Posted on 11/20/2014 9:48:01 PM PST by Paul R.
Unlike many Freepers, while I'm pro 2nd Amendment, I'm no expert on guns, so I'm, going to turn to those of you who are more knowledgeable, for some advice. See further "setup" to my questions regarding a good "snake gun" below.
Many myths about snakes, are just that, myths.
like the lies about pubbies/GOP from the D'Rats.
That would be a Cobra Titan Tip Up Derringer 45LC/.410 3 inch.
I’d think that a .410 pistol with a shotshell would have a fairly wide pattern due to the rifling in the barrel - kind of a “can’t miss” deal for anyone who’s shot the gun a little? If the same is true for a .38, I might try shotshells with my buddy’s .38 and see what the pattern looks like at 5 and 10 ft. It’s still likely “too much” gun for my wife.
I was thinking of putting an Ontario machete on my wish list — but still think it’s a bit hairy for large snakes. Should be good for hacking though brambles on poorly maintained trails, though...
Thanks!
You might find you a good general small snake gun, but what happens if you have to shoot something big like an anaconda?......
Do ya’ suppose a mix of rubbing alcohol and 2-4-D would retain the desired properties of both? Drive off the snake or kill the freakin’ poison ivy . (Prob. should not use 2-4-D at the water, tho...)
No anacondas here. Yet. Human snakes are a much more likely possibility.
Assuming this article is fo real, I suggest that this dude go to Homedepot and buy a garden hoe.
Good call.
The Judge.
Definitely.
Have one.
Good for some situations on my property (not all, though.)
Poor to unusable for all the others.
I have a shooting range where you can count the rattlers by the hundreds if ya haven’t eradicated em for a few weeks., We have to wear snake chaps an boots when we mow it. My normal EDC is a glock 31 in 357sig.
When on the range I swap out to a SW 329PD 44 mag and load it with CCI shot loads. BTW ...My machete brand of choice was / is the Guatemalan “cornet” brand.....:0)
Stay Safe WD...
More seriously, I really am seriously interested in the technical / engineering side of what “shot” does in a rifled barrel, and why on earth the gov’t would enact barriers to someone having a .22 pistol with the ability for such a pistol to shoot a usable / moderately tight pattern of light shot, while someone can go out and buy a “Snake Slayer” and blow off someone’s face.* And, what would “fill the bill” for the usages I described (not just zapping a copperhead or three each year.)
*Don’t get me wrong, I think any non-felon should have any means they desire to protect themselves against snakes of any species. But the deterrent to, by comparison, having a smoothbore .22 pistol just don’t seem to make any sense at all. (I’m not even sure anyone even sells a .22 metal BB airgun — I think only rifled .22 pellet guns are available.)
Greetings Greysard:
22LR shot breaks clay pigeons, dispatches small varmints effectively, and briefly immobilizes the larger catagory.
Cheers,
OLA
Yeah, when I worked in the Youth Conservation Corps as a teenager, we had to wear snake chaps and boots on many jobs. I hated ‘em, but they were “necessary”, like paying taxes is now.
These days I just wear heavy full length jeans and ankle high hiking shoes, and if it’s hot out when I get to the lake or pond or any place with water, I pour some water on the jeans, maybe my shirt too if it’s really hot. But a big copperhead or rattler could still “get me” — I try to stay away from spots where I would not see the snake in time to avoid it, but that’s not 100% in many places...
If it’s your own property, I wonder if the rattlesnake meat could be harvested and sold to one of the “novelty” meats restaurants. Or China. Mystic powers to enhance sexual prowess or something like that. :-)
Greeting Paul R.:
My neighbor hates snakes, she’ll go out of her way to kill one. Me, I appreciate the benefits snakes provide to the ecosystem.
That said, thinking about creating snake jerky with the dehydrator next time she sees a snake.
Cheers,
OLA
Well we try to never let em get big enough to make a meal but a few 6 plus footers do show up now an then..... 99% get mowed, shot or both. Looking for natural predators to keep em in line. honey badger, mongoose, geese etc.. We find their dens its then a gas an fire event. Don’t like em, won’t handle em.
Haha - you may have seen my comment about trying to take out a copperhead with a Crossman .22 pellet pistol. Even with the long barrel, the one time I did it, it was on the 3rd shot, at close range, and probably more luck than skill.
That NRA test is probably not too far off my estimate of what I think I can do at 10 ft. (allowing for the distance.)
At any rate, a long time ago when I was young, I watched my Dad shoot a snake, oh, maybe 6-7 ft. away, with .22 LR snakeshot, and that did a very nice job (killed the snake — headshot — about as quickly as a snake can be killed.) But, tho’ I am relying on an old memory, the density of the pattern seemed tighter than what it’d be if the barrel of the pistol was rifled. All I remember about the pistol itself was that it was old and had what seemed like a longish barrel. Who knows - my grandfather was a precision machinist & I suppose modifications could have been made.
If it was obtainable / legal, a smoothbore .22 with shot would seem to be good for moderate size snakes, starlings, and rodents. But the consensus seems to be that it’d be hard to get / has that extra tax on it if it was available.
Anyway - lots of good info. in your post - thanks.
Haha - well, I may be needing the walking stick someday, too!
I've got salt-and-pepper king snakes here. They kill and eat the copperheads.
Why do you want to kill small snakes? There’s hardly any meat on the small ones. Besides, this time of year you need a small deer gun.
I live in a rural area and in addition to the normal non-venomous snakes I’ve also found Copperheads and Rattlesnakes on rare occasions. I have a Ruger .22 rifle that I find works just fine.
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