Browning Does A Modern Take On “Snake Shot” Rounds

There’s been a huge uptick in new hog hunters. And when you’re hunting hogs, there’s a good chance you’re going to see rattlesnakes. And when you trip over a four-foot long Texas rattler, you’re going to calmly think “Hmm. I wonder what’s new in snake shot development.”

Browning just released a really cool new round for just this scenario.

Their Trail Force Ammunition ups the ante on old-school rat shot. The .38 caliber revolver ammo has the expected load of #9 lead shot pellets, but it is also duplexed with multiple copper plated disc projectiles. The heavier discs fly true, straight like a bullet would, while the shot expands. So the direct hits are much harder, while still having some cheater spread for those panicked, less than precise, ohmygodtheresasnake moments.

The round’s total payload is a  ¼ ounce, providing a combination of needed penetration and close-range lethality on larger pests. The copper plated discs engage the rifling in the barrel to shoot accurately at common defense distances for maximum effectiveness. The #9 shot provides a larger blanket of payload coverage.

Browning has marketed this to anyone “hiking, hunting, camping or working around the farm or ranch” acknowledging that “many outdoorsmen and women are routinely exposed to a variety of pests and rodents. Be it a rattlesnake under a water tank, opossum in the chicken pen, rabid raccoon on the trail; wildlife can be unpredictable and dangerous.”

While I personally haven’t had any opossums in my chicken pen lately, or been chased by a rabid raccoon through the suburbs, I have stumbled across rattlers while in the mesquite when shooting swine. It’s the sole reason a lot of people even own revolvers today: the ability to use multiple-projectile shot out of a quickly-drawn sidearm. As new hunters discover they have a need for something like this, Browning’s approach to take an old, niche product and give it a modern take is smart.