Since I have most of the handguns being discussed and live and hunt in snake prone areas, I have explored this topic.

My personal preference in a compact .38/.357 is the Ruger SP101 loaded with 125 grain SJHPs (357) for self-defense. Practice with .38 loads for familarity.

As to snake loads, I have primarily used the CCI loads and within reasonable range (less than 10 feet) are highly effective on snakes. The 9mm loads will not cycle my brother's Taurus PT-92 and the pattern is not great. The .45 loads will NOT cycle in my Colt Commander (though I did read a prior post that they will cycle in a Kimber). The pattern from a .45 is much better. .38 snake loads have usually performed well when fired through a longer barrel, such as 4-6 inches.