Best rattlesnake handgun?

[MountainLion]

They'll actually chase you & they can out run you.

Yup, happens. I find that if a rattle snake outruns me, it's time to refill the air. In the tires of my wheel chair.

[deckhandmike]

What did you shoot it with?

[JTROKS]

There has been a rise in rattlesnake bites. That’s just like someone near where I live was bit by a coyote. Wild animals are just that. Some of you may think you’re a whisperer and can pull a stunt with wild animals. Good job whisperer John you saved the rattlesnake by taking it off the road and putting it back on the trail. A minute later here comes jogger Jaimie complete with earbuds and music to compliment the trail jog where the rattlesnake was released.

[edgerly779]

I only kill when around house or living areas. Out in bush I just walk around and leave them alone. We killed one In El Paso under trailer that was over 6' long and big around as my arm. It would make a belt for Shaq and a hatband.

[bruss01]

Ignoring the stupid California laws and roster what do you think is the best rattlesnake HANDGUN if you were to carry one in the desert ?

Bond arms 410/45? Versatile and small, easy to carry but only two shots
Smith and Wesson governor 410/45? Versatile, six shots kind of bulky
Smith and Wesson or Ruger 357 with snake shot?
Others?

Governor

If I get the chance to acquire one under CA law you can bet I'm all over it.

[SnWnMe]

Anyone with trail jogging experience (or hiking) know that as long as you stick to the trail, you will almost certainly see the rattler long before you surprise it. For this and other reasons, I don't bushwhack.

Heck I used to mountain bike at NIGHT in Sweetwater in San Diego and only got buzzed once. I bailed out on a fast switchback and ended up next to the snake off trail. A gun would not have helped, I was nearly on top of Jake. He went the other way, I got up screaming like a little girl.

[kojak]

I had to dispatch lot of snakes, mostly small harmless ones and the occasional copperhead and coral, back when I ran a survey party; the chainmen would simply get back in the truck when a snake was spotted and stay there until I produced a carcass.

I duly loaded my .38 snub with CCI, but to get a first round kill without losing the sucker in the brush and tall grass I needed to be within machete range. It was more "fun" but not worth the hassles of noise, liability, carrying my CCW with gimmick ammo, etc.. In approximate kill count order:

1: bushaxe, by a country mile the best snake harvesting get back to work tool
2: shovel, full length, if it was closer to hand than the bushaxes.
3: machete--easier to haul into deep brush and swampland when I'm already toting a tripod and instrument
4: snakeshot
5: .380 silvertips--not great but it's what was usually in my pocket

[1911_Mitch]

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[4GLOCK30]

My .380 or Ruger .38 LCR are what I have always carried while camping/hiking with the first 2 chambers loaded with bird shot.

Never needed it for a snake but the one time a rattler was coiled around my trailer axle while camping.....a shovel ended his residency. Didn't want to blow holes in my water tanks

[KrisDSA]

G21 with snakes shot

[alpha_romeo_XV]

I don't have a phobia of snakez so I poked at a smallish 2' rattler with my golf club and it launched completely airborne at me. I had to dodge it, so I'd be careful about distance once they're in a spring coil.
I did shoot one's head clean off with a 12 guage, that my dog was going for. Came back a good half hour later and it was still cork screwing on the ground without a head.
I do not like spiders however. Black widows and scorpions -they're going to die.

[downdiver2]

They repulse human contact!

Pee on it - it will run away so fast and you wont have to kill it. Then he'll have your scent on him and no lady rattler will every take him as a mate.

Trust me!

[MyOdessa]

S&W model 63 .22LR, 8 shots, 3" barrel. Excellent companion when walking a dog in rural area.

[ez1911]

I have a simple rule with rattlesnakes. If they don't bother me, I wont turn them into a pen.
Most bites happen when one sits on them, or puts their hands somewhere they shouldn't. They generally will move away from large mammals like us two legged type.

[BillSmith]

Pee on it - it will run away so fast and you wont have to kill it.

So, this is the prelude to that bit of humor that ends with the punch line,

"You're gonna die."