My dad had a .38 that had tiny birdshot. Good for close range and it didn’t overpenetrate. My uncle had .22 bird shot for snakes in the barn. He probably saved a lot of cat's lives as a result.

Sounds like an idiot who was a bad shot, no common sense and less technical sense.

Shooting them isn't necessary, but, take those words with a grain of salt, around here I'm referred to as a 'gun humper'.

In the house or basement I wouldn't chance chasing them into hiding. My uncle has lost two barn cats to copperheads.

Why must EVERYTHING revolve around a damned gun? Not to mention the fact that every once in a while, a "poorly" placed rock may ricochet those bullets (or gun shot) into a very unintended target...

Not shooting the snake at all? We had a pretty large copperhead snoozing in the sun in our driveway a few years ago and we coaxed it into a bag and then tossed it into the woods. Never saw it again. From Wiki - "Most fatal bites are attributed to the eastern and western diamondback rattlesnake. Copperheads account for more cases of venomous snake bite than any other North American species; however, their venom is the least toxic so their bite is seldom fatal." I've encountered copperheads about 3-4 times in my life and never felt compelled to kill one.

I live and let live. However, there are snakes.

and there are SNAKES

my house. I just let him stay as their was a rather teeming ecosystem there. Wish he was back to keep down the Yamato class roaches which sometimes cut their way in.