Advice on a snake pistol

[mtptwo]

You can get a Ruger Wrangler for under 200. Little Single Action Army clone in 22

[pvreb]

I have used .22 snake shot successfully in a revolver or bolt action rifle. It is interesting because I have noticed the tone of the rattle change when the snake is hit. They continue to shake for a while. Shot one many years ago and put it into the trunk of my car. Had to search for it later because it moved around with the head cut off.

Shot another a few years ago. My buddy had a jacket with a pocket in the back and offered to carry it because my jacket didn't have the pocket. Watching him was hilarious when it started moving without a head.

FWIW they are good eating.

[shooter444]

Rattlers,... Rattlers,.. Rattles,... subject seems to come up every early summer!

When I moved from Cave Creek to S/E Az twenty five years ago, to set up a goat and horse breeding hobby ranch,... fencing was my #1 chore. Doing fence in my area, was always fraught with rattler surprises. My personal problem, was, I had many, many, Mojave Rattles, aka grass rattlers, here in this desert / grazing country.

Some will say that Rattlers serve a purpose, which they do! Some will say, just let them be. My problem with some rattlers was/is they didn't let me be! Not only were they a danger to my horse operation,... horses graze with their nose a few inches off the ground, prime target for a scared rattler. When struck in the nose, a horse's nose can swell up to the point of suffocation,... horses only breath through their nose!

Mojave Rattlers, aka grass rattlers, will and have charged me EVERY TIME I have come across one!!!

Eventually, they will, and did, move off my place once the ground vibrating heavy hooves of the horses, that let them know they were in danger of being stepped on. In fact, now, I only have rattlers around the house and milk room, where grain is stored, or, around the buckets of dog food for my 9 dogs, that mice dine on,... when the mice population explodes due to lack of cat population, they roam and coyotes get them,... the snakes come in and fill up .

Walking into my pump room, first thing in the morning, to find a coon tail hunting mice, can be more awakening than my morning triple espresso coffee!!!

I feel that rattlers should not be tolerated on my place, for the reasons explained above! I also don't tolerate them within a half mile of my place. Rattles, like most wild critters, have a circuit they travel. Interrupt the circuit enough times and the trail isn't used again.

Now,... on topic,... SNAKE GUN!

I wore out NAA Black Widow 22 mag in the first year, doing fence here. It was a poor choice, in my experience. Wounded Mojave Rattlers would continue to strike, even while dragging their entrails. A moving snake size target, continuously striking as it attacked, wasn't dealt with efficiently with a 22 caliber, imo. You want to use a 22 caliber on a snake all curled up in the corner of a blocked patio, not moving, just rattling away,... go for it, probably will do just fine. Which brings up another lesson I have learned,... NOT ALL RATTLERS,... RATTLE BEFORE STRIKING!!!

Dealing with a Mojave Rattlers in THEIR natural desert grassland territory, where you can lose sight of it in a heart beat,... something better than a 22 caliber suddenly comes into mind!!!

I have used a multitude of calibers and commercial shot loads,... only to realize I could put something better, together,... so I did.

Uberti Colt clone in 45 Colt with Marlin 444 caliber cases cut a 16th of an inch shorter than the cylinder chambers, filled with #6 shot, capped with 410bore card board spacers 1/4" below crimped case mouth and topped off with a glue of your choice,... will produce a KILLING shot pattern good out to 15 feet in most type of cover a rattler could choose!!! It may be good even further, just never tried, figured 15 feet good enough!

I have learned a few things about Rattlers,... the most important, to me, is,... if they are on my place, and I just chase them off,.... THEY WILL RETURN!

You have a snake around your house in the city,... if you miss killing it with a shovel or a rock,... IT WILL RETURN!!!

When,... no clue,... just, until it RETURNS!!!

For my encounters when out riding, or walking, enjoying the country side,... I don't kill a rattler,... just because it's a rattler,... they do serve a purpose,... just not on my place!

[Ballistic Therapy]

I've always used a shovel or a 12 gauge.
They both work just fine.

[littleleft]

shovel and then a .22 works for me