Best snakeshot caliber.

tripod3

New member
Have a friend thinking about a pistol for his wife that will fire snake shot. First he mentioned the Judge. I think it is a little radical for her. She has small hands. Not sure what is available in bird shot calibers but maybe .38 would be better.
 
I have a supply of it in .22lr, 9mm, .38/357, and .44...A revolver in 9mm or .38 would work, I think you just have to use the half moon clips with the 9mm... personally, I'd go with the .38....
 
If you reload, get these:

Speer .38 shot capsules

I ended up loading mine with #7 lead shot. That ends up being able to kill grouse at a reasonable distance, and disintigrate snakes at close range.

Read the Midway reviews.

Since the guy there says they don't include the load data on the box anymore, here it is (straight off the Speer box):

38 Special / .357 Magnum
6" barrel, .38 Special case, Small Pistol Primers
Powder Charge Muzzle Velocity
SR 7625 5.0 Gr. 1128 fps
Unique 5.5 Gr. 1058 fps

I use Unique. Adjust the crimp to just take the bell out of the case mouth, don't try and crimp into the shot capsule. They're brittle and will (probably) split at the crimp.

I've loaded them in .357 Mag. cases, too. No difference.

They make them for .44 Mag and 45 Long Colt, too, but I doubt your wife would want to pack that kind of hog leg around for snake defense.
 
Last edited:
I use the .38 loads at our cabin but also carry a ruger mkII with snake shot at times, they both work well.
I think your friend just wants the judge for himself.lol
 
Last edited:
Yes, the recoil and sound out of those loads I listed aren't much. Less than the lightest .38 Special load I ever shot.
I'm not sure how well they work out of a short barrel, I always shot them out of a 6" Python.
 
Yea, a small 38 snub would probably be just right for a lady. I've used a snub in the past and only got marginal killing power with it on several snakes, probably due to barrel length. It works, just not very well in my experience, unless you're right on top of them.

But, if you want a serious snake load, and depending on the lady, a .45 ACP with CCI snake shot is awesome.
The loads cycle and chamber just like an ordinary round, at least in my Kimber.

Copperhead1.jpg


SnakeMedicine.jpg


SnakeLoad.jpg

 
For .357 I take a .380 or 9mm case and drill out the primer pocket to about 1/8". Then chamfer the case mouth to a sharp edge and use it to punch out little cardboard discs to use as over-powder and over-shot wads. I load mine with 5 grs. Titegroup, press the first disc down tight on the powder charge with the back end of a punch and fill the case almost to the top with #8 shot. Press the over-shot wad in the same way just below the case mouth and lightly roll crimp. Top off with a couple drops of melted candle wax and your done. Works great and patterns well up to about 25' in my 6" barreled Ruger GP-100. Have used the same charge with #6 shot on 'possums. BTW the drilled out primer pocket is so you can push out the discs with a punch. Much cheaper than factory loads.
Kevin
 
I've shot the CCI pistol shotshells in .40 S&W and .45ACP (Glocks) and .45 Colt in a Ruger revolver. All worked well but the .45ACP was better than the .40 and the Colt best of all. No surprise there.

I've tried to get CCI to make shotshells for the .500 Mag but they're not interested. THAT cartridge could be VERY effective, at least as good as a .410. I made some of my own but their performance was spotty.

In any event, they're fun, recoil is negligible and all three that I tried would do real damage to a snake outside of striking range. Don
 
.410 My Bond Arms is fantastic (That said there arent any snakes I would shoot in Wetstern Oregon) My 100lb daughter can shoot it fine...and hit the entire broadside of the barn at 20 yards with one shot heh.. (its really a 10-15ft away weapon)

Inside 10ft .22 with birdshot will do the job fine and the ricochet wont blow through anything. Your usually not going to see a snake more than 10ft away anyway. When your talking "shot" it really doesnt matter what its coming out of (to a point anyway)
 
yeah I think the judge was appealing to him also. Good to see so much experience with this. Sounds like the .38/.357 is a fair choice and maybe the .22. No doubt the .45 would be better but her hands are small.
I have heard the .22 crimped bird shot are better than the capsule type.
 
Al Miller wrote an article for Handloader Magazine several years ago, specifically about snake shot loads. His conclusion, which fits with my experiences, was that the 22 LR CCI shot loads performed better than anything else, due to using #12 shot, rather than the #9 shot used in every other caliber. Snakes don't need large shot & the smaller shot made better patterns (smaller holes in the patterns). He also found that shot patterns were tighter out of shorter barrels.
I have personally noted that rattlers generally were DRT with 22 loads, but still move a bit after being hit with 38, 44, or 45 shot loads.
Mark
 
Quote:If you reload, get these:

Speer .38 shot capsules

I ended up loading mine with #7 lead shot. That ends up being able to kill grouse at a reasonable distance, and disintigrate snakes at close range.
This is the way to go in my opinion. I load #8 shot in these and shoot them in a snubby. It works GREAT for snakes, I've been very impressed. Recoil is very light as there is no pressure building in the barrel. I've even hit a quail out of the air with it (at very close range, mearns get up right at your feet).
 
.45 ACP all the way. I've shot numerous Eastern Diamondbacks with all versions of the .22 shot and it is an extremely short range round. Anything greater than 6 feet on a large rattlesnake will just get you a pissed off snake. Less than 6 feet and you've already got yourself into a place that you for sure don't want to rely on the .22

Now some would say that if it's 6 feet away you don't need to shoot the snake anyway. I do agree with that, other than I have 2 children and 3 dogs that cause me to kill any dangerous snakes within several hundred yards of our house.

Drawbacks to the .45? They will not operate the action of all automatics. They do make cheap revolvers chambered in .45 auto which would be a good choice. Can't remember which manufacture. And currently the shells average around $1.75 a piece. They will however stop a large rattlesnake from distances at least double of the .22's period. It's not even remotely close. My farthest shot so far with the .45 was around 25 feet on a smaller (3 1/2) foot Diamondback and it was a done deal.

I still carry the .22 sometimes when I'm clearing the woods behind the house as I've only ran into Copperheads back there and they are smaller. It's not such a bitter moment to use a .20 cent shell on a baby as it is to use the expensive .45

I did carry a S&W snub nose .38 and tried the CCI's but was unimpressed with the pattern. On paper you could see that it just spreads out too fast. At 6 feet even the largest snake could possibly not even take a pellet to the head.

If you want to have a gun with shotshells to actually kill snakes without making multiple follow-up shots at close range then go for the Judge or a large caliber handgun with a decent length barrel.

This is all based on factory ammo. Reloading with the #7 shot on a .38 might be okay, although how many pellets can you get in there?

Edit: I don't carry a gun with shotshells for snake defense, I carry it to actively pursue and kill them. The best snake defense is to watch where you reach your hands into and wear a good pair of snake boots/chaps. Most times by the time you see one they could've already bit and didn't, or they're too far away to be a threat. The gun wont save you......it'll just let you get revenge.
 
Last edited:
Quote:Reloading with the #7 shot on a .38 might be okay, although how many pellets can you get in there?
If I recall I can get about 85 #8 pellets in there. I assure you it is deadly as sin on snakes. Every one I've dusted has gone right down. I imagine 45 is about the same, but in a revolver you don't have to cycle an action to shoot again. I shoot them at 6-8ft usually and it floors them.

Quote:I don't carry a gun with shotshells for snake defense, I carry it to actively pursue and kill them
Yeah me too. Hunting snakes and stepping on snakes are two different ballgames!
 
Last edited:
Quote:Reloading with the #7 shot on a .38 might be okay, although how many pellets can you get in there?

36

Here's a shot capsule, load of #7 next to a Speer 158 gr. JHP:

DSCN0532.jpg



Quote:I did carry a S&W snub nose .38 and tried the CCI's but was unimpressed with the pattern.

You could be right. My 6" Python threw them out there a decent range before it was opened up too thin. I patterened a few on a cardboard backer and they were pretty even. It wasn't a very "scientific" test, but it was a lot further distance than a snake could strike. 15 feet, at least.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: VaHowler For .357 I take a .380 or 9mm case and drill out the primer pocket to about 1/8". Then chamfer the case mouth to a sharp edge and use it to punch out little cardboard discs to use as over-powder and over-shot wads. I load mine with 5 grs. Titegroup, press the first disc down tight on the powder charge with the back end of a punch and fill the case almost to the top with #8 shot. Press the over-shot wad in the same way just below the case mouth and lightly roll crimp. Top off with a couple drops of melted candle wax and your done. Works great and patterns well up to about 25' in my 6" barreled Ruger GP-100. Have used the same charge with #6 shot on 'possums. BTW the drilled out primer pocket is so you can push out the discs with a punch. Much cheaper than factory loads.
Kevin



...excellent idea. You've inspired me.
smile.gif


Dan
 
Back
Top