The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Conference Center > General Discussion Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 3, 2001, 10:51 PM   #1
speed
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 30, 2001
Posts: 353
Snakeshot tutorial please?

Can anyone give me a quick lesson on the uses,effective ranges,calibers,usage in revolvers and or semi autos ?

Any other interestig info?

God Bless America
speed is offline  
Old December 3, 2001, 11:32 PM   #2
Pendragon
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 10, 2001
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 1,153
I bought some snake shot in .22 WMR for use in my Ruger Single Six (9.5" barrel)

I bought 60 rounds mostly as a novelty, but sometimes the skeeters can get kinda thick...

(have yet to fire any...)
Pendragon is offline  
Old December 3, 2001, 11:46 PM   #3
swifter...
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 16, 1999
Location: So. CA Mountains
Posts: 540
I've used commercial and made up my own at times.
Effective range is about 6-8 feet. Unless you're dealing with some of those gawdawful gator size rattlers they have in the south or water mocasins that get mean, I figure:

1) A snake 6-8 feet away is not a danger. At least not as much a danger as trying to Wyatt Earp the booger.

2) Closer, a stick works better for our southwest rattlers, flip it out of the way if possible, turn him into a hatband otherwise...

I've never used in semis, used .22, .38 from Speer in revolvers, made my own in .41 Maggie and .45 Long Colt.

Tom
__________________
There are damn few situations so screwed up that adding government to them will not make 'em worse...
The best homeland security is an armed & informed citizenery!
Molon Labe!
swifter... is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 12:28 AM   #4
paratrooper
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 31, 2000
Location: Kingman AZ
Posts: 1,290
Have heard tell that they will cause lead build up in the barrel . Not that it will hurt but you must keep it cleaned .
__________________
TOM
NRA
LDMA
AMERICAN LEGION
U.S. PARATROOPER
paratrooper is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 12:44 AM   #5
MatthewM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 9, 2001
Posts: 1,003
I used to take some #9 birdshot, about 13 pellets, and shoot big wasps with my wrist-rocket. It made about a 1" group in the eves of our garage and always cut up the wasp. About four+ feet.

I think the 22WMR shot is even smaller and therefor not very usefull, but might work on bugs.
MatthewM is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 01:03 AM   #6
Coltdriver
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 2, 2001
Posts: 683
I used to shoot the CCI shotshells out of a Norinco 1911 with a tired recoil spring.

It would actually cycle the round.

I had moved into piece of property in a formerly unoccupied valley of about 800 acres and there were hundreds of rattlers there.

I killed 13 the first year.

The CCI Shotshells in .45 would turn a big rattler into stone from about four feet.

Nothing else was that effective. One second a buzzing menace, the next just stone still.
Coltdriver is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 11:53 AM   #7
ahenry
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 25, 2001
Location: Alabama
Posts: 1,764
I have never used snake shot myself, but I know of lots of people that do and swear by it as a great snake getter. This does bring to mind the first time I ever shot a snake though...

It was years ago when I was about 10, and I was at my grandfathers ranch in south Texas. It was a cow feeding morning and I was getting antsy because nobody seemed in a hurry to get started (growing up that was my favorite ranch job, plus I always got to go shooting once we were done). I loaded my grandfathers 22 pistol (an old 9 shot revolver) that my grandmother had once used to do trick shooting with. Put everything in the pickup, ready to go and waited....and waited....and waited, the men were in another one of those never ending adult discussions. Finally somebody tossed me the keys to the truck and told me to go load a few bales of hay from the hay barn (in hind sight I think it was just to get me out of their hair). Always excited to get the opportunity to drive on my own, I listened with thinly veiled impatience while I got the usual safety lectures about snakes. You know, “always lift the bale away from you”, and “don’t get close to one, they can strike from farther away than you think”, just the usual stuff.

Well after the 75 second drive to the barn (and that includes a gate) I backed up to the stack of bales and started loading those incredibly heavy things (at least they were at the time, I don’t think they make them as heavy as the used to). I had a couple loaded and all the sudden I heard it! A rattle! I think I jumped up and backwards about 5 feet, and landed on top of the hood. I surveyed the ground for any of the evil creatures, leery of their incredible striking capabilities and not just a little afraid that I mind end up snake bitten while hiding on top of the truck. I found the thing coiled up no more than ten or fifteen feet away, preparing to bite me! Being bitten while hiding on the truck hood didn’t seem a very noble way to go, so I decided I should at least try to kill it before it killed me. I wasn’t supposed to shoot without some supervision, but I figured my parents would rather have me alive to spank rather than dead to bemoan that silly rule. After crawling across the top of the truck to the bed, I carefully stretched as far as I could into the open window to grab the pistol. “Crap (at that age that was the limit of my expletives), too far away.” Deciding that if that snake was going to bite me anyway I might as well be bitten while trying to get the pistol I made a dive (the likes of which any Olympic class diver would have been proud of) through the open window expecting the snake to bite the soles of my feet, I could almost feel the snake breathing on me through the soles of my boots. I grabbed my only chance of survival (driving away would have been just to embarrassing, how could I call myself a man if I ran from a snake?) and aimed... Just in time I remembered how I had been told that shooting from inside the cab could make you go deaf (ok so they exaggerated a tad). I carefully stepped out of the cab with pistol in hand, dutifully aware of the snakes ability to strike from farther away than you expect. Again I aimed for the head....and aimed for the head....and aimed for the head. “Crap! Why can’t he just stop moving his head around?” Deciding that even snakes have some sort of vital organs I shot at the more steady body of the snake. Well judging by the increase in rattling that didn’t work very well. So I shot again, and again, and again...click. “Oh no! Must be bad ammo!” I quickly emptied the cylinder and re-loaded. As I was doing this I noticed from the brass that came out of the cylinder, that not only was the ammo faulty, somehow the factory had forgotten to even put a bullet, or even powder in the brass. That seemed odd, but I couldn’t afford it more thought, there was a deadly snake right on my heels that I had to kill. Again I shot, and shot and shot, before I knew it I came across more bad ammo! I groaned at my luck, and with blazing speed I reloaded yet again. My fingers were loading so fast and I was shooting so fast the individual cracks became a roar of mighty firepower. Before I knew it I was completely out of ammo. It had required an entire 50 round box of 22’s to kill the mighty snake, but by golly, there he was all bloody, and as the roar from my mighty pistol subsided I was aware of the sounds of silence. I had won! Thoughts of a snakeskin belt, or maybe a new pair of snakeskin boots filled my head. I started to walk towards the snake but just in time I remembered that even a dead snake can strike, something about “muscle memory”. Not quite sure how a muscle remembers something I nonetheless marveled at the incredible killing abilities of the lowly snake from a safe distance across the barn.

As the heat of battle melted away I carefully approached and noticed that there where lots of holes in the body, nowhere near 50 but I figured that was ok since a lot of that ammo had come from the factory without any bullets or powder. Beginning to fear that my new belt was ruined and boots would be completely out of the question. I found some long sticks and drug the snake out to the tall grass. I loaded the rest of the hay and drove back to the house, saddened at my loss of a snakeskin belt, but proud of having overcome what had to be one of the deadliest animals known to man. I pulled into the driveway and steeled myself for the intense interrogation I knew I would face for having shot without permission. My grandfather and dad walked out and looked at me. My dad said, “I heard you shooting up there, what happened?” After I told them about the mighty battle that had raged just a few hundred yards from the house, my bravery was rewarded with forgiveness from my dad and a comment from grandfather, “It took you a whole box?”
__________________
Doing what you've done, gets you what you've got.
ahenry is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 12:04 PM   #8
Oleg Volk
Staff Alumnus
 
Join Date: December 6, 1999
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 7,022
Thanks to TFL friend, I have three boxes of CCI .45 snake shot. At 10ft it made a 4" pattern of surprising density and uniformity. Does cycle fine in a Glock 21. Penetration: one layer of thick (1/3") cardboard and sometimes the second, sometimes not.
__________________
Oleg "peacemonger" Volk
blog.olevolk.net
Oleg Volk is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 12:07 PM   #9
Dave R
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 7, 2000
Location: Idaho
Posts: 6,073
I tried some CCI snake shot in my 9mm.

At 7 yards it made holey, donut-shaped patterns with an empty spot at point of aim. Not encouraging.

At 3 yards, the patterns looked a little better, and would probably be effective.
__________________
I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).
Dave R is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 01:16 PM   #10
Double Naught Spy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2001
Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX
Posts: 12,714
CCI works fine in my .45, but the pattern is much larger than I expected. At 10 feet, it is at least 3 feet wide.

I have had a class in herpetology and worked with a herpetologist. The most common dumb thing people do is to use a stick on the snakes, usually trying to beat them. Then they get bitten because they misjudged the snake's size and did not realize the snake could strike further. If you decide to use a stick, then use one that is longer than you are tall and maybe you won't get hurt.

The second dumbest mistake is to not have some idea about the type of snake you are dealing with. Some people react badly to anti-venom and so it was suggested that bringing the snake in with the bitten person was a good idea so that a proper identificaiton could be made and the appropriate anti-venom administered. This resulted in many snakes being brought in, some damaged beyond being identifiable, sometimes with the second person who tried to get the snake also ending up being bitten.

Don't shoot yourself in the foot trying to shoot the snake between your legs.

Here in North America, few people are bitten by snakes for no apparent reason. Usually the snake was stepped on by a person or the person uncovered the snake's place of hiding, such as moving plywood laid out on the ground underwhich the snake had made a home. A bunch of people get bitten trying to move or kill snakes and they get bitten because they don't have any real clue about the snake's behavior or expected behavior. Plus, there is the paranoia of snakes, any snake, and so people get wigged out and try to kill the snake without any idea of what they are doing other than reacting in fear.
__________________
"If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011
My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
Double Naught Spy is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 02:19 PM   #11
labgrade
Member In Memoriam
 
Join Date: November 29, 1999
Location: west of a small town, CO
Posts: 4,346
Used to hunt the Western Diamondback when in New Mexico (yes, ate 'em & used their skins). Used a 4" S&W 29 .44 mag. Tried some Speer shotshells on one ~4' rattler - he was laying in a sandy wash. Two shots blanketed the head/nech area which really pi$$ed the snake off - zero sign of any degradation of vitality - quite the opposite.

A 265gr cast bullet in the sand ~1" from the head stopped all further discussion.

Tried a smallish bird or two at about 7' with a coupla .38 special shotshells with a feather or two fluttering about while the bird/s left.

I'm not impressed.
labgrade is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 07:43 PM   #12
Dave R
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 7, 2000
Location: Idaho
Posts: 6,073
labgrade, you make a good point. It appears the effective range of snake shot is 3 feet to 3 yards.

At that range, its not hard to hit with regular ammo.

Of course, with "buck fever" its probably easier to get a hit with snake shot, but it may not be lethal enough at max range (3 yards).
__________________
I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).
Dave R is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 08:13 PM   #13
Keith J
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 15, 2000
Posts: 469
I have killed many rattlers with .45 ACP shot loads. Its quite effective out to 15 feet (more on that later) and has been flawless in my pistols. At the extreme range, you need to double or triple tap but the patterns are in the 10" range-perfectly adequate density and very even patterns with respect to point of aim.

I have killed a raccoon in my attic with the same. The booger wouldn't let himself get trapped so I had to kill him. I cornered him (bad idea#1) and shone my flashlight on him and was between him and the only exit (bad idea #2), He got PO'ed and started hissing so my Para-Ord started barking. 9 times. No PACT timer but it had to be under 3 seconds. (I have a little shooting experience in pins and plates). 15 feet between the now dead coon and myself. Lots of stray shot in the sheetrock (none went into the house) and a few dB's off my hearing.

9 shots, each 1/3 ounce of #9. That's like 3 20 gauge shotgun shells from a cylinder bore gun. About right for a 15+ pound raccoon.
Keith J is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 09:30 PM   #14
Gino
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 14, 1998
Location: Lake City, FL USA
Posts: 919
Yep, I've got one box of 22mag and one box of 38 special. One shot used out of each. I definitely was not impressed with their performance!

I've worked with a lot of snakes and I've never been in a situation when I needed to shoot one. Easier to just walk away. The ones that needed killing got the shovel treatment: plenty effective and doesn't upset the neighbors.

And that had to be the best snake story I've heard in quite a while! It had me on the edge of my seat... LOL
Gino is offline  
Old December 4, 2001, 09:34 PM   #15
mcneill
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 1, 2000
Location: Texas Hill Country
Posts: 288
ahenry - great story.
__________________
NRA Patron; TSRA Life; NMLRA; JPFO; SAS Associate

"His name was Jeremiah Johnson, and he wanted to be a mountain man. ... He was looking for a Hawken gun, .50 caliber or better. He settled for a .30, but d*** it was a genuine Hawken. You couldn't go no better."
mcneill is offline  
Old December 5, 2001, 02:42 AM   #16
freeride21a
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 21, 2001
Location: occupied state of kommiefornia
Posts: 273
boo

dont kill them, get a stick and move them away! if your gonna hunt them and eat them...ok. But don't just kill them because you don't like them.
freeride21a is offline  
Old December 5, 2001, 03:50 AM   #17
citizen
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 12, 2000
Posts: 796
ahenry-

IMPRESSIVE literature!!

(Details DO leave an impression.)


Oleg- WELCOME BACK!!

Tell us of your journey!
__________________
ILLEGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM
NRA, GOA, AOC
Ignorance can be cured, Stupid is forever
Life is too short for dial-up
citizen is offline  
Old December 5, 2001, 08:19 AM   #18
Ewok_Guy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 11, 2001
Location: Endor
Posts: 1,664
If your going to use snakeshot in a handgun, be sure to get no more than 6 inches away from your target.
__________________
"Death and honor are thought to be the same,
but today I have learned that sometimes they are not."

---------------------
" I like big fat men like you. When they fall they make more noise!
...and sometimes they never get up."
-Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez
Ewok_Guy is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.11884 seconds with 7 queries