Rattlers And Revolvers

This photo is a perfect illustration of why handgun shotshells are perfect
for dispatching venomous reptiles. It’s enough for the rattler yet the folks
on the highway in the background are perfectly safe.

This is Duke’s favorite rattler revolver —
a Colt Sheriff’s Model .44 Special with 3" barrel.

I killed another rattler yesterday morning, a fairly large one and the first seen this year. Our nearest neighbor, a single lady, called asking if I could help with a rattlesnake in her yard. In my old age I don’t get a lot of joy out of killing anything, don’t hunt big game anymore, and for several years have only gone varmint shooting at the strong behest of friends.

That said, I also don’t feel any pangs of conscience about shooting a rattlesnake found around human habitations. Recently a German reader visited. As cat and dog lovers, he and his wife were thrilled with our large array of beautiful, friendly felines and canines. However, at one point I mentioned “my snake-gun” and the German fellow attempted to correct me. He said, “Ah, but everything has its place in nature.”

To which I replied, “Right, but do you encounter any venomous reptiles around your home in Germany?” Of course the answer was no. So I continued, “I don’t go looking for rattlesnakes to shoot, because they do have their place in nature. But it would only require a moment’s encounter with one around our home and outbuildings to end the life of one of those beautiful cats or dogs you just commented about.” That’s saying nothing about what it could do to Yvonne or me or any of the numerous visitors we host during warm months. He got the point.

This sizeable rattler was the most recent one dispatched by Duke.
It was in a neighbor lady’s yard and she asked for his help.

Duke’s home site on his piece of the Big Sky Country. At one time or the other he has
killed rattlers near all of the buildings and near many of the vehicles.

Snaky Area

In the quarter century Yvonne and I have made our home on this piece of Montana, I have killed rattlers in our driveway, on our front porch, around our parked vehicles, by the door of our shop, and in our horse corrals. A few years we encountered nary a one. Last year between the two of us we killed a half-dozen. You might ask, “Why take up residence in a snaky area?” Because I wanted to have my own shooting ranges, and we could afford this place. Besides we purchased it after the snake season, so no mention was made by the seller of their presence.

One time a fellow I hired to mow our considerable lawn knocked on the door to say, “I just saw a rattlesnake crawl through a crack around the door of that white shed out there.” That white shed happens to be my gun powder, ammunition and bullet storage place. My response to the fellow was, “Well, he owns it then. I’ll be damned if I’m going in there after him.” And I didn’t until well into a frigid winter. I’m sure powder and bullet sales at the nearest gun store showed an increase during those months.

Want to know why Duke prefers big bore revolvers for rattlesnake control?
Which would you prefer to have on-hand if encountering a sizeable rattler?

Duke has this variety of CCI handgun shotshells on hand. From left to right:
.22 LR, .22 WMR, 9mm, .38 Special, .40 S&W, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP and .45 Colt.

For the handloader Speer sells shot capsules
in .38, .44 and .45 calibers.

Big Bores

The revolvers kept by our doors stoked with shot loads are always big bores — .44s or .45s. One I bought especially for this purpose is a Colt SAA Sheriff’s Model .44 which has both .44 Special and .44-40 cylinders. Only the .44 Special is used because I’ve found it next to impossible to get plastic shot capsules to stay put in thin-walled .44-40 brass. I often stick this short-barreled Colt in my hip pocket when going about outside during the summer. For safety it’s loaded with only five rounds, with the hammer down on the empty sixth chamber.

For many years I made my own handgun shotshells because I wanted to use .45 Colt revolvers. Speer made .38/.357 and .44-caliber plastic shot capsules but for some strange reason none for .45s. Therefore I used the age-old gas check method. One goes in the case with the cup-up and one on top, cup-down, with the bird shot held in between. The results were effective but slow to produce.

Above: A pattern made by CCI 45 Colt shotshells from approximately 10 feet shows
the .45 Colt is good snake medicine. Below: A pattern made by CCI .44 Special
shotshells from approximately 10 feet. Plenty here to get the job done.

Above: A pattern made by Duke’s .44 Special shotshell handloads using #12 shot.
Duke likes the smaller shot and dense pattern. Below: A pattern made by CCI .38
Special shotshells from approximately 10 feet. The bigger bores throw more shot.

A few years back Speer finally added .45-caliber shot capsules to their catalog so as far as I’m concerned the gas check method of manufacture is now obsolete. In fact I’ve not even used the shot capsules at all this year to handload my own snake loads. I have a good supply of CCI factory loaded shotshells on hand ranging from .22 LR to .45 Colt. The rattler shown in the accompanying photo was dispatched with a .44 Spl/Mag one containing approximately 170 #9 size pellets. It worked just fine.

A natural question would be, “Why insist on revolvers? CCI shotshells also come in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 Auto calibers.” That’s true and in fact the .45 Auto shotshells are labeled as carrying 210 #9 pellets as opposed to the .45 Colt’s approximately 150 of the same size. My preference is due to reliability. From experience I know a semi-auto pistol cannot be counted on to function for more than the first round with shotshells. I’ve definitely encountered more than one rattler at a time.

As an aside, I’d like to stress you should pay attention to the label on CCI’s .45 Auto shotshells. It says not to use them in revolvers because cylinder lock-up may occur. I took that as a direct challenge and fired one in an S&W Model 22 .45 Auto revolver. Believe them — a wooden mallet was needed to get the cylinder open.

Duke prefers the Sheriff’s Model .44 because it
comfortably fits in the hip pocket of his jeans.

A variety of handgun shotshells by CCI . They’ve
been doing it for so long, they’ve got it down pat.

Except One Thing

My only complaint about CCI factory handgun shotshells is strictly opinion. I think for the most part the big bore ones use shot too large for the purpose. For .22s and 9mm they use #12 and #11 shot respectively. Then they go to #9 for everything else. Over a quarter century back I landed a single bag of #12 shot and used it exclusively for my snake loads. It works wonderfully for our prairie rattlers and they don’t even squiggle after blowing a cloud of #12 into them. Admittedly, however, it may be too small for some of those monster size rattlers found in warmer climates. In fact the rattler that prompted this article was larger than we normally see around here. I didn’t feel over-gunned with the CCI .44 Spl/Mag rounds with #9 shot, although it did squiggle around a bit after being shot. They have never done that when hit with #12 shot.

Snake- lovers and greenies may abhor my killing of rattlers. I am neither. Some well-intentioned souls have even suggested I relocate them. First, many people get snake-bit by trying to handle the things. That will never be my fate. And second, this area is populated enough that moving a rattler will just make it someone else’s problem.

For the continued safety of my wife, myself, our livestock and our treasured pets I shoot every rattlesnake encountered around here, all the while leaving harmless reptiles to go on their way. CCI shotshells and Speer plastic shot capsules allow me to do that in what I consider the safest possible manner.

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