Overall I found no use for them. I killed a lot of rattlers with .22 Single Six and standard .22 Long Rifle ammo. The .357 worked just fine no matter whether I had 125 gr. jacketed or 173 gr. cast SWC. Same with the .45 Colt and whatever I had it loaded with. Plus I did not have to get so close to make 'em work.

Around the house a hoe or a shovel worked just dandy also, although I shot more than a couple in our driveway over the years.

I know some who spend a lot of time experimenting with such things and that's great, for them. We all should pursue what interests us. It just never interested me.

Now the 20 ga. shotgun? Or the 12? That interests me. At 5 to 15 feet they will vaporize the part of the snake you are aiming at, using just plain or #8 or #6 loads.

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

Only killed one that was 6 feet or better.

Deer hunting on a warm day, I was climbing up these rocks. As I went to put my hand on the rock above me, a bit above head level, I saw it looking at me, waiting, coiled up. I jumped back and pulled the Single Six and put a bullet through its head.

I pulled it down .. man it was heavy ... and holding by the neck I held it up at arms length and a bit of the tail was dragging on the ground. It was a monster!

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

…..on the eastern side of Mount Hamilton (below Lick Observatory) we saw a rattlesnake that spanned the roadway! Head and tail were actually in the shoulder on either side!

We were approaching it at a pretty good clip, and I was shouting for everyone to roll up their windows (there were four of us in the car). I was afraid if we ran over it the head would flip up into the vehicle.

Mr. Rattler was smarter and faster than I, it was out of the road before we got to it. I was too rattled (heh!) to slow down but it all worked out. We probably saw at least a dozen rattlers that day, but none others as big as that one.

Otony

Not that long, 39" if I remember correctly. He swam by while I was feeding fish in my pond. Picture is not photo shopped in any way. Truth in advertising, I shot him at seven yards on the swim the day before this picture. He instantly disappeared, wasn't sure I got him, he floated up the next day.