Shot from about 15 feet or so.

Why do you hate smakes?

I had those before and wasn't impressed. For snakes a shovel , give it a good swing or two and then off with its head. Not sure about a copperhead but here in CA the diamondback don't want to do nothing but go the other way but the timber rattler seems to be very protective of its territory and it will call your bluff and you will be the one trying to get away. I won't kill a snake unless I have no choice. I prefer catch and release somewhere far away !

Stew ,

I know those blue one are "pricy" a little ... when ya run out go to your local farmers Co-op and try the 50 count boxes of all brass "crimped ones ($11.00).   The blue ones hold a longer pattern , but the difference is minimal.    There was a time I tried keeping corn in a hopper down in the barn.    Well the Norway rats thought that was a wonderful idea !  

Yea , my son and I went rat shooting ever day till the corn was gone.   Those #12 shot crimped 22LR shell go faster out of a rifle , (40-50 ft.) one shot kills.  

His 6" barrel , 9 shot revolver was the best tool for the job.   Out of the rifle the pattern is almost too tight for quick running rats , but some times they would hide in the rafters way up in the roof of the old barn and the rifle would easily "go get them".  

Back in my Boy Scout days, at summer camp we shot Skeet using those 22 shells with the crimped ends.  The clay pigeons didn't fly very far or very fast - but it was still hard to hit them with a 22 rifle shooting a couple dozen tiny pellets.

I was reading other info about the ammo and people said they used ritz crackers for skeet with these.  Sounds like a fun thing for me and my nephew to do when he comes home from school  

Be sure to thoroughly clean the bore after shooting. The lead sluffs off in the rifling and will mess up accuracy with regular bullets! That brass or bronze bore brush in your cleaning kit works good.