# 357 snake /rat shot



## chewy32 (Feb 17, 2014)

Any body know where a man could find some ?


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## HandgunHTR (Feb 18, 2014)

I thought I saw some at Academy the last time I was there.  Of course that was the Hiram one, so it may not help you that much.


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## blt152 (Feb 18, 2014)

Check out Georgia Arms in Villa Rica, Ga.  (888) 623-6861. They have a website also and I know they will ship ammo. I was there last week and know they had an assortment of calibers in their rat shot but always best to call first.


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## GregoryB. (Feb 18, 2014)

If you Google CCI 357 shot shell there are several places to order online. Midway was one that popped up .


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## 7Mag Hunter (Feb 18, 2014)

If you handload you can make your own...Uses 38 brass and
plastic shot cups with shot from a salvaged shotgun shell....

Honestly not very effective at more than 10 ft.....If you need to
shoot a poisonous snake, it might be better to back up a safe
distance and shoot it with HPs, rather than get close enough for
snake/rat shot to be effective............


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## dick7.62 (Feb 18, 2014)

I got my last ones at Academy.  Last fall I shot a copperhead with .38 snake shot in my brother's yard.  His dog was wanting to get the snake and I was afraid the snake would bite him.  At 3 feet it pulverized the snake's head and it barely moved.  This was a 36 inch snake.


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## Win1917 (Feb 18, 2014)

Shotshells have been hard to find around here too. I see 45 around occasionally but 9mm/38 not so much. I picked up a box of 9mm at a gun show last weekend. Even at the door opening he only had 2 boxes ea of 9mm/38/45 so I'm guessing not much is being produced since it's prob not a big seller.


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## GunnSmokeer (Feb 18, 2014)

Try Forsyth pawn in Cumming. They normally carry CCI pistol-caliber shot shells.


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## GunnSmokeer (Feb 18, 2014)

*effective distance*



7Mag Hunter said:


> ...
> Honestly not very effective at more than 10 ft.....If you need to
> shoot a poisonous snake, it might be better to back up a safe
> distance and shoot it with HPs, rather than get close enough for
> snake/rat shot to be effective............




I agree that snake shot / rat shot in a centerfire handgun cartridge is a close-range proposition. I'd say it's good to about 15 feet.  But at 10 feet it will really be devastating to a small animal.  Either way, that's a "safe distance" as far as I'm concerned. It can't strike from more than about half it its body length.  Even if it could strike from a distance equal to 75% of its own body length, that means most poisonous snakes you'll find in GA will be in "striking distance" only within 3 -4 feet or so.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/snakefaq.htm

P.S. I've tested .22LR,  .22WMR, .38 spl, and .410 shotshell loads fired from pistols.  All except the .410 I did all the same range session and posted pics here and at GeorgiaPacking.org about it.  The .410 with even the smaller 2.5" shells was by far the most lethal (biggest payload of pellets), but any of the centerfires were good enough for snakes at 10 - 15 feet.   (for the tiny .22 rimfires, with their #12 dust shot, I'd say they're only going to be effective at near contact distance.)


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## Cullen Bohannon (Feb 19, 2014)

And keep in mind that if you are close enough to be bitten, then the act of drawing, aiming, etc., might very well get you bit, if the snake is already agitated.  If you're more than about 1/3 than its body length away from it, then it ain't gonna bite you.  That's as far as they can strike.

Wanting and needing to shoot a snake are two entirely different things.

But maybe you wanna kill rats, without worrying about a stray bullet in your neighborhood.  Nothing wrong with that.


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## 7Mag Hunter (Feb 19, 2014)

Cullen Bohannon said:


> And keep in mind that if you are close enough to be bitten, then the act of drawing, aiming, etc., might very well get you bit, if the snake is already agitated.  If you're more than about 1/3 than its body length away from it, then it ain't gonna bite you.  That's as far as they can strike.
> 
> Wanting and needing to shoot a snake are two entirely different things.
> 
> But maybe you wanna kill rats, without worrying about a stray bullet in your neighborhood.  Nothing wrong with that.





X-2....I hand loaded some 38 shot shells for use in a 357
and know well their limitations......

I will just keep 357HPs in my pistol and blast away till
I kill that sucker.....I ain't reaching in to kill a snake..


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## Slugg (Feb 20, 2014)

I usually pick up rounds like that from gun shows.  I've also seen someone make their own with a hand reloading kit, .177 airgun BBs and a makeshift plastic hull.  The irony of shooting a copperhead with some copperheads is something I may need to do one day.


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## ratlird (Feb 20, 2014)

Got mine at Canton Gun and Pawn


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## tracker (Feb 21, 2014)

You should be able to find them at stores as mentioned above. If you reload CCI makes a little plastic cup to reload your own. You can cut a shotgun shell open and get the pellets out. Smaller pellets pattern best. I've used them on both snakes and rats at close range they work real well. If the target is more than 5 or 10 feet away I'd just let them go, but that would be up to you.


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## trial&error (Feb 28, 2014)

Saw them at bass pro today about a buck a round.


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