Good BP Revolver Snake Load

[crockett]

Don't worry about doubting, it's just that I'm sort of sensitive :redface: because when ever I mention it everyone is always telling me that it was a scarlet or king snake. The corals are still pretty common in Florida, actually I see more of them than any other venomous snakes, next would be a pigmy rattler, then water moccasins (stripe on eye and little piggy tail), and lastly the diamondbacks that are getting really rare. No copperheads in FL. The last diamondback I shot was only 4' long and that was years ago and the only reason I killed one that short was to give it to a relative that wanted a skin. Nowadays I actually sort of value them and leave them alone.
Question on the shot for snakes, as I said, you have to be pretty certain you are really dealing with a dead snake, I've used a shotgun at point blank range but more often a rifle or pistol that definately blows the head off. How certain is shot on killing a snake? When I say point blank, I mean putting the muzzle about 6" from it's head and after the shot there is no head left.

 

[Al Cummins]

A snake can strike half the length of its body, if you are 6 inches away...you are too close!

 

[capt_turk]

Been bit twice by cotton mouths. I get a chance and they are dead meat.

From experience, I can tell you the treatment is far worse than the bite.

 

[crockett]

Not me, the end of the gun, muzzle. Since we are talking snakes....there ARE a few accounts of someone that falls asleep in the wilds and when they wake up- there's a rattlesnake 6" from the end of their nose, etc, etc. I am wondering if anyone has ever had a snake (venomous or not)actually approach them while they were awake- such as sitting against a tree while turkey hunting, etc.

 

[rodwha]

Been chased in the water by a cotton mouth. Family was even throwing rocks at it, yet it still was chasing after me.

I was chased a short ways by another one, but that was because I pulled him out of a drainage ditch at the golf course at tossed him on the bank.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I found lighter loads hold a tighter pattern
http://youtu.be/IKT8HDAveuI

I'd like to see that guy shoot an actual snake with that 10 grain powder charge, I'd bet the pellets would just bounce off. :haha:
I think I'd want at least 20 grains of powder and that doesn't leave much room for shot but I'm not sure even that load wouldn't bounce off a snakes hide, I'd sure want to give it a through test before depending on it.
The thing is when shooting small pellets from a shotgun you have to have enough pellets in the pattern to be reasonably sure of hitting the critter with several pellets and each one of those pellets must have enough penetration to be lethal. Seventy grains of powder and an ounce of shot is a very effective load. Twenty grains of powder and 1/4 ounce of shot, not so much so. Then fire that pipsqueak load from a rifled barrel and I have my doubts :idunno:

 

[Robert Egler]

I am wondering if anyone has ever had a snake (venomous or not)actually approach them while they were awake- such as sitting against a tree while turkey hunting, etc.

I have had, at different times over a couple years, two water snakes (one Banded Water snake and one Northern Water snake) crawl up to me and check me out while fishing from the bank. They left after a minute or two.

Usually I'm the one trying to catch and examine them.

 

[rodwha]

1/4 oz would be ~85 pellets of 7 1/2 shot. I'd guess that would be enough for a snake at 10'. I don't know, but I'd guess it would have about a 1 1/2' pattern. I guess it really depends on whether or not it's in the shape of a donut or not.

If the pattern is less dense I'd think moving up in size might help as the pellets that do strike would be bigger. Of course you get less of them...

I'd say use a .44 cal for the powder/shot capacity.

 

[George T.]

You have that right! A Copperhead got me four years ago and the bill was $1700. A rattle snake bite is much worse. If a snake is obviously non posioness I give it a pass if there is any doubt it dies. We have grand kids around quite offten so it's not for sport.

I have killed many snakes with 22 mag shot loads in a derringer. They hold very little shot and it is very small but it kills very well. When I load 38 shot loads with Speer shot loads I use #9 shot! Geo. T.

 

[Al Cummins]

I have actually shot snakes with that load. Kills em dead.

 

[Dphar]

I never found a need to shoot snakes. I just give them thier space and they tend to leave a girl alone.

I kill every rattlesnake I come across.
You cannot know when you are "not leaving them alone" to THEIR satisfaction and my hearing damage prevents my hearing them properly. Walk along and get struck. One struck my son on the shoe sole on a RR crossing and a friend got struck on his boot while setting silhouette targets. Neither snake survived.
Someone with a dog had crossed the RR crossing a few minutes before us and I often wonder if he simply "did not bother the snake and it did not bother him".
I am not going to leave one of the things alone then have it cripple someone for life 10 minutes later.
Non-poisonous snakes I leave alone they are no threat.

Dan

 

[Dphar]

I´m living overseas right now but when I get back to the states in a few months I´m thinking that I want to pick up a BP revolver and turn it into a snubby for shooting snakes when I go walking. What would be good for that and does anyone have any good snake loads? I´m totally new to BP, by the way. Thank you.

Just shoot them with a RB or hit them with a stick. I have killed rattlesnakes by gun fire, with by ramrod, with my knife.

Dan

 

[ChrisPer]

I work in North-western Australia, where we have some terribly venomous snakes. The King Brown is most common, cousin of the Dugite down south; the Taipan is notoriously venomous and the Death Adders are likely to kill you in 20 minutes. I killed a Tiger Snake I stepped over as a teenager, but in all the years since have not killed any snakes except by accident. It gets so hot here that our snakes are mainly nocturnal, so you MUST wear suitable footwear and carry a light to walk at night. All snakes are protected species, though you are unlikely to be prosecuted if you kill one at your home or camp if there are children nearby.

We give our staff, new chums from the UK and Ireland, snake handling courses. Its a laugh seeing a puffed-up female from Wales pontificating that we ought to have snake handling gear in camp. "What if we have a snake in the shower?"

"I have not seen a snake in a shower in 53 years in this country. What part of 'Leave it the f**k alone' is causing all this confusion?"

We are not allowed handguns. We are not allowed firearms at all.

 

[Zonie]

While out quail hunting with my 9 year old son tagging along behind I was walking thru an area that was covered with small desert bushes.

As I look ahead of where I'm about to step I see a diamond marked snake, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 1/2 feet long crossing my path just ahead.

"BOOM" goes the 12 guage.

As my son looks down at the writhing snake on the ground he says,

"That's just a gopher snake dad. They just look like diamondbacks but their not.
They use that marking to protect themselves because other things think their poison."

I answered,

"If it looked like a regular snake it would still be crawling but looking like a diamondback just got it killed."

 

[rodwha]

"If it looked like a regular snake it would still be crawling but looking like a diamondback just got it killed."

Too funny!

 

[crockett]

Actually, come to think of it, I guess I have had snakes approach me- sort of. I use a boat with oars because it is a lot easier than starting a gas outboard, roaring to your spot, cutting the motor, using an electric trolling motor, and then gas cans, re-charging batteries, etc, etc. On small lakes 100-300 acres- I just row. In any event if it is night and I'm lazy and leave the oars in the water while I'm casting- a snake will go right up the oars and into the boat- but I'm sure the snake thinks the oar it just a tree branch lying in the water.
Pitch black night- is it a banded water snake or a moccasin? I'll admit- that gets me standing on the seat.

 

[Rifleman1776]

We are not allowed handguns. We are not allowed firearms at all.

From the title of your question, does that mean you are allowed to have bp cap and ball revolvers?
If, yes, any of the popular brands in .44 cal. should work fine for you. A moderate charge of real black powder, thin over powder card, shot (I have had good luck with #7 1/2, some might like smaller) and another thin card over that to hold it in.
This may shoot a dognunt shaped pattern. Test to find out. I make it a practice to not aim at the head, but at the center of the body. That way the outside of the shot pattern will hit lower body and, hopefully, the head.
A local character used to make bets with tourists and shot tossed asprin out of the air with this technique.
OTOH, personally, I would option for a single shot smooth bore in something like 12 ga. Lot more shot in that.
My son and his family spent nearly a year in Oz and I was terrified the whole time they would have an unfortunate encounter with the pizzen snakes, or spiders or jellyfish, or......... :shocked2:

 

[Tinker2]

I have used shot in one of my early .36 caliber cap & ball revolvers.
It worked well and yes it did shoot a donut hole pattern. It didn’t kill the
snake dead always but gave the snake something besides me to think
about, gave me time to aim a round ball. And I leave most snakes alone.

The shot was rapped in paper, the volume of shot was equal to the powder.



William Alexander

 

[nkbj]

Around 1988 I lived in Alabama a while. Knew a fella that had a Remington pattern six shooter that he had made during his spare time working on an offshore rig. It was smoothbore, all stainless, 12" barrel and an elongated cylinder and frame. He hit just fine with it with roundball. Too bad Pietta never has come out with something like that. And, yeah, it was a masterpiece and he wasn't interested in selling it.

 

[M. De Land]

I think I would just take his head off with a round ball. At the distances lead shot is effective I think it quite doable for anyone reasonably proficient with a hand gun to just "head" the sucker with a ball or shoot into the coils and still fix em right up. MD