Am I an idiot.... considering .410 ga for anti-snake purposes

[leVieux]

If you have NO gun, you need one for general purposes. Look at a combo 20GA / .22LR combo.

A stick or old golf putter woul be more reasonable if ONLY for snakes.

leVieux

 

[deemus]

A good choice as well. I went with the Judge because of the poymer frame. Normally I do not like those, but the weight is a nice benny. I guess I could have accomplished my goal by loading one of my 9mm or 45 with a couple of shot shells on top of the mag, but than I would not have had an excuse to get another gun.

A lot of those shotshells wont cycle in a SA pistol.

 

[Sasquatch]

If you need another reason to get a .410 - watch this video

 

[Moonpie]

Why has OP not posted pics of his new Holland&Holland .410 SxS?

Is he a slacker?

 

[Hippie Farmer]

A neighbor of mine was having some copperhead problems two years ago. I made him some signs to put around his house. I laminated them and glued a popsicle stick to the back and sharpened it so he could just stick them in the ground. He actually had a reduction in sightings after that. Feel free to print out as many as you want. I'm not sure how to deal with the rocky terrain. You might have to make some small bases or something. You're on your own there. Ample coverage is the key. Like I said print out as many as you need.

Once you deploy 10 to 15 of these around your property, and only then, I would think it would be appropriate to ask if you're an idiot.

 

[baboon]

Why has OP not posted pics of his new Holland&Holland .410 SxS?

Is he a slacker?

He could be saving for a single barreled 4 X .410!

40MM Hornets Nest Round - Pace Defense

Our NEW 40MM Hornets Nest Round allows you to Load and Fire four (4) .410 shotshells from your 40MM Grenade Launcher!

reloadableshells.com

 

[satx78247]

A neighbor of mine was having some copperhead problems two years ago. I made him some signs to put around his house. I laminated them and glued a popsicle stick to the back and sharpened it so he could just stick them in the ground. He actually had a reduction in sightings after that. Feel free to print out as many as you want. I'm not sure how to deal with the rocky terrain. You might have to make some small bases or something. You're on your own there. Ample coverage is the key. Like I said print out as many as you need.

Once you deploy 10 to 15 of these around your property, and only then, I would think it would be appropriate to ask if you're an idiot.
View attachment 229512

Hippie Farmer,

Those signs WORK every bit as well as the GUN FREE ZONE signs do.

yours, satx

 

[CPTKILLER]

I used my Taurus Public Defender with 410 and 7-1/2 bird shot to nail a snake quite successfully on my small ranch.

I usually get a snake every 2 weeks in Central Texas,

 

[Pdyson]

I have a lot of rattlesnakes on my 1acre lot on Lake Brownwood. Everyone in my development has a tragic story to tell. Mostly dogs and a few cats killed over the years and about 9 years back my next door neighbor’s 4yr old was bitten. he survived due to quick medical attention. I have two young grandchildren too, so rattlesnakes are not welcome. I do my best to keep the mice and rats killed out and I keep the grass short. I’d say Unless you like to carry a shotgun everywhere and everyday you are on your property...it doesn’t make much sense to have one just for killin rattlesnakes. I kill between 10 and 20 per year half in the spring other half in the fall. My go to weapon is a gas weedeater and most of them were young 1 to 2 footers. I must admit, I almost NEVER see them before the string trimmer kills them. They lay motionless and have perfect camouflage which is why they are so dangerous to young children. I was working late in my workshop last week when one snuck up next to my pickup in the carport. I went to grab a piece of lumber out of the bed and nearly stepped on the sucker. I went for the closest tool at hand and Dispatched him with a sharpshooter shovel. I crushed the severed head and fed the body to a couple of red foxes that hang out in my yard. My wife feeds em table scraps. I just wish they’d kill their own snakes because I hate rattlesnake surprises.

 

[Coyote9]

Am I an idiot? Maybe. Probably? Regardless, I pose this question for a specific reason.

Would it be a good / bad / other idea to consider a .410 shotty to potentially deal with snakes? We recently purchased a little less than 2 acres of wooded land on a ton of limestone. We have rock... everywhere.. and trees... rocks and trees. Seems like good snake habitat. We're currently cleaning up the land, setting up some small recreation areas for horseshoes, cornhole, and an airgun range. My concern is encountering some venomous interlopers while out and about the our little plot of Hill Country heaven.

Maybe a 9mm or perhaps a revolver with snake-shot would be sufficient should I encounter something while clearing trees or moving stones.

I'm guessing there are some opinions on this.

 

[jkingrph]

I would think a revolver loaded with shot would be a better choice. Much easier to carry while cleaning up, just stick in a holster and go about your work but it's always there and handy. You would have to set a shotgun down somewhere and it would probably be out of reach. Never heard of a 9mm load with shot, you would probably have to do your own and would it cycle a semi auto, and yes I know there are some 9mm revolvers out there. At close range a .22LR rat shot should work well and be less noisy than anything bigger.

 

[Coyote9]

My cousin has lots of rattlers, he and hiswife both carry Judge revolvers in 410. I carry a ,45 Kimber covert pro shop with a handload shot shell in the chamber .. I have bagged a copperhead and two mocassins this year with it. Thatsaid Iagree with the other guy that I have killed many more pit vipers with a shovel than with a gun..

 

[phoenix]

Snakes like coyotes serve a purpose in nature. I'm not one for killing venomous snakes unless absolutely necessary. More skake have been killed with shovels & hoes then guns.

Yeah i was always more concerned when they pose a threat as there is a purpose for them. Now some species are much more aggressive than others so I do know many people who see corals are more concered as they ahve the most deadly venom compared to a cottonmout, rattler or cooperhead.

 

[DD130]

Still no four hundred and ten pics.

OP is a slacker.

ROFL. I had to pickup a CZ TS an LTT Elite this week... just missed out on a used Judge... I'm sure there will be a .410 soon.

 

[satx78247]

To All,

My OLD (circa 1920) H&R HANDY GUN is my "constant companion" in a chest holster (& loaded with a 3" shotshell of #6 shot), when I'm out fishing OLIVER LAKE, CADDO LAKE & other TX lakes/creeks/bayous that are KNOWN to be "snakey".

MANY a "stumptail moccasin", which got "too friendly" has had its life ENDED with one load of shot.
("UP CLOSE & PERSONAL", like at 10-12M, I suspect that a 3" .410 shell full of #6s would DISCOURAGE a feral hog from attempting to "get in my business".)

yours, satx

 

[jcriswell]

rotor,

LOUD is the TRUTHFUL answer. = ALL of the "shot pistols" ARE loud, including mine.

yours, satx

 

[jcriswell]

"Loud" is indeed a truthful but equally subjective answer. Any of us who have been shooting shot guns and/or wheel guns since we were kids... can't hear a telephone ring in the next room or the doorbell until the dogs barking gets our visual attention. If you are over 45 or 50 years of age, your hearing is already damaged as bad as it will probably get. Plus, if you encounter a snake on your porch or trail or in your pasture, one shot better do it... or you don't need to be packing a gun of any kind.

 

[centexshooter]

Leave the snakes be. Keep on killing them and then wonder why you're overrun with rodents. If not directly confronted they will back away and hide. You play horseshoes and let them go on and do their jobs.

 

[satx78247]

Leave the snakes be. Keep on killing them and then wonder why you're overrun with rodents. If not directly confronted they will back away and hide. You play horseshoes and let them go on and do their jobs.

centexshooter,


CORAL SNAKES are SHY & HIGHLY UNLIKELY to bite an adult.
Similarly, COPPERHEADS & the VAST MAJORITY of RATTLERS will "shy away from a fight", if given the chance, "'Ole STUMPTAIL", i.e., the COTTONMOUTH MOCCASIN will be OFTEN be VERY AGGRESSIVE toward humans & force the wise human to deal with the pit viper by "use of deadly force" or risk a snakebite.
(Having been bitten by a Cottonmouth while fishing & ended up admitted to the local hospital for several days & being treated with IV anti-biotics for a RAGING INFECTION , I know all too well about the moccasin's EVIL TEMPER & how UTTERLY DANGEROUS that that snake often is.)

yours, satx

 

[Niemand Besonderes]

I "live and let live" with snakes the same way I do with the two, three, and four-legged terrorists/communists. Give 'em the bayonet! (after you've given them some 12GA lead poisoning) No quarter!
I like the idea of a dedicated snake gun but a 12GA is so versatile.
If you put a sling and a light on a garden hoe, you might... Nah, nevermind.