A snake that is close enough to present a threat has either already bitten you, or you've jumped eight feet in the air and run off out of striking range. Nobody is quick enough to outdraw any snake I've ever met. If you've got time to shoot a snake, you've got time to go get a hoe and dispatch him without endangering the nearby populace with gunfire.
And I agree, spiders are a different animal altogether. I use a flamethrower on 'em.
