I was a young boy hunting frogs and turtles along the bayous of Southeast Texas.įorging my way through the tall summer grass along the bank and, true to form, I was not really paying attention to where I was going. I remember one time I had a too-close-for-comfort encounter with a cottonmouth. However, early archery and muzzleloader season hunters can still run afoul of not only the rattlesnake, but also cottonmouths, copperheads and a number of other North American pit vipers.Ĭottonmouth snakes, also referred to as water moccasins, are particularly aggressive vipers that are known to chase after the individuals who are unlucky enough to cross their paths. Most snakes hibernate in the wintertime, making them less threatening to deer hunters. While hunting early-season whitetail deer, summer feral hog or late-spring turkey in the woods and fields of North Texas, nothing causes me to freeze in my tracks faster than the telltale rattle of a western diamondback rattlesnake. 454 Casull using the Raging Judge.Īvailable with a three-inch barrel, it is small enough to tuck into a backpack or fanny pack, or to carry comfortably in a holster. 410, the Taurus Judge sets the standard as the snake gun of choice.Īdvertised as the perfect trail gun, the Taurus Judge is indeed versatile enough to take small game, snakes and varmints when firing a. This still persists today and is seeing a resurgence in popularity with the Judge line of revolvers made by Taurus.Ĭhambered in both. 410 shell, and soon every major revolver and Derringer manufacturer offered pistols advertised as firing. This interchangeability drove the popularity of the. 410 shotshell is not very well-known, a good indication of its heritage is the fact that it shares the same chamber size as the. 410 shotshell or Winchester’s PDX1 Defender, the Judge makes for one of the best snake guns. 410 bore, developed around 1900 - it was discovered these little shooters made excellent snake guns. Soon, smokeless powder was developed, allowing an even larger variety of Derringer offerings.Īs designers introduced more and more calibers to various Derringer designs, specifically with the advent of pistol caliber shotshells - namely the. Normally found tucked away in a lady’s garter or hidden in a gambler’s boot, these small holdout guns were not used for killing snakes.Įarly models were mostly rimfire affairs, with larger calibers coming initially in black powder. The invention of the Derringer gave people the option of a small, easily-portable handgun capable of inflicting devastating damage at close range. Choices range from traditional short-barreled shotguns to various Derringers along with new modern shotshell-firing revolvers.

Snake charmer 2 shotgun