First, assuming you don't actively pursue one, odds are you won't get close enough to any snake to worry about it. Snakes tend to move away from people. We are simply not the sort of animal they like to eat. We are way too big.

Second, your average snake is a lot more even tempered than your average human. I have seen a number of people freak out when they realized they were just a few inches away from a snake but I have never seen a snake freak out. Mostly, even when awakened suddenly, they just slither off. Striking only when molested or stepped on. Mess with me or step on me and I have been known to get riled myself.

All that means your not likely to need to attack a snake. Not if your interest is genuine defense and not pursuing a vendetta based on fear.

Assuming your in one of those extremely rare situations when dealing with a snake is necessary a stick is your most effective and efficient tool. Mostly used to bump the snake and get it going away from you. Sometimes used to flip a snake off a narrow path where there aren't alternative routes. As a last resort it can be used as a a club. A good stick, I like thick-wall bamboo about 25 or 30 mm in diameter and 120 to 130cm long, is quite adaptable.

Save the artillery for actual, as opposed to imagined, threats and those jobs it does well.

Corrected for spelling.