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Has anyone had experience with snake shot for a snub-nosed .38? What about performance in terms of self defense?

The reason I ask:

I live in an apartment building with my wife where our neighbors are just a wall away. I travel often for work, so I leave the .38 for her so that all she has to do is point and shoot if in trouble. Knowing that bullets don't stop until they hit something solid (or someone), would it make sense to keep at least the first few rounds as snake-shot so that if she were to miss (not unlikely), she would not hit any neighbors?

My initial thought is no, my wife comes first, we'll worry about the other stuff in the event that it happens and we need to worry. But, would the snake shot be more effective for close quarters anyway while also possibly eliminating the risk of a stray bullet?

Finally, how lethal is snake shot to humans in the first place? Would we just be looking at a lawsuit anyway for only wounding the crook? (Although she has been trained to shoot until the other guy is dead)

I know a shot gun makes the most sense in this case; I'm just searching for other options with a hand gun.

Snake shot from a 38 special isn't adequate for self defense purposes. In fact, IMO it's not even good for snakes.

IANAL, but some additional training may be in order. Shooting to stop the threat is legal. Continued shooting after the threat has been neutralized is not.

CHL_Ag wrote:Has anyone had experience with snake shot for a snub-nosed .38? What about performance in terms of self defense?

Yes. We tried to use it for dispatching small rabid animals like raccoons in urban areas. It didn't work. We had to go with a very light, high velocity frangible round to get the job done. Using it for self defense would be only a little better than firing blanks, which also wouldn't pose a risk to the neighbors.

CHL_AG wrote:I live in an apartment building with my wife where our neighbors are just a wall away. I travel often for work, so I leave the .38 for her so that all she has to do is point and shoot if in trouble. Knowing that bullets don't stop until they hit something solid (or someone), would it make sense to keep at least the first few rounds as snake-shot so that if she were to miss (not unlikely), she would not hit any neighbors?

The solution is not to select ammunition for its performance against unintended targets when the intended one is missed. It is to train the shooter to consistently make good hits and use ammunition that will produce rapid incapacitation to end the threat as quickly as possible.

I recently learned that my next door neighbor has his .357 magnum nightstand gun loaded with snake shot for self defense. I offered to let him shoot me with it from 20 feet away if I could cover my face when he shoots. Of course, I was mildly joking but the point remains.

A few years back I tested the effectiveness of 9mm snake shot. The shot would not even break through thin paper at 10 feet. Try it for yourself and you'll relegate those rounds to the back of the ammo safe. They are little more than a novelty.

He has (hopefully) now switched to "real" rounds and we both feel safer now.

I load my own snakeshot and they work well on snakes at 4 to 5 feet but wouldn't feel comfortable using them for a defense load. I have also tried loading a load using a single buckshot over #8 shot but that didn't work very well.
Keith

CHL_Ag wrote: Has anyone had experience with snake shot for a snub-nosed .38? What about performance in terms of self defense?

It will be dismal.

I live in an apartment building with my wife where our neighbors are just a wall away. I travel often for work, so I leave the .38 for her so that all she has to do is point and shoot if in trouble. Knowing that bullets don't stop until they hit something solid (or someone), would it make sense to keep at least the first few rounds as snake-shot so that if she were to miss (not unlikely), she would not hit any neighbors?

It is well to consider where your bullets may end up, however this is secondary to "performance" in terms of stopping power on a threat. There are "frangible" bullets available that may help with your concerns.

Finally, how lethal is snake shot to humans in the first place? Would we just be looking at a lawsuit anyway for only wounding the crook? (Although she has been trained to shoot until the other guy is dead)

A better train of thought is: To Shoot until the threat no longer exists. Circumstance... will dictate exactly what that entails.

We shoot to "stop" a threat, not to "kill" someone. It is possible that someone may die as a result of your defense of person , but that is not our intention. Simply defend yourself until the threat no longer exists, nothing more or less.

I know a shot gun makes the most sense in this case; I'm just searching for other options with a hand gun.

A person well trained in the use of a shotgun....makes a formidable opponent.

flintknapper wrote:A person well trained in the use of a shotgun....makes a formidable opponent.

I could not agree more!

While a pistol grip shotgun is really terrible when it comes to accuracy at any distance...those distances in the inside of an apartment could be overcome with a bit of practice. There are some wonderful loads out now that produce a much lighter recoil.

I would hate the idea of Kimberly having only a revolver with bird shot to defend our family. There are 5-6 rounds of snake shot sitting on my night stand.....but those are for my next water snake in the garage experience. I still have a large dent on the hood of my car from that night (not joking unfortunately)

Maybe a shotgun with folding stock?

Jason

CHL_Ag wrote:I know a shot gun makes the most sense in this case; I'm just searching for other options with a hand gun.

Why? The safest option is to get behind cover and call for help. A shotgun works much better for a stationary defender.

Thanks guys! Snake shot obviously is not the way to go. We'll continue training her with a hand gun and will get her more comfortable with the shot gun as well.

CHL_Ag wrote:Thanks guys! Snake shot obviously is not the way to go. We'll continue training her with a hand gun and will get her more comfortable with the shot gun as well.

A full stock shotgun is much easier to shoot well than a folder or pistol grip version. If recoil is an issue with your current gun, and reduced loads don't do the trick, you might consider getting your wife her own 16 or 20 gauge gun. They're not expensive, they work fine for home defense, and something she's really comfortable with will serve her much better than something she hates to shoot.

I have a .38 snubbie and once when I lived out in the country I got the idea that I would try some snake-shot....not so good an idea, after I shot all five shots at a rather large rattler, at a rather close distance I finally had to get a rather large stick, to stop the attack.

-geo

Excaliber wrote:A full stock shotgun is much easier to shoot well than a folder or pistol grip version. If recoil is an issue with your current gun, and reduced loads don't do the trick, you might consider getting your wife her own 16 or 20 gauge gun.

Yep! While not optimum in terms of effectiveness, a good 20-gauge pump still makes for a very useable solution for small-statured folks. Like Jbirds, I'd never want to leave a family member a .38 with snakeshot for defense, but a 20-gauge, 18- or 20-inch barrel shotgun would be just fine.

If recoil with a 20-gauge might still be intimidating, you can pair a 20-gauge Winchester or Mossberg 88 with a CompStock (http://www.blackhawk.com/product/CompSt ... 55,165.htm). For many purposes, I really like these stocks, even though they'll add another hundred bucks to your purchase. A CompStock on a 20-gauge will make for pretty comfortable practice even for those who might be recoil shy.

I have popped a few NE TX copperheads with .22 cal snake shot from an old snub Rhom RG14. Sure they were within 3-4 feet, but they were in MY trail (when I'm on a project, anywhere I have a need to be is "my trail"). For the cottonmouth country, I prefer the .38 shot shells. In my experience from "work related" incidences, shotshells in revolvers work fine for snakes...especially at 3-6 foot distances. But, I wouldn't even consider attempting to dispatch mammalian species of any kind with handgun shotshells, and certainly not for any type of self defense. I do admit that in the field during "snake season" that my snub has 2 rounds of snake shot followed by 3 rounds of jhp, so I guess I am (in a way) using snake shot as a SD round.