How to Make Pistol Shot-Cartridges

Handy for killing snakes, rats, other vermin and winning bets involving balloons and fast draws, pistol shot cartridges can be bought from CCI for a pretty penny. What follows is my search for a cheaper alternative. At the end I show how they shoot. I'm not responsible for any self inflicted injuries brought about by cases of "monkey see, monkey do".

 Chamfer the mouth of an UN-PRIMED, UN-POWDERED .44 S&W Special case.

 Use the sharp un-primed case to cut out cardboard wads from a phone book cover.

 Now, using a sized and primed .44 S&W Special case: I loaded a 50% SAAMI Max powder charge of 2.4 grains for a .44 S&W Special using Hodgdon HP-38 (this load will be shot out of a .44 Rem Mag pistol which is rated for nearly 3X the pressure as the .44 S&W Special). The maximum powder charge for a .44 S&W Special is 6 grains of HP-38. 

 Pour the powder 

 Insert cardboard wad over the powder. 

 Press wad down carefully. I used empty .223 brass. 

 Pour in LEAD shot. The smaller the better. I'm using #7 1/2 target load lead even though it is being poured from an old spent buckshot shell. #8 would be ideal. While they do make #12 shot I'm not sure if I would recommend shot that small as some snakes have a pretty thick hide. (For a future experiment I might try a couple balls of 000 buckshot as they are .36" in size and my .44 mag is a .430" bore) Fill to just below the case mouth.

 Insert another cardboard wad. 

 Crimp the case mouth. 

 *Optional: seal with wax being careful to keep the open flame well away from the case. Done. I assume no liability for stupidity. Don't try this at home.

After running outside to test the load this is what I learned: The load definitely needs more powder; as much of the shot punched through the paper but got stuck in, or bounced off the cardboard. Not too sure if the scaled hide of a venomous snake would be swayed by this velocity yet. Back to the drawing board. But as always, better to have too little powder and be able to work up the load than to have too much powder and too little of hands afterwards, haha

 Here you can see how much of the shot actually bounced off and what very little was able to punch through. This load does not attain my seal of approval.

 Loaded to 4.8 grains. Now we have what I would call a snake killer. #7 1/2 shot pushing through the paper and through the cardboard.

Backside of the cardboard box. The cartridges loaded with 2.4 grains didn't even get through one side of the box, now with 4.8 grains we're punching through both sides with energy to spare coming out the back. Worthy of snake killing, rat killing and balloon popping? I think so. Moral of the story, it is always better to work up a load than it is to blow up your hands. 
                                                          Be safe and God bless America!