snake load for my Remington

[user 34300]

22 birdshot kills rattlesnakes as if they were electrocuted. The key seems to be tiny shot hitting the brain. The old crimped ones seem best. They work fine in a revolver as well as a rifle.

A cousin of mine had a fascination with snakes. He was bitten by and Arizona rattler. He died from an anaphylactic reaction to the antivenom.

I kill all rattlers I see around the house. I would not mess around with a BP revolver. Be efficient and safe.

I leave rattlesnakes alone in the wild.

IF you must experiment, I once found ankle weights for exercising, they had very small shot in them, around #12.

 

[F.G. Ford]

The Pedersoli SXS 20 ga. pistol makes a fine snake gun, not to mention keeps vermin from the front door.

 

[TNGhost]

This is going to be a close-range proposition -- as in six feet. I would use No. 8 1/2 or No. 9 to boost pellet count as much as possible.
I am with the live and let live folks regarding venomous snakes, but I would not allow them close to the house or yard, especially if pets or kids are in the picture. You can grab them with snake tongs and relocate them, but they often return. I see nothing whatsoever wrong with maintaining a pit viper-free zone around one's home. We deal with big diamondbacks at the park where I volunteer. We try to respect and conserve them but will use all tools on the table to prevent a bite.
Here is just one video on loading a cap-and-ball revolver with shot:

Close range for sure, after all it is a defensive proposition for protection, one is not "hunting" the snakes.

I went with #6s and #7 1/2s after doing some penetration testing on beer cans, plastic storage containers and tanned Rattlesnake skin and found #9s to lack penetration in my admittedly unscientific tests.

Not a super accurate shooting guy but at 3-6 feet wouldn't a round ball do as well? Actually I am good with a pistol. I think I may do a bit of 3-6 foot shooting (at ice cubes?) and see if I cant hit one abut 10 outta 10 times? Not sure what a miss would mean and of course yer apt to be a bit nervous? Just that I have shot shot in BP guns and the donut effect is quite literal indeed

The reason for using shot over a single projectile is simple, stress, and the necessity of a fast as possible shot, not taking time to aim is the real possibility in defending oneself against a surprise encounter with a venomous snake. Chances are if you notice one soon enough, there will be plenty of time to evade or frighten the snake away. Snakes are not looking for encounters with large mammals and mostly run rather that attack if allowed. There are always exceptions and some snakes, like Cottonmouths are know for being aggressive, especially when surprised.

Ball Pythons?? Plus copper-heads don't have fangs right, their venom comes from the rear teeth which is why so many dry bites. I am with you , I leave them be.

Copperheads are pit vipers, and do have fangs. Being bitten by one as a youngster I can personally attest to that.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/northern-copperhead

From the above article:

"Copperheads have fangs that release a hemolytic venom, a venom that causes the breakdown of red blood cells, used to subdue prey. "

Bottom line is carrying a C&B revolver with a shot loaded chamber(s) is logical and practical, like any other carry of a defensive arm as an insurance policy. Hopefully never needed, and used as last resort.

Like any other weapon you carry for defense, you should practice with your snake loads, learn how and where they shoot, and practice getting quick shots that may be poorly aimed to learn the tendencies of you particular pistol and load, and become proficient and comfortable with them.

 

[Eterry]

We had hounds growing up, and they didn't react to well to being bitten by a pit viper.
So we killed them on site.
We had great luck with the CCI shot shells in a revolver or rifle.

Today, in the wild i'm more lenient towards vipers, but around the house i have no tolerance for them.

A good friend lost his young daughter by letting her out in the back yard to play and a young rattlesnake bit her.
It devastated the family.

 

[No second place]

Had a old house in farm country TN with a stream a pond and forest close to the house. Full of venomous snakes and other wild vermin. Would never go in the backyard without a pistol or rifle. Clearing the snakes out took some time but never needed a shot gun load. Neither would I want to be close enough to use a shot load. For those who do very little shooting a shotgun with birdshot may help get a hit...c

 

[Notchy Bob]

I live in Florida. We live on a few acres in a rural area. Non poisonous snakes are welcome, and I had a stunningly beautiful yellow rat snake, five feet plus, in the back yard just yesterday. I admired it from a respectful distance and walked away. He was free to come or go as he pleased. However, I see more coral snakes than all others put together, and if I find one on my property, I kill it. The weapon of choice is usually a hoe or a shovel. Off my property, I leave critters of all types alone, including poisonous snakes. They have a role in the Grand Scheme of things, and it's not up to me to disrupt that.

Why kill coral snakes? There is a lot of nonsense repeated about them. It is true, their first response is to either keep still or flee, but if you see one you are probably close enough to step on it. They don't have fangs like vipers, but they do have teeth, they do strike, and their venom contains a very potent neurotoxin. They do not need to "chew on you" to inject venom, and they don't have to bite an appendage. I met a lady years ago who stepped on a coral snake, which simply brushed his mouth across her ankle. I also met a guy who was bitten on the abdomen by a baby coral snake. He came pretty close to dying.

Anyway, back to the subject of weaponry...

The discussion above is interesting, but I'll stick with my shovel or hoe for smaller threats, or pull out my 20 gauge 870 "house gun" if we have a serpent big enough to warrant it.

I know the OP asked about shot loads for his revolver, but if you are determined to shoot a muzzleloader, a smoothbore single-shot pistol might give better results. Hopefully, you won't need more than one shot!

Notchy Bob

 

[Gee Dog]

Seems to be a bit of recent virtue signaling here about snakes. On my rural property I won’t suffer a venomous serpent to live. No apologies. Out on the trails I just go around them. I kill black widow spiders, too.
When a rattler is coiled they’re pretty hard to miss with a pistol shot. At ten or twelve feet just about anything is hard to miss.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Seems to be a bit of recent virtue signaling here about snakes. On my rural property I won’t suffer a venomous serpent to live. No apologies. Out on the trails I just go around them. I kill black widow spiders, too.
When a rattler is coiled they’re pretty hard to miss with a pistol shot. At ten or twelve feet just about anything is hard to miss.

I think I understand, but hate seeing that attitude. That's how I feel about pit bulldogs. Don't ask and I won't rage about the idiocy of anyone owning one of them.
But for any snake that might be harmful to family, and that includes larger non-venomous types, it will be collected and transported some miles away and released in habitat that will benefit from it's continued existence. The snakes are part of nature and if possible let's keep them in nature.

 

[TNGhost]

Seems to be a bit of recent virtue signaling here about snakes. On my rural property I won’t suffer a venomous serpent to live. No apologies. Out on the trails I just go around them. I kill black widow spiders, too.
When a rattler is coiled they’re pretty hard to miss with a pistol shot. At ten or twelve feet just about anything is hard to miss.

Having lived in snake country, and having kids, and dogs, that I loved and cared for, venomous snake eradication on and near my property was a priority, both in hunting them down and in making the area less desirable for them by removing brush, trash and stone piles etc, and discouraging the rodent population. I agree a regular pistol or rifle, .22 or whatever , with a single projectile is a good tool for such offensive operations.

Out wandering the woods or desert though, especially at night, not being on a mission to "rid the world of snakes", but simply to protect oneself, a shot charge for upping the chances of a hit in quick defense makes sense to me.

 

[Enfield58]

Having lived in snake country, and having kids, and dogs, that I loved and cared for, venomous snake eradication on and near my property was a priority, both in hunting them down and in making the area less desirable for them by removing brush, trash and stone piles etc, and discouraging the rodent population. I agree a regular pistol or rifle, .22 or whatever , with a single projectile is a good tool for such offensive operations.

Out wandering the woods or desert though, especially at night, not being on a mission to "rid the world of snakes", but simply to protect oneself, a shot charge for upping the chances of a hit in quick defense makes sense to me.

Agreed. Since the OP was basically talking about self-protection from potentially dangerous wild life, I view that in the same manner of self-protection from bad characters of the human sort.

Even though people carried C&B revolvers, at one time, for self-protection there should not be a need to do it today. I probably have as many black powder handguns as I do cartridge handguns but I'm not going to carry them when my life or the lives of my loved ones matter. For self-defense from dangerous critters when one's health and life are at stake, it makes more sense to carry something more reliable than a C&B revolver, regardless of the load.

Unless the OP cannot get his hands on a modern handgun or revolver, he should avoid the C&B revolver altogether for protection from or eradication of snakes.

 

[Caterpillar Hunter]

I must say I'm impressed with the number of you who like snakes or at least are tolerant of them. And it's good that Maddman correctly pointed out that copperheads are not rear fanged.

 

[azmntman]

I will kill a poisonous snake in/around the yard every time but in the field I too walk around. Just look at a rattlesnake, they look EVIL no matter which direction! Photo one at night BRIGHT YELLOW EYES. In the field tho thy eat up varmints, so they are good to have. At home, well my dogs n kids n such necessitate permanent removal.

 

[nkbj]

In Liberty County, Texas our back yard was snake paradise.

About the only kind we didn't see was timber rattlers.

 

[SPQR70AD]

THANK YOU! We need more sensible outdoorsmen like you. Never kill unless there is no other option.
And another reminder to any who choose to keep reptiles at home - NEVER RELEASE A NON NATIVE INTO THE WILD!

well that fell on deaf ears in the florida everglades

 

[Billy Boy]

I like snakes for the most part. I don't want the local pit vipers in the yard as I have a dog that is snake stupid. I kill rattlers in the yard and will kill any non native snake anywhere I see one. Look to Florida for the problem with them.

We had to close our Church here in N MN, in the winter (Sept. thru April), the snakes couldn’t stay awake for an entire service...

 

[Enfield58]

With all this discussion about whether it is okay to dispatch a snake, I think we can all agree on one thing. If it is a TALKING snake, you better kill it quickly and use a BIG gun to do it!



Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’? ” Genesis 3:1

 

[Juice Jaws]

My wife "Convinced" me to get rid of my venomous collection (Western and Eastern Diamonds, 4 Copper Heads and a Forest Cobra) when we had kids. But, now my children are teenagers, so guess what? Copper Heads are Pit Vipers in the rattlesnake family and definitely NOT rear fanged. There are rear fanged snakes here in North America though, the most common of which are the Hog Nosed snakes. When threatened in the wild, they put on a SHOW, lol; going into death throws and rolls, musking on themselves to smell dead an lying on their back perfectly still. if this doesn't work, they try to escape and as a last ditchhh effort, they will bite and chew on you to envenomate you. Although their venom is not lethal to most humans unless they are allergic, it feels like a bee sting and is not a lovely experience. Another popular rear fanger is the False Water Cobra. But, back to Copper heads. Copperheads (Nortern and Southern, yes there is a difference) get a bad rap. Why? Because they cause more snake bites per capita than any other species in N.A.. Why is this? Because, as mentioned earlier in the thread, they rely on camouflage to hide, Just like the "Death Adder" of Australia (Another very docile and shy snake that does NOT live up to it's reputation) which also gets stepped on for the same reason. Not to mention the amount of Dumb Asses that try to pick them up and mess with them every year. Still, Most bites yet least deaths. Interesting really. As for my Ball Pythons, they are my babies. My oldest (5 years) has a nasty temperament and has struck at me hundreds of times over the years. She is the only BP I've seen like that, but once you get her up, she's a puppy dog. My youngest (8 mos) was hatched out with physical and I believe mental abnormalities. Her snout is shorter and slightly narrower than normal and her head is a tad malformed. She will not eat on her own and I must literally Hand Feed her; I pick her up touch the prey item to her mouth and she opens her mouth. I place it in her mouth and she closes it and wraps it up. I kid you not. Here is a visit with my good friend Chad Griffin, let's educate ourselves

I know of two guys who have been bitten by rattlesnakes and they all had something to do with " hold my beer and watch this "

 

[Griz44Mag]

well that fell on deaf ears in the florida everglades

So the tales go, the initial release into the glades was from a couple of pet dealers whose businesses were wrecked by the hurricane and the release was purely accidental. The monkey troops at large were from a couple of labs that did not have secured enclosures. New laws have since been passed to assured enclosure and\or any animals of that nature are properly secured. Any enclosures that cannot be secured the animals have to be removed and placed in secure shipping bins for the duration of the storm. It is too little too late but at least they are trying to mitigate any future species issues from developing.

 

[Griz44Mag]

I know of two guys who have been bitten by rattlesnakes and they all had something to do with " hold my beer and watch this "

I suffered a rattlesnake bite many years ago while hunting pheasant in Kansas corn stubble. Anyone who has hunted stubble knows how beat up your legs can get in those fields. I did not realize that I had been bitten until we got back to the motel and my leg started swelling up. Examination after a shower revealed the puncture wounds. A trip to a local D.O. confirmed my suspicions. The spacing on the bite was small, so the snake too was deemed to be small. It ruined the rest of my trip, as I got to spend it sitting in the motel room with my leg propped up waiting for the swelling to reverse directions. Thankfully I have never been afflicted with the "hold my beer" issue. I have though, left hunting camp once the same evening I arrived when several in the group decided that drinking around the fire pit with "show and tell with guns" was a good idea. In my opinion, that's a lot more dangerous than the snake that bit me. Had I seen that snake beforehand, I would have avoided it, but absolutely would not have killed it. It was there doing what it was supposed to be doing, hunting mice and rats in the field.

 

[Enfield58]

Bonus video: