meat) bring things to an immediate conclusion. Efficacy drops off very quickly as the range increases, which is of course part of the point, and I doubt they would do the job much past six feet or so.
Having written that, I'll admit to having switched to homemade snake loads in the .500 Magnum. A larger payload of larger shot is comforting when traipsing around the desert with the intent of encountering rattlesnakes - and a 3/4 ounce of #9 shot at over a thousand fps would likely have some kind of effect on two-legged predators, in a pinch.
Having written that, I'll admit to having switched to homemade snake loads in the .500 Magnum. A larger payload of larger shot is comforting when traipsing around the desert with the intent of encountering rattlesnakes - and a 3/4 ounce of #9 shot at over a thousand fps would likely have some kind of effect on two-legged predators, in a pinch.