You guys probably know this but rattlers are quite vain about their rattles, and often travel with their tail up to protect the rattles. Can make it easy to identify a rattler from a long way off.
You guys probably know this but rattlers are quite vain about their rattles, and often travel with their tail up to protect the rattles. Can make it easy to identify a rattler from a long way off.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
I believe the factory loaded ones Ive used have been No 9 shot. It seems to work fine within its pattern range, and the smaller shot should give decent patterns a bit farther than the heavier shot. The snakes Ive been around arent real big, or arent big enough to need larger shot, which I think is the reasoning with heavier shot. Thats my line of thought, denser patterns. The ones I load myself Ive also used no 9 shot.Originally Posted by GJM
If you have your 45-70 handy, 410s fire in them, though they dont extract well much of the time. You can make 45-70 shot loads fairly easily also. All the rifled barrels ive used shot loads in spread patterns pretty quickly with a hole in the middle.
ETA: someone mentioned cows or something stomping rattlesnakes. Antelope will also do it. if you see an antelope pogo-sticking up and down in one spot, they are likely killing a rattlesnake.
Last edited by Malamute; 10-18-2017 at 09:40 PM.
The four shot gives you more range but good luck finding them.
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Replied.
I've only tried to kill a rattlesnake once with a handgun. After that, I always just used a stick. Much easier.
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The usual sized suspects (2'-3') in this area.
All three were in the middle of freakin nowhere and minding their own business, so I just used a stick to relocate them off the road and let them continue with their rat killing.
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"For a moment he felt good about this. A moment or two later he felt bad about feeling good about it. Then he felt good about feeling bad about feeling good about it and, satisfied, drove on into the night."
-- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy --
Interesting historical footnote: all three of those snakes were located right on the Goodnight-Loving Trail and very close to where Oliver Loving was ambushed and wounded by Comanches (the book and series "Lonesome Dove" was based on Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving).
Last edited by JodyH; 10-19-2017 at 06:34 AM.
"For a moment he felt good about this. A moment or two later he felt bad about feeling good about it. Then he felt good about feeling bad about feeling good about it and, satisfied, drove on into the night."
-- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy --
I've seen them do that.
Thats the theory, heavier shot gives better penetration, but, the other side of that is the heavier shot doesnt make as dense of a pattern, you get less hits, perhaps not enough for a killing shot. Pattern density is the primary problem with distance and effectiveness in my experience, not penetration, unless talking the teeny tiny shot in the 22 shells. Ive had poor results with the CCI 22 birdshot on snakes, even at 2-3 feet when shot from a mini-revolver.
Found comparable pattern tests with the 4 and 9 shot. Both pattern tests supposedly shot at "about 6 feet". It was also interesting seeing the differences in the various calibers. The 38 spl loads have about double the shot amount load as the 9mm, but the 9mm is 12 shot, so patterns OK at the close distance. Larger calibers also hold more shot volume. The 40 and 45 CCI loads threw very tight patterns due to their different shot containment method, they may be the choice for more distance, even with the 9 shot. 9 shot seems to work OK in shotguns farther than 6-10 feet, so I'm not quite convinced it wont penetrate on snakes at whatever distance they would be shot with handguns.
No 4
http://www.downrange.tv/blog/cci-big...tshells/37681/
No 9
http://www.downrange.tv/blog/range-t...-shells/35822/
I was looking for a number count of both the 4 and 9 shot, I only found a count for the 4, but the pattern targets definitely show the difference in shot count and pattern density.
Last edited by Malamute; 10-27-2017 at 10:03 AM.
You can get the shot cups as reloading components. I roll my own in .45 Colt and have found that #7.5 Shot over 6.5 grains of Unique works the best for all types of vermin. I used them in a Ruger Bisley with a 7 1/2 inch barrel. I also found that a moderate to heavy roll crimp tightened my patterns a good bit. I could routinely make killing hits on gray squirrels 20 to 30 feet up in my chestnut trees. My oldest really wanted that Bisley so I am sans big bore revolver right now, though I intend to fix that with a 4 inch Redhawk soon. Just to note, I have tried shot sizes from T all the way down to #12 and have even stacked #4 buck in the cup but did not actually load it. The bigger shot size lacks in enough quantity to fill the pattern and the really small sizes lack enough mass to be effective. #6 preformed really well too, but I had a full bag of 7.5s or I may have settled on the #6.
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