.22 Short for a Snake Gun?

M

Mosin-Marauder

New member
I plan on taking my little Röhm .22 Short revolver and loading it with some hollow points and keeping it in the holster whenever I go hiking or camping as a snake gun or to kill little critters at close range. Would this be enough to kill a copperhead or a rattlesnake in one blow? Your help is appreciated.
 
Frankly - it's not something I would count on. Especially if said snake is, say, 4 foot or larger.

A clean hit will kill - but it's not going to be like the hammer of Thor or anything. Might take awhile.


Hope you're an excellent shot...
 
For that kind of situation I carry a 38 loaded with snake shot. I'm not good enough to hit a moving poisonous snake with a 22.

I want a little wider pattern to improve my chances of hitting it.
 
Modern .22 shorts are loaded fairly hot so will work in 70,s and 80,s simi autos that stated would fire either long rifle or short . The little Browning that has been around sine Belgian days did not need the hotter shorts and can even work with cci short cb's . Shorts should work fine aginst most snakes . The snakes I worry about are the ones I cant see . Ever see the Ted Nugent Outdoors show where he is using a Ruger Bear cat in .22 short to run a trap line ? I used to squirrel hunt with shorts until I started using a 10-22 . I would use hollow points .
 
A walking stick is adequate to the task. The "need" to shoot snakes while hiking or camping is questionable. If you see it in time to shoot it, you have plenty of time to hit it with a stick or, best of all, just avoid it.
 
Please don't shoot snakes. They are a part of nature and control vermin. Only a few are dangerous and they will flee the area as they don't like to be around humans. The only time a snake will bite is if you step on it and really, by that time a gun won't help.
 
I have never understood the need for a snake gun. If you see one, step around it. If you don't see it, a gun won't help.

The threat from human attackers is still the real threat even in the woods. Unless large predators such as bear are a concern carry the same gun, and loads in the woods you'd carry anywhere else.
 
The only time a snake will bite is if you step on it and really, by that time a gun won't help.
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Bull.

A water moccasin will come out of the water after you. I know; It happened to me when I lived in Florida.

A rattlesnake may or may not give a warning before it strikes you, and you sure don't have to step on one to get bit. I've had three real close calls the last 25 years in AZ where I have encountered a coiled rattler ready to strike that didn't buzz.

As to that RG, you have been told enough about it in other threads; It's not something I would stake my well-being on.

Regardless of what handgun you use, .22 short is a very marginal round to rely on to kill anything much larger than a mouse or squirrel. To dispatch a snake with a .22 short, you would need a direct hit to the head, which is a very small target under duress. Snakes have very primitive nervous sytems, and a hit to the body probably won't slow the snake down enough to prevent it from biting you.

While I agree that snakes are part of nature (I have captured errant rattlers around my house and released them back out in the desert), sometimes you have no choice but to shoot.
 
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The little Browning that has been around sine Belgian days did not need the hotter shorts
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No such animal. You are probably thinking of the Bernardelli which was available in either .22 short or .22 long (NOT long rifle).
 
Sorry folks, but I gotta do the funny eyebrow twitch thing. True snakes play a part in the whole cycle of life thing. However, considering the rattlesnake roundups out here in the western states (maybe eastern too- dunno), a 14 y/o young man isn't going to put much of dent in their population. It's been 30 some-odd year since I was 14 and had more care free days to traipse around in the sticks- but I won't knock a kid for shooting or shooting at snakes and other such critters. In 6 or so years, he'll be stuck in the J-O-B somewhere wandering when he'll get the next chance to go out and do such care free things. In 6 more years, he'll probably be chasing a tricycle motor, doing the marriage and mortgage thing and have even less time to try to go out and roam the hills with a .22 again. A boy and a .22... how many of ya'll wish you could go back to those days again just once for just one day? Don't take that away from him, life and father time will do that way too soon anyhow.
 
There needs to be a reason to dispatch a snake. If he's in my yard, he runs the risk of death. If I'm in the woods or on a trail I let him be.

Snakes are there for a reason. They eat vermin (rats & mice). If your yard/house/barn/whatever is overrun with snakes its likely you have a plentiful supply of food snakes like to eat. Eliminate or reduce what attracts the vermin and the snakes will look elsewhere.

That said, poisonous snakes that are an immediate danger are not welcome in my yard.

Real men kill snakes with sticks. If not a real man, then screaming usually attracts enough attention and someone will volunteer to beat the snake into a pulp for you. (pretty much any male over age twelve will be willing to do this)

Using a stick is superior to a gun because:
Quieter (except for your screaming)
No reload needed (unless you break your stick)
Sticks don't richochet
Sticks require little practice
Sticks come in various lengths to suit the users ability
Sticks require no permit (as of today)
Sticks can be used inside of the city limits (California may require you to paint the tip orange and limits the length of the stick to 12")
 
There needs to be a reason to dispatch a snake. If he's in my yard, he runs the risk of death.
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I have tried my best not to kill any rattler I have come across unless I have no reasonable avenue of escape. Backing away slowly doesn't always work.

About 90% of those that have ventured into my domain have been in such circumstances that I can retrieve my noose and capture them and then release them back in to the desert. The other 10% were in my house and had to be dispatched immediately. I keep an old Winchester 67 loaded in the kitchen for just such occasions. YMMV
 
A .22 short will kill a venomous snake just fine if you hit it in the brain or the spine close to the head.

Folks who can't shoot for legal reasons, people who want (or need) to be quiet or those who can't shoot accurately will use a stick, hoe or shovel.
 
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Real men kill snakes with sticks.
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Wow, what a statement. I'm guessing shovels, hoes, fenceposts, wire stretchers, cheater bars, and things of that sort are a no-go in your book too, huh?
 
10-96
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Real men kill snakes with sticks.
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Wow, what a statement. I'm guessing shovels, hoes, fenceposts, wire stretchers, cheater bars, and things of that sort are a no-go in your book too, huh?
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If you can't see my point, you probably wouldn't see the snake either.;)
 
I kill every snake I find around the house I have Kids and Grand Kids . If I run across one in the wild its a judgement call . I'm certain the original Browning take down that loaded from the stock in .22 short was Belgian then later Japan made . Forgot the model they had the European Walnut wood like a BAR or A5 .
 
Sounds like it should work just fine.

Those little Rohm revolver are awesome for the price. I use one in .22 LR as my EDC during the summertime. Got it at my LGS for $80 exclusing tax, and I carry CCI mini-mag 40 grain loads. With good shot placement they will take down and man or beast in the lower 48.
 
Please don't shoot snakes. They are a part of nature and control vermin. Only a few are dangerous and they will flee the area as they don't like to be around humans. The only time a snake will bite is if you step on it and really, by that time a gun won't help.
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I agree 100%, there's no need to "dispatch" any snake that is in the woods,They provide the best vermin control on the planet.I spend a lot of time around snakes in the woods and never came close to being bit. Be aware of your immediate surroundings and no problem. Ignorance kills more snakes than snakes bite or kill people.
 
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