Snake Shot

[one bullet]

I was wondering if snake shot hurts the bore of a revolver. Specifically, my Security Six? Also, are there any semi auto snake shot rounds that cycle properly? Thanks.

 

[kc5gxc]

I have heard snake shot will not hurt the bore. Now there are plastic cases from Speer, I think, that enclose the shot and keep it from even touching the bore. I use those in 38 special or .357 but also load shot behind a 36 cal round ball for a ball and shot round. Works great and will kill snakes !!!!!! Just get close.
I have never seen any problem from either round in my revolver.
As far as an auto round cycling....I have never shot any except in .22 and they did not cycle....just did it manually.
Good Luck....Pete

 

[contender]

Nope, it won't hurt a thing.

 

[DGW1949]

No it don't, and no there aint.

DGW

 

[RugerHound]

I've used snake shot in Maggie (BKH-36) on & off since 1967... Her 12" bbl is as crisp as the day she was put together.

 

[varminter22]

As others have said, shot shells will not harm the barrel.

The plastic shot cups for handloaders are only available in [edit to include .38,] .44 and .45 cal (at least the last time I checked.)

However, it is a simple matter to handload your own using "wads" made from the thin cardboard backing from paper tablets.

I sharpen a case mouth (with deburring tool) and chuck it into a drill. It is quick and easy to punch out a bunch of wads. Use a paper clip to push them out (I drilled out the entire primer pocket.)

Use a medium to stiff charge of powder, seat a wad (using a pencil or the like), fill with shot, then seat another "over shot wad" and give it a stiff roll crimp.

May have to use a glue of some sort to seal the over-shot wad. When loading one or two shotshell rounds followed by full power .32 Mag loads, sometimes the recoil would dislodge the over-shot wad, losing the shot!

But the shotshell loads DO work great.

I bought a 25 lb bag of #12 shot many years ago (a lifetime supply for me, considering I don't normally shoot many shotshells.)

 

[Dale53]

Shot capsules from Speer are available in .44 Special/.44 Magnum, .45 Colt, and .38 Special/.357 magnum.

I have used all three with excellent results. The range is limited to about 20 feet for reliable results. The finer the shot the better the results. My favorite shot size is #12. If you can't get #12 (Ballistic Products has it) then #9 works pretty well.

Dale53

 

[gak]

CCI very effective on diamondbacks here w/in 10-12 feet or so--in both .38 and .44. (Edit: I'm not saying no more distance as previously stated, just this is the range I've shot 'em at' - one shot with follow-up "just because" ) Someone recently posted here or elsewhere good luck with .22 or .22WMR--but I believe it was one particular instance noted and (maybe) not indicative of consistency. I think I would want to be pretty close for .22. Let me rephrase that!

 

[Sugar River]

Instead of making wads, I use the appropriate gas checks at each end of the shot column. The 30 cals make a nice little package in the 32 Mag.

I find the GCs do as much damage as the shot. Local mocassins hate 'em.


Pete

 

[Coyote Hunter]

My experience with CCI 38/357 shotshells is about 50% misfires in my Ruger, the only loads it has ever had problems with. All went off the second time under the hammer.

 

[one bullet]

My experience with CCI 38/357 shotshells is about 50% misfires in my Ruger, the only loads it has ever had problems with. All went off the second time under the hammer.

That's messed up right there!

 

[varminter22]

Instead of making wads, I use the appropriate gas checks at each end of the shot column. The 30 cals make a nice little package in the 32 Mag.

I find the GCs do as much damage as the shot. Local mocassins hate 'em.


Pete

Thanks; great point. I had a whole box of gas checks I thought were the proper size, but not being a bullet caster, I never found a way to seat them. Maybe I had the wrong size gas checks.

 

[varminter22]

My experience with CCI 38/357 shotshells is about 50% misfires in my Ruger, the only loads it has ever had problems with. All went off the second time under the hammer.

Wow, I wonder why.

 

[DPris]

Every time this question comes up I wonder why it does keep coming up.
Think about it- If the product was harmful to gunbores do you think Speer would have been steadily selling it for the past 40+ years?

Clean the bore with a bronze (not stainless & not nylon) brush & a good solvent after use and you'll be fine.

As far as the semi-autos go, it varies from pistol to pistol.
My Colt 1911 will jam on ejection every time, a Ruger 9mm P94 I had would shoot the stuff all day long.
My Glock 17 would bust the shot capsules on feeding.
My Smith 4516 in .45 ACP would also run all day long on the Speer loads.
You have to try it in your particular gun.
Denis

 

[76gt80]

I have a well broken in Sprinfield 1911 that feeds the CCI shotshells perfectly. I was actually shocked. It was so much fun shooting at aerial cans that I bought several boxes. Expensive habit though.

 

[eveled]

Anybody load shot in their old army using two wads? Seems like it would be fun shooting at cans with. Ed.

 

[varminter22]

Every time this question comes up I wonder why it does keep coming up.
Think about it- If the product was harmful to gunbores do you think Speer would have been steadily selling it for the past 40+ years?

Clean the bore with a bronze (not stainless & not nylon) brush & a good solvent after use and you'll be fine.

Denis

Good point.

But then that raises the question, "Why do they sell stainless steel bore brushes?"

I personally haven't heard of ANYONE ever recommending stainless steel bore brushes.

 

[DPris]

The ammunition biz is a little different.
Ammunition known to cause bore damage would simply not still be selling for over four decades. Believe me, word would get around on that far more extensively & more quickly than the stainless brush issue.

Wear damage from continued use of stainless brushes is relatively slow & often not attributed to the brush by the un-knowing. It just gets to the point where somebody notices "Gee, this don't shoot as good as it used to, wonder what happened?"

Lead, even pellets, won't prematurely wear rifling since lead is much softer than steel, and the only real "danger" with the Speer shotshells is in plastic shot cup material deposition. POSSIBLY lead deposition with the .45 ACP versions that don't have an external shot cup. (I've fired those, just never looked inside to see what kind of wadding arrangements they use or if the pellets in that load do ever contact the rifling.)
Which is why I mentioned cleaning the bore after use.

If one would think it through- Soft lead on steel doesn't harm rifling, whereas steel bristles used repeatedly on steel rifling CAN accellerate wear.
Denis

 

[tacklebury]

I've been loading the Speer in .45 LC using #6 shot for squirrels and vermin at 10-20 ft. Works pretty well in my 5.5" Blackhawk, not so well in my .45 Colt Carbine, though. 8( The target picture was taken from a load shot at about 15 foot. The bigger holes were already in the dirty bird but I just wanted to see the pattern.

 

[Tslepebull]

Be careful with that snake shot. Some snakes, when pissed off, shoot back.

 

[steve b]

Kc5gxc ? Can ya expand on your home rolled snake loads ? Shot size ? Total payload weight ? Etc.. Have a couple .357 bore things here, but interested in making a .44 spec sized version too. steve b

 

[Major T]

Personally, I have had better results with the #12 shot in the .22s, than with the 9s in .38s and larger. I think the reason the .22s melt snakes is the number of shot in a capsule. Distance involved was usually 6-8 feet. Jack

 

[gak]

Personally, I have had better results with the #12 shot in the .22s, than with the 9s in .38s and larger. I think the reason the .22s melt snakes is the number of shot in a capsule. Distance involved was usually 6-8 feet. Jack

While I've not had problems with the .38s and larger, it's good to know the .22 shot can hold its own or better when it comes to the no-leggeds. There are times when it seems like the Single Six is just the thing you want to take trompin' in the desert.

 

[eveled]

Anybody load shot in their old army using two wads? Seems like it would be fun shooting at cans with. Ed.

Nobody? Anybody see a reason I can't or shouldn't? Thanks Ed.

 

[steve b]

As long as you can keep the payload tight to the powder charge, why not ? steve b

 

[gunsbam69]

I carry an old model birdshead vaquero 45 with snake shot. (.22 too little!)I tried it in my new vaquero, and the capsules would slip forward out of the casing when I fired the first one, and I'd have to push them back in the cylinder to get it to turn. A little more weight maybe, and the extra cylinder length pretty much fixed the problem. I've only had to push one in now. CCI needs to find a better way to secure the shot capsule in the casing on these I believe. One more reason to free spin the cylinder.

As far as shot hurting the barrel, I asked John Linebaugh about it one time, because I'd always heard it would, and he said, now Brian, open your mind and think about this a little bit, are you really afraid some soft little lead balls are gonna score a piece of steel?

 

[tacklebury]

I use a Lee FCD on mine and it holds the capsules nice and tight. 6 gr. Unique and a capsule full of #6 will do a number on snakes, I bet. Here in MI there isn't enough snakes to worry about, but works on squirrels and other rodents. hehe

 

[eveled]

As long as you can keep the payload tight to the powder charge, why not ? steve b

Thanks Steve. I guess I'll have to try it and report back. Ed

 

[lilarky]

Steve B -Can ya expand on your home rolled snake loads ? Shot size ?

I just find an old shotgun shell and cut the shot out, it will give you plenty to build some rounds. 12 to 9 lead pellet size shot.

For the 38/357 I use 3 gr of Bullseye, cut some styrofoam wads, push a wad down to the powder then add the shot leaving enough room for a wad to cover the shot an seal with candle wax. Very simple and cheap snake shot. It shoots about 1 inch high at 6 feet and gives a nice left to right pattern. Test in a 2 and 3 in barrel.

 

[Rugerhunter]

Here is something that I bookmarked a while back

I want to learn reloading and do some of this as well - looks like a lot of fun.

http://www.castbullet.com/reload/44shot.htm

another site

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot30.htm