In North America, a 6-foot-long venomous snake is on the large side, so a safe engagement distance should be on the other side of 4 feet. A snake can strike about one-half to two-thirds its body length. Continually out and about in the underbrush, I’ve found CCI Shotshells are an ideal solution. But shotguns are hard to carry in your pocket. If you sometimes encounter venomous snakes in your wanderings and don’t exercise the live and let live philosophy, a shotgun would seem the obvious choice. Lesson learned: It’s hard to hit a moving target the size of a water hose when you’re afraid it’s going to give you a fanged surprise. After a magazine full of hardball from a 1911, the snake coiled up under a laurel bush. The only thing to brag about after my first gun battle with a snake was that the timber rattler I eventually killed was almost as long as me. You can kill serpents with hand tools, but if I ever do it again it’ll be because I’m out of ammunition. When Grandpa wanted us kids to enthusiastically tackle some chore, he often told us to get at it like we were “killing snakes.” I never really understood what that meant until I fought a 4-foot-long copperhead while armed with a shovel. Typically, the larger the caliber the better they work, simply because they contain more shot. CCI shotshells are great handgun ammunition for snakes. The only thing that can ruin a fishing trip or a picnic faster than a politician is a poisonous snake. I grew up in the Allegheny Mountains where copperheads and timber rattlers were the price we paid for the serenity the hills provided, and I developed an intense dislike for both. There are other bad things is this world. Personal protection with a handgun is not just about fending off muggers, homicidal maniacs and vampires.
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