Does .38 special snakeshot work well against snakes? Does 1 shot typically do the trick?

Question

I am going to be hiking and will have a .38 special snubnose revolver with me. I plan on having both regular bullets as well as snakeshot with me for anything I might encounter on the trail. Has anyone ever shot a snake with a .38 special revolver loaded with snakeshot? I am looking for people with 1st hand experience who have shot a snake before. And if so, did it work? Did it take 1 shot or several?

Answer 1

As a Gunsmith and avid Hunter/Outdoorsman I can tell you from first hand experience that 38 Special Shot shell cartridges will kill snakes at 15 feet or less. The problem you face is the fact that they were designed to fire best thru a minimum 4" barrel or longer barrel handgun. A 2" snub nose revolver of any make or manufacture will not work well at all. Coming out of a 2" barrel, the shot pattern isn't tight but expands outward into a wide pattern instead of a concentrated smaller pattern.


In the last 20+ years I've used shot shells (Specifically CCI Brand) in a 4" Smith & Wesson Model 10 38 Special on a total of 8 Timber Rattlesnakes and Western Diamond Back Rattlesnakes while hunting or hiking in the woods in Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota.Three of these snakes required 2 shots.These encounters were "up close and personal" and they would not back off, leaving me no choice but to shoot them to avoid being bitten.

Answer 2

38 Special Snake Shot

Answer 3

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RE:
Does .38 special snakeshot work well against snakes? Does 1 shot typically do the trick?
I am going to be hiking and will have a .38 special snubnose revolver with me. I plan on having both regular bullets as well as snakeshot with me for anything I might encounter on the trail. Has anyone ever shot a snake with a .38 special revolver loaded with snakeshot? I am looking for people...

Answer 4

I've used "snakeshot" in .38 special, .357mag, 44 mag and even some custom loads in a 1911 style .45 acp. You have to be close for the .38 to work well. Aim for the area near the head,Caution dictates that you really don't want to be close to a dangerous snake, or any other animal. My personal opinion is that a .38 for a trail gun is minimal at best, although I have in fact even used a .22 at times. I would much rather see you with one of the small framed .357 magnums as a trail gun. It allows yout to load and fire .38 special ammunition thru it, as well as giving you the ability to fire a 158 grain semi jacketed soft point .357 magnum round that will serve much better in stopping a larger 4 legged critter, or a 2 legged one as well. In a 6 shot revolver, in snake country, I load first round up as snake shot, next round up as semi jacked HP .38 special, next 4 rounds up are all 158 grain SJSP in .357 magnum. That way, if it's a snake, I can shoot it with the first round. If it's a rabbit or grouse etc for the pot, I simply pull back and lower the hammer one time to have a .38 spcl round up to kill but not destroy to much meat. at the same time, the .38 spcl round would work on a 2 legged critter or a soft skinned animal like coyote or bobcat, skunk etc. If faced with a bear, the 4 .357mag rounds are gonna be a good bet, and I have even harvested deer with it for camp meat. This isn't my choice if I know I'm going into bear country, but it is a good trade off.
Hope this helped

Answer 5

Snake Shot Ammo

Answer 6

I've successfully used .38 Special snake shot out of 4" barrel revolvers. The three footers just die. I shot a five footer one year with two snake shot rounds out of my 4" Colt Python. Surprisingly enough, I had to finish it off with my sister-in-law's .380 Beretta because she complained that my revolver was just too loud.

Even after that experience in 1999, I still load the first two cylinders with snake shot when I'm in snake country, and the last four w/full-power .357 Magnums. I have heard other hunters say that they have seen rattlers that are so big that they are afraid to shoot them with snake shot. I've seen em too, I just didn't worry about using snake shot and used whatever was handy to dispatch them. Now that I think about it, this is probably why I load the last four cylinders with .357 full-power rounds in my field gun.

Good luck.

H

Answer 7

I lived hiked and hunted in Wyoming and Colorado for numerous years. And have found the .357 snake loads to be extremely effective. One head shoot is enough, or has been for me.

My .357 has a 6 inch barrel, thus cannot testify as to how lethal your .38 with a 2 inch is.

Pattern it and find out? Take a 12 once soft drink can fill it with water and dirt. Stand back a few feet and fire.

Give you a very good indication as to how good it will be.

Answer 8

It works pretty well at very short distances aim for the head an fire its like a mini shot gun the snake is hit with many pellets and hopefully a few in the head.Being a snub nose the pellets will spread fairly quickly you may want to try it a few times to get to know what the pattern is.

Answer 9

I have used the shot rounds in a snubby .38 and they were OK on rattlers. Practice with a few to see what your range is.
Best snake weapon combo IMO is a good heavy hiking stick and a Cold Steel Bushman knife. You can use them seperate or push that Bushman on your stick and you have a spear. I have dispatched more nuisance rattlers with this than any other method.

Answer 10

I use .22 snakeshot when I hike its a #12 shot but they spread about the same if your shooting from beyond 3yds.(i know its shot but thats about the limit) then get some and take it to the range (if you have a reloading kit) reload it with bigger shot if you dont have a reloading kit then put 1 snake shot then 1 soft point