Hunting Handgun Ammo
CCI Shotshells • Snake Shot • Pest Control • .40 S&W • .45 ACP
CCI handgun shotshells — small-shot pistol cartridges loaded with #9 birdshot for short-range snake control, barn-rat and varmint dispatch, and indoor pest applications where a standard JHP would over-penetrate. Available in .40 S&W and .45 ACP for shooters who want the same pistol they carry to handle the occasional copperhead in the garden or rat in the feed barn. Fired from a centerfire pistol, these turn the host handgun into a 3-to-10-foot shotgun — the right tool for the rare jobs they're built for, and the wrong tool for everything else.
About Hunting Handgun Ammo at Keep Shooting
Keep Shooting's Hunting Handgun Ammo catalog is a small but specific selection of handgun shotshells — pistol cartridges loaded with small-shot pellets rather than a single bullet, used for snake control, barn-rat and varmint dispatch, and indoor pest applications where standard hollow-point ammunition would over-penetrate. Two cartridges from CCI — the Idaho-based American rimfire and shotshell specialist — covering .40 S&W ($24.43) and .45 ACP ($25.40), both loaded with #9 birdshot inside a sealed plastic capsule designed to pattern out of a centerfire pistol barrel. For traditional defensive ammunition see our Personal Defense Handgun Ammo; for range FMJ see Target Shooting Handgun Ammo.
What handgun shotshells are. A standard pistol cartridge — say, .45 ACP — fires a single 230-grain copper-jacketed lead bullet at ~850 fps. A handgun shotshell uses the same .45 ACP case but replaces the single bullet with a thin plastic capsule loaded with roughly 100 small lead pellets (typically #9 birdshot, the smallest commonly-loaded shot size, with each pellet measuring approximately .08 inches in diameter). When fired, the capsule splits open just past the muzzle and the pellets spread out into a small shot pattern — essentially turning the handgun into a very-short-range shotgun. The pattern at typical use distance (3 to 10 feet) is roughly the size of a dinner plate. Beyond about 15 feet the pattern opens too wide and the energy of the individual pellets drops too low for practical effect.
The two CCI offerings.
- CCI .40 S&W Shotshells ($24.43) — the .40 S&W shotshell cartridge for owners of Glock 22 / 23 / 27, S&W M&P .40, Sig P226 / P229 .40, Beretta Px4 .40, and similar .40-caliber service pistols. Useful for shooters who carry a .40 as a duty or home-defense pistol and want the same firearm to handle occasional pest control without switching guns.
- CCI .45 ACP Shotshells ($25.40) — the .45 ACP version, for owners of M1911 family pistols, Glock 21 / 30, S&W M&P 45, HK USP 45, and similar .45-caliber platforms. Slightly more pellet payload than the .40 version due to the larger case capacity.
What they're for. Three primary use cases drive handgun shotshell purchases:
- Snake control. The dominant use case. Anyone living in copperhead, cottonmouth, or rattlesnake country (the American South, Southwest, and rural West) knows the situation: a venomous snake in the garden, the wood pile, the chicken coop, or the porch — close enough to be an immediate problem, usually moving slowly enough to engage. Handgun shotshells are the standard answer when the closest available firearm is the pistol on your hip (rather than a shotgun in the closet).
- Barn rat and pest dispatch. Same situation, indoor: rats in the feed barn, squirrels in the attic, raccoons or possums getting into outbuildings. Where a standard JHP or FMJ round would punch through sheet metal, drywall, or siding and present a serious over-penetration risk, the spread of small shot from a handgun shotshell stays essentially contained at close range.
- Wilderness and ranch pest control. The hunting-camp and ranch scenarios where a single sidearm has to handle everything from snake encounters to small-pest dispatch. Cattle ranchers and outfitters will sometimes carry one shotshell in the top of a cylinder revolver or in the chamber of a stripped-magazine semi-auto specifically as the "first-round-snake" load.
Limitations and warnings. Three important caveats apply to all handgun shotshells:
- Range is very limited. Effective range is roughly 3 to 10 feet. Beyond about 15 feet the pellets have neither enough energy nor enough density on target to do the job reliably. These are not a substitute for a proper shotgun at any real distance.
- Semi-auto cycling is unreliable. The plastic capsule is substantially lighter than a standard bullet and the chamber pressure is lower — many semi-automatic pistols will not cycle reliably with shotshell ammunition. The slide may not fully reset, the next round may not feed, or the spent capsule may not extract cleanly. Plan to manually cycle the action between shots when running shotshells through a semi-auto, or restrict shotshell use to revolvers (where the cycling limitation does not apply). For a semi-auto pistol the practical use is one chambered shotshell as a "snake round" with the balance of the magazine loaded with standard ammunition.
- Plastic capsule cleanup. The shotshell capsule is a consumable plastic shell that is destroyed on firing and ejected as small fragments. Repeated firing of shotshells through a polygonal-rifled barrel (notably Glock barrels) can also leave plastic residue in the bore that requires careful cleaning. Glock specifically does not recommend shotshell use in their factory polygonal- rifled barrels — check your firearm's manual or manufacturer guidance for shotshell compatibility.
Related shotshell offerings in our broader catalog. While this category contains the two centerfire-pistol offerings, a handful of related shotshell products are stocked elsewhere on the site:
- CCI .22 WMR No. 12 Shot — the rimfire-magnum equivalent for owners of .22 WMR revolvers and pistols (Smith & Wesson Model 351, Ruger LCR .22 WMR, Kel-Tec PMR-30, etc.). See the Rimfire Ammo category for the full rimfire shotshell offering.
- Federal Premium .410 Handgun Shotshells 000 Buck — a specialty buckshot (rather than birdshot) shotshell loaded for the Taurus Judge and Smith & Wesson Governor revolvers, which are chambered to fire either .45 Colt or .410 shotshells interchangeably. See the Shotgun Ammo category.
CCI — the American shotshell specialist. CCI (Cascade Cartridge Inc., based in Lewiston, Idaho) was founded in 1951 by Richard "Dick" Speer and is the dominant American manufacturer of specialty rimfire, primer, and shotshell ammunition. Today CCI is part of Vista Outdoor (which also owns Federal Premium, Speer, and other major firearms-industry brands) and produces the centerfire-pistol shotshell line as one of their signature specialty offerings — there are very few other commercial American producers of handgun shotshells, so CCI's offering is effectively the market for this niche product.
Companion ammunition categories. For everyday handgun ammunition see our Handgun Ammo hub or the more focused Personal Defense Handgun Ammo and Target Shooting Handgun Ammo selections. For suppressor ammunition see Suppressor-Ready Handgun Ammo. For shotgun hunting and home-defense loads see the Shotgun Ammo catalog. For the firearms themselves see our Pistols catalog.
Keep Shooting ships handgun shotshells from our Pennsylvania warehouse with free shipping on orders over $49.95 and hassle-free returns. These cartridges are a niche product for a niche use case — most handgun owners will never need them, but the rural shooter, rancher, or wilderness camper who has spent enough time in copperhead country to encounter the situation knows exactly what a CCI shotshell in the chamber is for. Buy a box, keep it with the sidearm you carry on the property, and the next snake-in-the-garden scenario becomes a one-shot problem instead of a chase.
Frequently Asked Questions — Handgun Hunting Ammo
Keep Shooting carries a wide selection of Handgun Hunting Ammo products from trusted brands. Browse our catalog to see the full range, and use the filters on the left to narrow by brand, price, or product type.
Yes! All orders over $49.95 qualify for free shipping, including Handgun Hunting Ammo products. Orders typically ship within 1–2 business days.
Keep Shooting offers hassle-free returns on Handgun Hunting Ammo products. If you're not completely satisfied, contact our customer service team for a return authorization. All products must be in original, unused condition.
If you need help choosing the right Handgun Hunting Ammo product, our team is available to assist. Check individual product descriptions for detailed specifications, or contact us directly and we'll help you find the best fit for your needs.