"Snake Shot"

[Philabuster]

I have purchased some .357 ""snake shot" and was wondering...will this stuff damage the barrel? any opinions? Shooting it from a Ruger SP101.

 

[kludge]

I've never seen any reports of damaged barrels.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

OP:

I'm not being snarky by asking you this question, I promise.

But why do you think that it would harm your barrel?

-J-

 

[Philabuster]

I didn't know if it would damage any rifling.

 

[Doug]

I'm pretty sure it stays in the plastic cup until it leaves the barrel.
If not, you might get some lead fouling, but, if you get anything, you;ll probably get minor plastic deposits.
The shot shells for .45 ACP don't even have a shot cup and I've never heard of any problems with them.
Should be fine.

 

[Claddagh]

Other than maybe a little plastic fouling from the shot containers, no. And I really can't seriously consider that to fall into the category of 'damage'. Plastic and lead are both a whole heckuva lot softer than steel, so what's to worry about? Just clean any fouling out after you use it and you'll be fine.

IIWY, I just wouldn't expect to dispatch any snakes or small rodent pests with one shot reliably at much more than ten feet with them, especially from the short barrel of your SP101. The shot is small, there's not really a lot of it and even with the plastic container the "spin" imparted to the package from going through a rifled barrel tends to make the shot charge spread out very quickly.

 

[Doug]

Thats a good point.
We need some testing of handgun shotshells with pictures of patterns and results. Maybe a hotdog could stand in for a snake's head.
Volunteers?

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Thats a good point.
We need some testing of handgun shotshells with pictures of patterns and results. Maybe a hotdog could stand in for a snake's head.
Volunteers?

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Not a tasty hotdog!!!!

 

[scttnieman]

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Not a tasty hotdog!!!!

atleast he didnt say bacon

 

[bobbittle]

The Box O' Truth #30 - Snakeloads O' Truth - Page 1

 

[churchmouse]

The Box O' Truth #30 - Snakeloads O' Truth - Page 1

We did did this same test with a 38 sp. when we first found these rounds at a gun show a long time ago. For home defense I think they would not do anyone any good to get shot with these unless you had on layers of heavy clothing. The do not pack a lot of punch. I do not want to be shot with them.

 

[.356luger]

If you reload you can make your own on the cheep using coke box wads and a low power load I mean low. And some shot from the shotgun world and a little dab of Elmer's works just fine

 

[IndianaGTI]

I have purchased some .357 ""snake shot" and was wondering...will this stuff damage the barrel? any opinions? Shooting it from a Ruger SP101.

Last spring, I noticed a snake in my yard. I took my 686 6" in .357 out with snake loads to try them out. I saw 5 snakes within 10 minutes and dispatched 4. The other one hid too fast. The last snake I shot was at close range. I could not find a trace of the snake after I shot it. It was obliterated at about 3 feet. The stuff works great on snakes. I doubt it would do anything to a person unless you put someone's eye out or shot them at arm's length.

 

[Doug]

OK, we know the .38/.357 and .44 special/magnum loads work well.
How about the .22 rimfire snake loads?
Enquiring minds want to know.

 

[Philabuster]

Thanks guys. Certainly not using it for home defense! Actually going to the hills of Tennessee this spring to a friends cabin. He wants me to come down and kill copperheads with him. As much as I hate snakes...I can't wait! Thinking I might get a 45-70 Marlin guide gun also. I know...a 12 ga would do the trick, but I wanna do this in style!

 

[bluewraith]

OK, we know the .38/.357 and .44 special/magnum loads work well.
How about the .22 rimfire snake loads?
Enquiring minds want to know.

Those are more for barn birds and rats. Much less risk of putting a hole in the roof.

They'll also ventilate your water pipes in the basement too from what I hear.

 

[tradertator]

I had a cat bring a chipmunk in the house. Not sure what happened, but somehow the little bastard came back to life. 22lr bird shot did the trick, and barely messed up the baseboard.

 

[DRob]

Rimfire snake shot

I carried a .22 WMR Single Six for snakes one time. At about 5 feet it didn't do any significant damge to a Colorado thistle. It would probably only make an already-mad-at-you snake a lot madder.

Looks like The Box-O'-Truth covered the larger pistol calibers pretty well but I prefer the "useless" Taurus Judge with #6 shot. There is no such thing as too dead when it comes to rattlesnakes.

 

[lucky4034]

If your worried about hurting the barrel, you could always just shoot those mean Indiana garter snakes with a high powered air soft pistol

 

[Claddagh]

My grandfather used to keep an old 6" H&R revolver hanging on a nail in the feed locker of his barn. It was loaded with the old, star-crimped "rat shot" cartridges and a couple of SV .22 Shorts. On mice and rats at about 6', it'd work fairly well if you placed your first shot right. It often took a fast 'finisher' to dispatch rats though. It'd do-in small birds such as sparrows, if you could get close enough. Outside of about 12', they were pretty useless. Not enough 'oomph' to do much more than annoy pigeons and the like unless you got lucky and hit 'em in the head with a couple of the pellets, at least from a handgun.

About a gazillion years ago when I was a Boy Scout, we learned the rudiments of wing shooting and earned Merit Badges using specially-made smooth bore .22 RF long guns and tiny "clay birds" launched from a miniature trap. Can't remember half a century later whether it was Remington or Mossberg who made them for the BSA. I've seen smooth bore .22 RFs from both. Challenging game, as you had to learn how to mount your weapon and shoot fast in order to consistently break the targets.

This was long before CCI came out with the 'encapsulated' .22 shotshells. Can't help but wonder sometimes how they'd do in one of those old smooth bore 'garden guns'.