Anybody ever use those CCI "shotshells" for handguns?

[Abby]

I never have, but thought they might be a nice idea for my little .38 revolver. I am (irrationally, I'm sure), afraid of snakes.

Since we're suddenly doing a lot of tromping around in Florida (learning to hunt pigs on a buddy's land), I thought they might not be a bad idea.

So - anyone used 'em? Horror stories about what they've done to guns? Anybody use them on a critter? The CCI website said they were effective to abotu 15 feet, I think. Is that true?

Appreciate any input!

 

[motorep]

I've never had occasion to use them on snakes, but I have used up a lot of them on flying grasshoppers. I used to load a .22 revolver with them and walk, with the gun holstered, through an uncut field. Flush the grasshopper, draw and fire. You have to be quick, the shot spreads out very quickly and the targets are small and moving.

 

[Nnobby45]

The stuff is effective at dispatching small critters like snakes and mice at about 4 to 6 ft, maybe a little farther. Let the snake go, they eat mice.

 

[joab]

Shot a rooster at 4am one Sunday morning with the .22 shotshell .
It worked well.
I was able to sleep till 9 and we had chicken for lunch

 

[joab]

Wher're you hunting?
Need any company?

 

[bill k]

I have them in 44 and 357 both are fine to about 8 feet or so. If a snake is farther than that smile and say goodby to him.

 

[mill hunky]

had some 38 shotshell reloads, shot tight at 5 feet. used the 22 shotshell on a 6 ft. diamondback, his head was bigger than my fist, but 2 shots did the job at 5 ft. the other snakes were smaller, it usually took off some of their head. the backstop is the important thing to remember because of shot ricochet. lived in fla. for ten years, not a lot of rocks, but glasses are a safe thought.

 

[Greybeard]

If possible (and with eye protection), try to pattern on something like a 9" paper plate at very short ranges(3, 6, 9 feet). I think you'll find the .38 shot loads have an effective range of about two long steps - far enough to avoid most snakes all together.

I've not seen the 15' mentioned on CCI web site, but personal experince with several calibers says that the only ones even semi-effective effective on snakes at that range begins with a "4".

To lots of folks, most snakes simply don't need killin'.

 

[BillCA]

Another point missed by some of the posters here is that snubbie guns tend to keep the shot together better than 4", 5" or 6" guns. The rifling of the barrel does impart spin to the plastic carrier and that spreads the shot out faster in longer tubes.

We did a test of the CCI shotshells back in the mid 70's and found that the Colt Cobra with it's 2" barrel kept a pretty tight pattern at 7 feet, much tighter than a 4" barreled revolver.

The .38 shotshells are pretty good for mice, gophers and other small critters caught around your home or campsite. If a snake is nearby, stomping your foot on the ground hard usually alerts them to something too big to handle and they move way.

 

[Dave R]

The 9mm shotshells did NOT work well in my Hi-Power. Donut shaped patterns, with the hole right at point of aim, at 7 yards. Almost guaranteed you will not hit what you are aiming at.

Maybe at 3 feet...

 

[texmex]

If it's close enough to hit with shot, it's close enough to hit with a bullet. In my experience, 22 shot is okay for roaches, 38 for mice, 44 for rats. The only real advantage to shot is that it won't ricochet much and if it does, it loses energy very quickly. A bullet can ricochet and go over a quarter of a mile. Shot will only go about 40 yards and the shot in a handgun cartridge is so small it won't do much damage past about 25 feet.

 

[Tacoma]

I carry one in the first chamber of my "walking" revolver. They are effective enough (in the 38 or larger calibers) at the abovementioned ranges. FWIW, you can also buy the capsules and make your own. Or you can make them with nothing but a case & cardboard as described in the artical section here : www.jamescalhoon.com under "snake loads".

 

[RWK]

1) They will not harm to your handgun.
2) They may not be as successful in semiautomatics as in revolvers, due to adequate recoil to cycle the weapon reliably.
3) Shot-shells are highly effective. Years ago I killed two water moccasins on my parents’ property in South Carolina with CCI .38 shot-shells fired from a five-inch Smith N Frame .357 magnum revolver (I believe it was one of my M627 Special Editions). They were great, turning the cottonmouths into hamburger at the point-of-aim (range 5 to 7 feet both cases). While I generally agree that snakes – even pit vipers – are beneficial, my 80+ year old folks, whose back lawn and garden was immediately adjacent to a good size pond on Hilton Head Island, were unable to deal with this threat effectively, and a bite to an old fellow with Parkinson’s could be much more serious than to a healthy twenty year old.

 

[steveno]

I have never had any problem with the 38 spec or 45 colt rounds. the 38 load did a number on a rattlesnake. the 45 acp load works just fine in my Kimber Compact SST but it locked up my S & W 745. the aluminum case wouldn't contract and seized on the chamber walls. I had to drop a cleaning rod down the barrel to break it loose

 

[Fen]

I make my own with .22lr shells. I dismantled a shotgun shell for the #8 shot.
Pulled the bullet out of the .22 cartridge, added some shot, sealed with wax. You can't use them in auto loaders unless you want to handload every single round. Works fine in revolvers though.

I had a friend in New Mexico that killed a few rats around the 5' range with these same loads.

 

[Lycanthrope]

I sneak them into the Kimber on occasion and break clay pigeons thrown up with the weak hand. It's a good prank.

 

[Abby]

Thanks for all the good info! I'm certainly not inclined to go out and LOOK for snakes to kill (I'm one of those tree-hugging hunters - I love ALL the little animals, some of them I also love to EAT) , but I figured I'd feel pretty stupid if I found myself up close and personal with one unprepared. Couldn't picture firing toward my feet w/ the 30/30!

Even though that might be kind of funny....after the fact. A LONG TIME after the fact....

 

[joab]

Anybody hunting Fla should have some type of snake medicine with them.
It's too swampy and too warm here for the snakes to hibernate most of the year

I always carried a .22 pocket gun. Came in handy in Prairie Lakes one year when I almost stepped on a rattler

 

[6mm4me]

Capsual makes a nice hole

I load shot shells in .357 and .44 mag. I use #9 shot as recommended and they are ok up to 6 to 8 feet as far as the shot, But the plastic shot capsual makes a worthy bullet past that.

 

[nobanforme]

I live in the mountians of Utah where we have a real snake problem. Last year while hiking I dispatched 7 rattle snakes with them. They work great for this purpose.