Snake shot, rat shot, or dust shot, more formally known as shotshell (a name shared with the

shotgun shell A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a ...

) or canister shot, refers to

handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

and

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

cartridges loaded with lead shot canisters instead of bullets, intended for

pest control Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest (organism), pest; such as any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the da ...

(essentially

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

canister shot). The main targets for such ammunition are

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s, and other

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

at very close range. The most common snake shot cartridge is .22 Long Rifle loaded with No. 12 shot. From a standard rifle these can produce effective patterns only to a distance of about , but in a smoothbore shotgun (or garden gun) that can extend as far as .

Uses

Snake shot is generally used for shooting at snakes, rodents, birds, and other

at very close ranges and is also used as foraging ammunition by hikers, backpackers, and campers. Snake shot is ideally suited for use in

derringer A derringer or deringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, nor machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepp ...

s and

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

s (especially " kit guns"), chambered for .22 Long Rifle, .38 Special, or .357 Magnum. Snake shot may not cycle reliably in

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...

s. Shot shells have also been historically issued to soldiers, to be used in standard issue rifles and handguns. The .45-70 "forager" round, which contained a thin wooden bullet filled with birdshot, was intended for hunting

small game Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation (" sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, t ...

to supplement the soldiers' rations. This round in effect made the .45-70 rifle into a small gauge

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

, capable of killing

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s, and other similar game animals. During World War II, the United States military developed both the .45 ACP M12 and M15 shot shells cartridges. They were issued to pilots, to be used as

foraging Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...

ammunition in the event that they were either shot down or forced to land in known or unknown territory. The M15 cartridges were loaded with 118 pellets of No. 7 1/2 birdshot. The boxes were marked "For use in hunting small game effective range ". While they were best used in the M1917 revolvers, the M15 cartridge would actually cycle the semi-automatic

M1911 pistol The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early histo ...

's slide. The current CCI .45 ACP shotshell cartridge is virtually identical to these rounds.

Snake shot shells

Both Winchester and Federal make star-crimped .22 Long Rifle snake shot loaded with No. 12 shot. These cartridges resemble traditional crimped

blank cartridges Blank or Blanks may refer to: *Blank (archaeology), a thick, shaped stone biface for refining into a stone tool *Blank (cartridge), a type of gun cartridge *Blank (Scrabble), a playing piece in the board game Scrabble *Blank (solution), a solutio ...

. CCI's rimfire and a few of the

centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i. ...

snake-shot cartridges use a hollow plastic capsule which holds the shot, and is often shaped like a bullet to aid in feeding.The plastic capsule shatters during firing, and allows the shot to disperse after it exits the muzzle of the barrel.

Garden guns

"Garden guns" are smooth-bore guns specifically made to fire .22 caliber snake shot or 9mm Flobert shot-shells, and are commonly used by

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

s and

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

s for

. They are short range weapons that can do little harm at distances greater than , and are quiet when fired with snake shot, compared to standard ammunition. The guns are especially effective inside

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...

s and

shed A shed is typically a simple, single-storey (though some sheds may have two or more stories and or a loft) roofed structure, often used for storage, for hobby, hobbies, or as a workshop, and typically serving as outbuilding, such as in a bac ...

s, because the snake shot will not injure

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

with a

ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

, or shoot holes into the

roof A roof (: roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of tempera ...

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

s of a structure. They are also used for pest control at

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

s, stockyards, and similar locations.

Safety considerations

* Snake shot may be mistaken for traditional crimped

blank cartridge A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound ( muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a ...

s. * Snake shot may not function properly in semi-automatic firearms causing malfunctions. * Snake shot may not function properly in handguns and rifles not specifically made for their use. * Snake shot may not function properly in light weight revolvers, as they may cause "cylinder lock" due to the capsule movement resulting from recoil inertia. However, crimped cases do not exhibit this problem. * Snake shot plastic capsules may shatter when being fed from a magazine. Crimped cases do not exhibit this problem but may fail to extract in semi-automatic firearms. * Unsafe in firearms with suppressors, ported barrels, or ported recoil compensators. * Snake shot is effective only against snakes, rodents, birds, and other small pests, and only at very close range.

Notes and references

{{reflist

External links

You Tube video... .22 LR CCI ShotshellYou Tube video...Ruger LCR .22 LR VS SnakeYou Tube video...Snake Shot Test (CCI 38/357 shotshells)You Tube video...Snakes & Shot CartridgesYou tube video...38 special blue vs red shotshell as a self defense load (including slow mo footage)All CCI shot shell ammunition loads
Gun Week, 2005 Ammunition Pistol and rifle cartridges Rimfire cartridges Shotgun cartridges

Uses

Snake shot shells

Garden guns

Safety considerations

See also

Notes and references

External links