Which .22 Revolver

[graywolf]

I got a LCP ll .22 a few months ago. I like it a lot. Even bought a plus 4 magazine extension for one of the magazines. I never even thought about a pocket holster, but it came with one so I tried it. Now that's the way I carry it. I was thinking about a revolver to keep a couple rounds of snake shot at ready. But now I don't have anymore cows behind the house, so I want be going around the fence near as much and maybe want need the snake shot as much either.

[graywolf]

I was thinking about the Smith 317 because of weight. It wouldn't help much to carry something because its light but couldn't hit anything with it. Ya'll already know I'm not to good of a hand gunner to begin with. Might be better for me to stick with the LCP .22 and figure best and fastest way to manually load a round of snake shot if needed. Or better yet, get good enough to hit a rattlesnake without the snakeshot.

[dave77]

I had a 8 shot .22 S&W revolver around 50 years ago that I stupidly traded for a Charter Arms 38 Special Undercover. Still have the Charter Arms, at under 10 feet I might be able to consistently hit a man sized target with it.

[John E Davies]

When I first shot my LCP2 .380 ACP at a range, I was delighted at how easy it was to keep hits on a 6 inch bull at 15 feet, slow aimed fire; with my previous P3AT I could barely make ANY hits on the paper. On a good day…. The range master had never seen one, since they had just hit the stores a week before, “nice gun can I try it?” He then emptied a six round mag in like two seconds, with a dead center two inch group. He liked how it shot. I was very embarrassed. But I only got rid of the gun recently due to reduced hand strength and dexterity issues. I gifted it to my daughter. I carried it daily, she never carries at all, go figure…

Now I daily carry a CZ P10F OR with an optic and light, in a bum bag, it is really freaking huge but I can hold onto it and work all the controls easily, and hit what I want to hit.. it’s no pocket pistol. It is not even a holster pistol!

John Davies
Spokane WA

[North Country Gal]

I have a friend who is not much of a pistol shot who also got the Ruger 380 LCP to carry. She was nervous about going 9mm, so she went with the 380, figuring it would be more what she could handle. She brought on a visit up here and we went to the range to try it out. I was surprised at how well she could shoot it. Have to say, I was impressed with the Ruger, too. With my J frame and other small revolvers, though, she could barely hit the paper.

[RetiredSeabee]

Graywolf, I was reading through this thread and from what I understand you are looking for a 22 revolver for a snake gun. Have you consider the Ruger Wrangler?
MSRP on them is around $260 for the 3.75 inch barrel models. So retail should be closer to $200.
I don’t own one but I have heard they are a very good quality for the money.
I don’t know how well snake shot would cycle in a semi auto but pretty sure that the wrangler would work well.
Now I think I may have talked myself into wanting one.

[graywolf]

I looked at the Wrangler a good while back. Don't know about carrying it all the time. One main thing limiting me some nowadays is I have to use a walking cane most of time. The LCP ll .22 I have want even begin to cycle the snake shot. The walking cane is one reason I started shooting a handgun more these last couple years. Always used a .22 rifle for everything.

[North Country Gal]

Whoa!, didn't know you were carrying with snake protection in mind. Might want to do some research on using 22 LR shot shells for killing poisonous snakes, up close, quick. Really a bad idea. Lots of reports on it being totally ineffective, especially from a 22 revolver. 22 shot shell loads use tiny loads of very fine #12 shot and are designed more for small birds and mice. We used these back in the day to clear out House sparrows or mice in the barn. Worked fine, there, but still had to be very close and that was with a 22 rifle, not a revolver.

For sure, I'd want more than 22 LR shot loads if I was forced to shoot rattlesnake up close. If you're carrying with snake protection in mind, 38 Special/357 shot shell loads for use in a revolver are designed with snakes in mind. CCI makes them. These use a much larger shot load of #9s. Lots of good choices in small, light 38 Special revolvers, too.

[John E Davies]

I agree about .22LR shot shells, they are hopeless.

You can make your own, I made some in .480 Ruger because no manufacturer produces them - no plastic tube, about 200 grains of shot over a few grains of fast powder, with a couple of cardboard patches and epoxy and a really heavy crimp... I never fired one at a snake but one would really shred a piece of cardboard up close.. and in a pinch several would really discourage a two legged attacker.

The larger the caliber the better for snakes! A Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Spl would be my top choice, if I had no other need for a .44 Mag revolver… it needs to be fairly heavy to function! (FYI this is 114 grains of number 9. The .22 LR load is just 31 grains of number 12, basically dust.)

From the CCI webpage: “Intended for short-range pest control; not recommended for self-defense. Cylinder lock up may occur in lightweight revolvers due to capsule movement resulting from recoil inertia.”

https://www.cci-ammunition.com/handgun/ ... -3744.html

Better yet… a duplex load similar to this (one of my future projects):

https://loaddata.com/Article/BenchTopic ... Magnum/138

This thread is going off topic.

John Davies
Spokane WA

[daytime dave]

If you are looking to use .22 shot shells for snakes of any kind, I'd say think again. As NCG already said, that #12 shot is pretty small and from a revolver, it's got to be close. Closer than I'd want to be for a poisonous snake.
Having said that, I usually carry one of my model 63's while outside at my place in the nice weather. I have them loaded with .22 shot shells too. They are for marauding mice and vermin in the barn and yard. I've shot mice and snakes and done away with them. I've also had mice fall over and get back up and run away. My model 63's are 2" and 4". The four inch barrel seems to do a little better, but is harder to carry in the warmest weather. The Henry Garden Gun does a much better job, but is harder to carry around in general. I sometimes bring it out and leave it on the outdoor couch next to the garden when I work in the garden. I do the same thing with a .410 in the fall when the rabbits seem to get bolder.
The current model 63, with 8 shots and a 3" barrel would be a nice compromise, if I wanted it. I haven't ever seen one for sale at the shops I frequent. Like most kit guns, when someone buys them, they keep them. (My model 63's both came from a shop that was selling a large collection of Smith and Wesson and High Standard handguns that the collector's family didn't share the same interest in after he passed. It was an awesome collection. I got a few nice pieces there.)

If you need a snake shot gun, I'd follow NCG's advice and use at least a .38 with the CCI shot shells. I have some and only used them once. They were much more effective than the .22 could ever hope to be.

I've never shot any of the Ruger LCRs. I've examined a couple of SP101s in .22 lr. If I didn't have the model 63s already, I'd have looked closer at the SP101 in .22 lr.