Snake Shot – The Hiker’s Helper

Testing CCI and Doubletap Ammunition’s Shells for Slitherers.

Story by Phil Massaro
Photos by Massaro Media Group

The Weather is getting warmer, the leaves have popped out and I hope your turkey season was successful. As we approach summer, weekend hikes are definitely on the menu, and those memories made with the kids and family are, at least to me, priceless. But sometimes those peaceful hikes and serene camping sites can be clouded by those members of nature that don’t get along well with humans. Whether it’s the skunks, snakes or porcupines in the wilds, or the rats, red squirrels, woodchucks and other rodents that can invade sheds, gardens, garages and more, the need for a short range shotshell is evident – especially one that can be dispatched in an area where a single projectile might not be safe to fire. Enter the handgun snake shot load.
Call it snake shot, dust shot or rat shot, but the basic premise is simple – a cartridge suitable for handguns loaded with a payload of shot in a plastic capsule or in a crimped brass case in some instances. For the longest time, the lone CCI Ammunition load was the most popular by far, but they now offer several variants, and there is also a new player in the mix, with a hybrid load of shot and a projectile. Let’s take a look at the different choices to see what best suits your needs.

THE PEST CONTROL Shotshell from CCI is the one I was most familiar with, as in my youth I remember my dad carrying four or five on his pistol belt that accompanied him on the countless coon hunts each fall. Those blue capped shells were confusing to me, as Ol’ Grumpy Pants had sat me down at the kitchen table with a pencil and paper and explained, ad nauseum, the differences between shotgun shells and rifle and pistol cartridges. These didn’t fit the mold. Under that translucent blue cap was 1/15 ounce of No. 12 shot, cruising along at 1,000 feet per second.
The line remains in production, with the .22 LR and .22 WMR representing the rimfires, with the latter using ⅛ ounce of No. 12 shot. The centerfire cartridges are well covered, with the 9mm Luger using 53 grains of No. 12 shot and the rest of the lineup using No. 9 shot. The .38 Special and .357 Remington Magnum share the same case, loaded with 100 grains of shot, while the .40 S&W sees a payload of 88 grains of No. 9 and the 10mm Auto gets 105 grains of shot. The .44 Remington Magnum gets the shorter case of the .44 Special, so both cartridges can use the 140 grains of No. 9 shot. The .45 ACP sees a load of 120 grains of shot and the .45 Colt uses 150 grains of shot. Velocities range between 900 and 1,100 fps.
But, as I have stated, CCI has expanded the line with two new offerings of late. First up is the CCI Big 4, which switches up the shot size to the much larger No. 4 shot. It is currently offered in just four cartridges: the 9mm Luger with 45 grains of No. 4, the .38 Special/.357 Magnum with 84 grains, the .44 Special/.44 Magnum with 110 grains, and the .45 Colt with 140 grains.

The first three see a muzzle velocity of 1,000 fps, and the heavier .45 Colt runs at 800 fps. The larger shot will aid in dispatching larger critters and pests. To designate the difference between Big 4 and the standard load, CCI uses a translucent red plastic cap. And now, CCI has announced the Hevi Bismuth line of shotshells, giving an effective, nontoxic option in these handgun shotshells. Bismuth is more dense than lead, not to mention the fact that nontoxic shot is all the rage these days, and in these little handgun shotshells it makes a difference in the terminal performance. This line encompasses the 9mm Luger – again using a smaller shot size – loaded with 43 grains of No. 11 shot at 950 fps, the .38 Special/.357 Magnum with 80 grains of No. 8 shot at 1,100 fps, the .40 S&W with 78 grains of No. 4 at 1,300 fps, the .44 Special/.44 Remington Magnum with 112 grains at 1,050 fps, the .45 ACP with 115 grains, and the .44
Colt with 130 grains at 1,050 fps. All three of these are effective loads, and have slightly different applications. Obviously, the smaller shot will deliver a tighter pattern, yet the larger shot will hit harder. And if you are legally required to use lead-free ammunition, or just feel obliged to do so, the Hevi Bismuth is for you.

BUT THE CCI stuff is not the only option. Doubletap Ammunition’s DT Snake Shot and new Snake Shot Defense are hybrid projectile/shot payloads, suitable for a number of defensive situations. The DT SnakeShot is the older of the two, using a load of No. 9 shot over a hard cast lead wadcutter bullet, giving the dual-payload option to the hand gunner. It’s available in the most common cartridges like .38 Special, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt, but also in some less-popular gems like the .32 H&R, .327 Federal, .41 Magnum, .44 Special and .500 S&W Magnum. You’ll see a light-for-caliber wadcutter – 50 grains for the .38 Special, 70 grains for the .44 Magnum and .45 Colt – and a healthy charge of No. 9 shot. All these loads are designed to give 1,000 fps from a 4-inch barrel. And while this load is great for varmints, snakes and other pests, not to mention being engineered for rimmed cartridges most prevalent in revolvers, the new Snake Shot Defense is geared toward the autoloaders in a different configuration.

In this load, the shot is loaded under the projectile, which in this instance is a jacketed hollow point. The Snake Shot Defense is offered in three different cartridges: the 9mm Luger, the 10mm Auto and the .45 ACP +P. The 9mm gets a 95-grain jacketed hollow point and 60 grains of No. 9 shot, the 10mm Auto gets a 135-grain JHP loaded over 70 grains of No. 9 shot, and the .45 ACP sees a 185-grain JHP over 60 grains of No. 9 shot. These cartridges are engineered to be equally effective for use as a personal defensive load – with that jacketed hollow point handling a would-be assailant – and on those that-slither.

TAKING FOUR OF the snake shot loads to the field, I could find no snakes to volunteer for testing. So with simple paper targets for my test, I backed up 10 feet from the target – with the thought that if I’m 10 feet away from a Gaboon viper I could probably make it to safety, though a black mamba is faster than I am – I let the shots fly. Starting with the CCI Pest Control Shotshell in my Smith & Wesson Model 36 snub nose, I found an impressive pattern for a short-barreled gun. The overall shot pattern measured 14 inches by 16 inches with the cap and wad hitting the point of aim. The same happened with the Hevi Bismuth load in the little S&W carry gun, with a nearly identical pattern on the target board.
Switching guns to my Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt – with the 7½-inch barrel and a heavier payload – the Hevi Bismuth shot pattern stayed within a 14-inch by 14-inch square, with increased density from the larger shot column. In all these instances, the rimmed aluminum cases had no issue with extraction at all. I tested the .45 ACP Double tap Snake Shot Defense load in my Sig Sauer STX 1911 and found that to be a very interesting load. That 185-grain hollow point struck the 10-foot target about 2½ inches above
point of aim, with the shot pattern staying in a 9-inch by 11-inch box, or about the size of a letter. There was no problem with the cycling of the action, and while that gun of mine feeds pretty much anything without issue, the Doubletap ammo fed and ejected without a problem. I can see where this load might quickly gain popularity, as it certainly does double duty. So as you head out hiking, camping, boating or what have you, odds are there is a snake shot load for you and your favorite handgun. Give some of
these an audition, and you can carry on more confidently.