A 60ish year old colleague and friend of mine just bought some land and an old house in the country. This dude is the nicest most peaceful guy you will ever meet and neither he nor his wife ever shot a gun in their lives. He has met his neighbors and one guy told him that snakes are a common problem in the area and that he keeps a Judge.

So friend calls me knowing I am a gun nut and asks me my opinion. He has held one and liked how it felt in his hands.

I've held and in my earlier career sold hundreds of them but have personally never found a need to buy one. But it makes sense to me. I don't really have a snake gun. For me a snake gun is whatever shotgun I have laying around. But he didn't seem interested in a shotgun because of the size and recoil and all of that.

Sounds like a reasonable solution for him. Am I missing anything? Any reason for him not to buy one? I know that manufacturers load shells for the Judge for that purpose. He also liked the idea that it could shoot .45 Colt.

I did warn him that three years from now he would need a safe for all of the guns he bought. His son told him the same thing.

Just want the OB feedback before I send him a link.

Yea me too. They are butt ugly and that's one reason I don't have one. But he held it and liked it so…

People use what they like. He lacks perspective on "nicer" options, but if he will use it, it should work for him.

Guessing he'll keep it inside and bring it out as needed? Will he need a holster when out and about? Or working outside?

I warned him about the noise. I have a snake charmer .410 and it sucks. Loud and snappy as hell.

Does anyone even make a full size single shot .410 now? Maybe Rossi.

BlueSmoke said:

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People use what they like. He lacks perspective on "nicer" options, but if he will use it, it should work for him.

Guessing he'll keep it inside and bring it out as needed? Will he need a holster when out and about? Or working outside?

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Guessing it will mostly stay inside and he will get a holster for it. He said he has quite a bit of work to do on the land so he will need a good leather holster.

Ya pretty sure they do, and it's a short stock one I think like a stage coach gun.

Like this oneagsalaska said:

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I warned him about the noise. I have a snake charmer .410 and it sucks. Loud and snappy as hell.

Does anyone even make a full size single shot .410 now? Maybe Rossi.

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I think my sister has a Mossberg

Like this one

I think a snake charmer is the worst possible gun. He will shoot it one time and throw it away. Those things suck.

He can also have some fun with a Judge.


I don't see how a Judge would be more dangerous than a pump action shotgun. Those things have pretty heavy triggers.

agsalaska said:

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I think a snake charmer is the worst possible gun. He will shoot it one time and throw it away. Those things suck.

He can also have some fun with a Judge.


I don't see how a Judge would be more dangerous than a pump action shotgun. Those things have pretty heavy triggers.

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I don't think it's about being more or less dangerous. I just know that we have always used full size .410s for women and old people because they are easier to use and have minimal recoil.

That being said, I can't "judge" anyone for buying a gun just because. Lord knows I own several that have hardly ever been fired and I bought them just because I wanted to!

True.

I sent him a link to a pump mossberg .410 that is for sale locally and told him the differences in range and noise.

I have an old bolt action Mossberg that my kids learned on. Definitely a never sell gun. We still drag it out of the safe from time to time.

The Rossi Brawler is a lower cost "test", to see if the 410/45 Colt works for him.
Single shot 410 shotguns are available in various brands, all likely Turkish-made.

G-ma had a single-shot .410 that I learned on. Popped quite a few doves with it back in the day before I migrated to a single-shot .20g.

Minimal recoil. Damn shells are expensive, but for snakes, a box should last quite a while.

I dont own a judge but have shot them. I personally go with the rat-shot snake-shot rounds in a pistol.

If he really is going to be out and about doing work, a pistol might be best as i doubt he'll want a long gun strapped to his back, even a charmer. If you're cutting brush or repairing fence and a threat appears, running back to the truck for a shotgun defeats the purpose.

Whatever he gets, now is a good time to have it. We killed a 3 footer yesterday afternoon while we were feeding

An SBS Mossberg 500 .410 would be a pretty sweet gun.

I bought one thinking I needed it for all the rattlesnakes in Kimble county at our ranch there.
Didn't like it at all and sold it.
Found I could use a S&W model 19 I carry on the ranch in my side by side with shot shells and be just as effective on snakes as the clumsy judge.

I thought about that too. Just get a Taurus .38 and buy some rat shot.

I've killed snakes in chicken coops with .22 rat shot. I was really surprised how effective it was. I'm sure out of a .38 it would work just fine.

What I don't know is how much does a Judge recoil with .410? I mean they are pretty heavy guns but a .410 is still a shotgun shell.

I'm trying to convince him to drive down here from Dallas one day and shoot with me. My range has a Judge for rent

Peace of mind more than anything else.

And to SoTxAg- I think that's why he wants a Judge over a shotgun. So he can have it.

I think any of them will work. Just what makes him feel the best.

9mm Flobert Revolver

I have a Winchester single shot bolt action 9mm flobert shotgun. 9mm rimfire full brass shotshell cartridge. Would be a pretty sweet snake gun in a revolver format, less bulky than a .410. Ammo availability and price isn't that bad if sourced via internet.

If he doesn't like the recoil on a 410 shotgun then he is NOT going to like a Judge...... I own one.... kicks like a mule from what I remember... I don't shoot it alot, LOL. They are cool though.

Yep. A .38 shot shell will kill a snake just as dead as a .410.

I've got 4 shot shot shells and bought a roughneck derringer to shoot them in. At 10' I basically missed the first snake I shot at to see how it shot.
I'm pretty sure that if a snake were in striking distance from my foot, say 2-3' away, those shotshells just might hit my foot, they scatter so wide.

Mossberg 183 .410 is the bolt action shotgun which I like new shooters to start on. Mine was sold by Revelation/ Western Auto brand and is the lightest/ best introduction shotgun imo. 25 inch barrel iirc. Can use as a single shot or add a couple to the magazine.

ETA that Yildiz makes/ sells a nice looking single shot .410 shotgun at Academy for $160. No hammer but has a thumb safety.

agsalaska said:

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A 60ish year old colleague and friend of mine just bought some land and an old house in the country. This dude is the nicest most peaceful guy you will ever meet and neither he nor his wife ever shot a gun in their lives. He has met his neighbors and one guy told him that snakes are a common problem in the area and that he keeps a Judge.

So friend calls me knowing I am a gun nut and asks me my opinion. He has held one and liked how it felt in his hands.

I've held and in my earlier career sold hundreds of them but have personally never found a need to buy one. But it makes sense to me. I don't really have a snake gun. For me a snake gun is whatever shotgun I have laying around. But he didn't seem interested in a shotgun because of the size and recoil and all of that.

Sounds like a reasonable solution for him. Am I missing anything? Any reason for him not to buy one? I know that manufacturers load shells for the Judge for that purpose. He also liked the idea that it could shoot .45 Colt.

I did warn him that three years from now he would need a safe for all of the guns he bought. His son told him the same thing.

Just want the OB feedback before I send him a link.

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S&W 586 6"barrel is my favorite in the field carry pistol. Shoots snake shot very well plus it's fun to shoot.

Cats. Get some good mousers.

Shot a 6' rattler near Llano river with a Tuffy last week

Shooting snakes won't do anything for the reason why the snakes are there in the first place.

Remove the reason the snakes are there.

Probably one of these reasons:

1. Attracting rodents. Like birdfeeders, etc.
2. Too many hiding places in the landscape combined with too much water; again, which attracts things snakes like to eat, and gives them places to hide.
3. Not keeping up the lawn.

I live out in the country, I've only seen one snake in my yard in eight years. Of course, I don't care if I have snakes are around, but I keep up my yard, and don't have any birdfeeders, etc.

Getting a gun won't fix the problem; it just makes the person feel good like they are doing something to alleviate the problem.

Other than that, get some barn cats.