Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Recomendation for 22 cal. snake rifle

Having problems with mocasins and shots would be near my house, I'm a little scared to shot them with a shot gun. What 22 rifle would be good for snakes or any other suggestions would be appreciated.

A new or used model 60 is a good option, tube fed and dependable. Also like the savage 42 in 22 over 410 as an option.

Do you plan to use .22 shot cartridges or standard LR's? The .22 shotshells will not work the action of a semiauto. Any old manually operated .22 rifle will work with shotshells but you need to be close for them to be effective.

Handgun shot cartridges work well too. Speer/CCI .38 Spl. shot loads at about 10 feet:

I've only used shotshells (centerfire and rimfire) on snakes from handguns. They work fine at 10 feet or so. I am not sure how well they'd work from a rifle. At one point, at least Remington and Winchester made smoothbore .22 LR shotguns, and Marlin made their Garden Gun in .22 mag for shotshells.

Many years ago, I ran the Mo-Skeet-O range at the Boys Scout camp using Remingtons and shotshells on min-skeet. Ww also used them after hours on various flying pests and they worked well, actually, so long as the range was short.

If you are looking for simply a rimfire, there are so many available that will work - pick the action you like best. Semi-auto, bolt, lever or pump.

I guess I don't understand why a small bore shotgun wouldn't be better and less prone to ricochet than a 40 grain 22 caliber bullet. In close proximity to homes, I would prefer to use a shotgun.
Look for a 410 snakecharmer.

I'm glad I posted this, sounds like some very good ideas for me. I'm really liking the shot shell ideas. Most shots are close enough to use a shovel but I would rather shoot something and stay back a little ways. I could'nt use my 12 ga. today as it was way too close to my house.

I have found that the CCI 22 Mag, 38, and 44 shot cartridges work much better than their 22 LR product. The 22 LR shot cartridges that are crimped have jammed most semi-autos that I have fired them in when the fired case is being ejected. Maybe not every time, but too often for me 'cause I don't like either large or poisonous snakes all that much.

is that a michigan rattler?

If it were me, I would grab an old Remington/Winchester/Savage pump .22 and have the barrel cut down and bored out smooth, and shoot CCI .22 shot caps (or whatever they're called- the ones that use a LR case and a plastic shot capsule). You could shuck 3 or 4 shots into the serpent almost as quick as with an autoloader, and it shouldn't jam.

.410 shotgun. as mentioned, the shot will not carry like a .22. it will do much better work than any of the .22 shotshells.

i have found that using a .22 on poisonous snakes can be a tricky proposition, especially out of a handgun. it'll kill 'em all right, but not immediately, unless you center-cut them in the head. even times when I have nearly shot them in half with hollowpoints out of a .357, the front half is still striking.

A shotgun or even a .44 shotshell out of a revolver shuts things down right away with no muss and no fuss.

Nope...Prairie Rattlesanake from South Dakota. It's illegal to kill rattlesnakes (Massasaugas) in Michigan.

I would carry a single six with 22 mag cylinder and cci shot shells if you had to choose a 22.

I would rather pick up a stick, brick or other hard object and smack the damn snake. Too much trouble running to the house for a firearm and letting a venoumous snake get to a hiding place.

Agree with the 410 comments. I don't understand being too close for a shotgun. Just use the lightest 410 bird loads or even the 12 ga in light loads.

yeap

The center fires function better, BUT I have had the ..38 airweight back the shot capsule out on the second, when two were chambered, first two up. That ties up the gun. IME, the .22s with the #12 shot melts snakes, but you have to be close to your work. Under crowded conditions, a hoe or a shovel is hard to improve on. Jack

Here you go gunbroker

342846191 Remington 580 SMOOTHBORE 22 cal RARE

If it were me I'd use a Gentle Giant Tong with a Brute garbage can.

If you have no where to safely release captured venomous snakes and permanently dispatching them is your only option I would use a flooring chisel to swiftly and safely terminate them. Shooting something on the ground in your immediate vicinity can cause bullet fragments to end up in unintentional areas... c&balls.

I would look for a cheap .410 single shot or a centerfire handgun with shotshells

Is that egg on your face?