.22lr shotshells

[LynnJr]

You want crimped ammo or the very hard plastic capsules.
I tried loading the soft plastic capsules and they don't break open and are useless on snakes.
The hard capsules shatter going down the barrel so you get the shot to spread out.

[danez71]

Somewhat off topic, but have you ever eaten rattle snake meat? Any good?

Yes, I have.

It tastes most closely to alligator.

It gets tough/chewy from being over cooked like it a skewered hotdog over a camp fire pretty easily.

Cook it like shrimp.

[CSACANNONEER]

Somewhat off topic, but have you ever eaten rattle snake meat? Any good?

Snake and eggs for breakfast, mmmmm good.

For dinner, BBQ isn't too bad:

[Jimi Jah]

The only .22 pistol I've got happens to be an NAA .22LR that I won in a raffle. How did the shotshells perform in yours?

I get a very wide spread at 15 feet with mine, like a man sized spread.

[Calif Hunter]

I also prefer the crimped .22 LR shotshells, and as a kid shot a lot of packrats, mice and rats with handguns on the front porch of my uncle's cabin. Bait them with crackers, listen for the noise, hit them with a light and pop 'em. I have also shot a few snakes with shotshells, and the crimped seem to work better in my rimfire handguns. I load my own centerfire (.38/.357,, .44 and .45 Colt) using #12 shot in the Speer capsules and they are very effective further than the .22s. [I]used to run a Mo-Skeet range for the Boy Scouts as a teen, and we used Rem .22 shotguns with the crimped ammo to shoot mini clays. They were surprisingly effective.

[Teachu2]

I wouldn't trust that at all unless, I ran a couple dozen shotshells through the gun to be sure i reliably cycles. My6 experience with semi auto handguns and shotshells has been that it turns the gun into a single shot and, sometimes it the shells need to be ejected with a rod.

They cycle perfectly in all my Glocks and 1911s with stock weight recoil springs.

[PoorRichRichard]

Somewhat off topic, but have you ever eaten rattle snake meat? Any good?

I love rabbit hunting, but not always for the rabitts... If the boy and I come across a rattler longer than about 2 and-a-half feet, we take it. Cook it up like fried chicken. Deeee-Fin-lish!

[desertjosh]

Ya i like .22 shotshells from cci. They work great out of my 10/22 and my h&r sportsman revolver. I cook rattlesnake in a cajon shrimp fry. I love it

[BrokeGuy]

I have an old Marlin M60 I used with cci shotshells to take out rats at my old place that were around our bird cage. Killed a couple dozen over the course of a few years. Mainly used a 177 pellet gun but the shot worked just as well and dropped them instantaneously. It was just as loud as the pellet rifle because of the long barrel also.

[Spyder]

Somewhat off topic, but have you ever eaten rattle snake meat? Any good?

Every chance I get. They're REALLY easy to clean, somewhat of a pain to eat unless really big, and taste fantastic. I've got a few in the freezer now, once it cools down and snake season is over, I'll do a dinner with them all.

[gunprofit]

I would suggest you pattern your gun and ammo. I have done this with different ammo manufacturers, different calibers, different guns, etc. I was surprised at the results in my limited tests.

The larger calibers such as 38/357 on up, most manufacturers used #9 shot. The 22 calibers, most used #12 shot. Or if you are a reloader you can buy the capsules and reload them yourself and whatever shot size you desire.

The larger and heavier shot will have more penetration and distance. However, you are shooting the shot out of a rifled barrel not a smooth barrel, therefore patterns will vary. That's why I suggest you pattern your gun.

Years back when I lived on the farm, I loaded my own shotshells for 357 revolver. I shot snakes, rats, etc. Using number #9 shot in my S&W Model 28 with 6" barrel was effective out to approximately 18 feet. For me, the best part of using number #9 shot is that the pellets did not punch holes in my barn.

I would mention, I did not load my revolver up with completely shotshells. I loaded 3 rounds shotshell and 3 rounds regular bullet. Target distance can vary.

[5.56]

All this talk about snake meat is making me wish I been eating them. The last one I killed I buried in my yard and the coyotes dug it up same night and got to enjoy it.

I'm torn between a real light .22lr revolver like a ruger lcr or s&w 317, or a heavier one like a ruger sp101 or s&w m63. The shorter barrel and lighter weight is drawing me to the m63. Now if ruger came out with the LCR-X in .22lr that would be it. They should make it in 9mm while they're at it.

[BB1776]

I have shot cci's out of a .22 semiauto pistol, mostly at cans and cardboard. They are fun and keep a tight group out to 10 ft or so. A .22 revolver would be ideal for pest control as the semiauto wouldn't cycle with them.

I really want to try some snake. If it is like gator, then it is damn good!

[olhunter]

I've never had much luck with the blue plastic-capped CCI's. Do they even make those anymore? I don't know, I gave up on those after watching shot bounce off a snake's head and went to .38's.

Like CSA said, a .38/.357 revolver is perfect.

I reload and reloading shot-shells is super easy and cheap. You can buy empty cups and fill them with whatever shot you want. I just peel back shotgun shells and use that. 7 - 8 shot is cheap and perfect for snakes and one shotgun shell will fill a bunch of shot cups. A couple of grains of Bullseye, a new primer and a tiny bit of crimp and you're done.

My go-to is a S&W 649 5-shot. Light, easy to carry and deadly on snakes. Way better than a .22.

And I also do what others have said....2 rounds of snake shot first and 3 +P's. With more snake-shots and +P's in the pocket.

I have snake-gators, a big walking stick and my S&W and we go snake hunting. Fun and exciting.

Too bad there's a limit now. Used to be no limit on rattlesnakes.

[toro1]

I use the CCI blue tip and for me they get the job done. In Semi autos, they partially cycle the extraction and it is easy to complete the cycle. If I use the crimped they get stuck in the barrel and I need to a screwdriver to get it out. If the first shot did not get the job done I would rather be able to cycle the action to get another round in the chamber rather than having to use a screwdriver.

In a revolver, both work fine when I have patterned them, but so far I have not used it on the real thing as the rifle has been handy. As stated above, take some ammo and your guns and pattern beforehand so you know what will happen. I take a piece of cardboard, draw a snake head on it, and then try different ammos and at different distances. 10' is the max distance I would shoot from and that is plenty lethal. Just yesterday I took out a 3' one that was in my orchard. It was ~10 feet away and it only took 1 shot.