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I do a lot of multi-day rafting trips in Oregon and Idaho. On several of the rivers, rattle snakes are common. I never mess with them, but on a very very rare occasion, when we have had small kids and dogs on the trip, a big old rattler will come right into camp and we just can't seem to coax them into the river with an oar to swim away. Our normal approach is to scoot them into the river and they usually swim away never to be seen again while we are camping overnight. But on a couple of occasions, they just won't go. And in those few circumstances the Bond Arms snake slayer II with with #6 shot does the job effectively. I have only had the need to shoot 2 (once back in the 1990s and once last year). The 1990s was dispatched with a ruger single six 22lr though. The vast majority, probably over 20 rattlers in or on the edge of camp did not pose any problems and left unharmed.

Here is a nice Owyhee rattler left alone.
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This is my Bond Arms Snake Slayer II with custom six gun grips made by Todd Korup. Admittedly, these guns don't really do anything well, but they sure are cool extremely well crafted works of art in my opinion.
 
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If they are in my way I walk around. Situational awareness. Still feel bad about the one I shot years ago. They're pretty docile creatures just doing what God intended. Too many old westerns vilified them like Jaws did the white shark.
 
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This is my Bond Arms Snake Slayer II with custom six gun grips made by Todd Korup. Admittedly, these guns don't really do anything well, but they sure are cool extremely well crafted works of art in my opinion.


I used to own a Bond Arms derringer until I saw an American Derringer, then I got rid of the Bond Arms gun--the safety on an American Derringer is spring loaded-- not that clumsy, hard to click off safety you got
 
The best selection for snake defense is a shovel. That's what I use. To kill a snake with snake shot you gotta be within shovel distance anyway.
I was a Park Ranger on the Snake river in Idaho and part of my job was to kill any rattler I came across in recreation areas. I killed dozens of them. All were killed with a shovel with no drama. One with an axe when someone took the shovel out of my pickup.
If they are coiled and rattling, I'm not messing around with garden tools. It's a lot more fun shooting them anyway.
If they are in my way I walk around. Situational awareness. Still feel bad about the one I shot years ago. They're pretty docile creatures just doing what God intended. Too many old westerns vilified them like Jaws did the white shark.
I've never killed a Bambi, or any other game animal for that matter. But a lot of people seem to enjoy that, celebrate it, brag about it, and pose for pictures with their kills. I wouldn't feel right about that. But I never felt bad about killing a poisonous snake. To each his own, I guess.
 
dogs usually get bit in the face by rattlers, trying to either protect or hunt for their (owners, masters, companions, family members:confused:). my friend and i have property on the snake river in eastern wa. his chesapeke lab has a head the size of a very large cantaloupe. after a rattler bite, it was the size of a large pumpkin in an hour. cost him 2 grand each time at wsu vet. school to save them. wait until you find one slithering around the gas tank in the boat in the middle of the river. i don't go looking for em, but consider it "self defense" every time i come across one.
as for "snake guns" accuracy by volume.


















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Another vote for the shovel. My grandfather killed them often enough in the desert, always used a number 2 round shovel. When you see them soon enough, the job doesn't really call for a gun. And when it's too late to see them ahead of time, it's too late to reach for a gun. Generally.
 
I don't purposely go snake hunting.

That said, many years ago I was on a training exercise. My Cav Troop was AO'd in a relatively small area that was overrun with rattlesnakes. We could have done the green thing, and shooed them away, but we would have been shooing them to someone else. So, we killed some. PETA wouldn't ever understand. I don't judge somebody when they think they need to do the same thing.

Fast forward a lot of years...I was dove hunting with a group of friends, and their dogs. I took a mid-day siesta in an open grassy area. When I got up to wander, I nearly stepped on a rattlesnake that was just as green as the grass. He never buzzed. It was so camouflaged, I couldn't see the whole thing . With the dogs and my buddies in the area, I dispatched it with my twelve gauge.

Obviously a twelve gauge works well. But if I'm not bird hunting, I wont likely have a shotgun in my hands. But out in the grasslands, or the desert, or the woods, I'll be carrying either a rifle or a pistol. Probably both. A pistol with birdshot sounds appropriate, but they don't always produce a pattern effective on small critters unless you stick it in their ear. I don't like that idea with rattlesnakes. So the only other option, and the option I take, is bullets. And even that's only a compromise. I sure don't like the idea of hitting a rock at close range, turning it into a grenade. If I had to shoot a snake, and if I had to shoot one because he's really close, I hope I shoot as well as John Wayne. And even he wasn't good enough to keep little Mattie from getting bit.

I try to be smart in a snaky area, and not put myself in the position where I have to decide to kill a snake or not. Most snakes, I hear as they're running away. I don't chase them down.







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I used to own a Bond Arms derringer until I saw an American Derringer, then I got rid of the Bond Arms gun--the safety on an American Derringer is spring loaded-- not that clumsy, hard to click off safety you got
I am so very happy for you that you have found something you like better. As for me, the safety has no meaning to me as I don't us it, I would prefer that there wasn't a safety at all. I don't feel the need for having the safety on when I have this firearm loaded on my person as It is a single action with a rebounding hammer, therefore no need to engage the safety.
 
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Taurus judge 6 inch barrel with #6 shot 410

Or for more money get the Govenor

Load it with alternate buckshot/slug/buckshot/slug/buckshot/slug for self defense on the trip down if you are driving and a great night stand gun.
 

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