I have nothing against firearms as such. There may be times and places where a firearm might be really handy to have on hand. Say ... falling into an old dry well or mine shaft and landing on a couple of snakes, who immediately take offense, and I might wish I had a gun loaded with shot shells to help 'pacify the natives'.

But I have been on this planet a bunch of years and so far I have never felt any great need for such equipment. I did come close to feeling a need for a firearm when one day when I was making my way in a crawl space and became aware of a large rattler as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The snake was about six feet away but it felt much closer because I was on my belly in a confined space with no way to get away quickly. Snakes, even ones which seem unconcerned with your existence, seem much more dangerous when they are at eye level.

I back pedaled a bit and took a deep breath. I ran the snake off by tossing handfuls of sand at it. After calming down a bit I got on with the job. I'm not fearless around poisonous snakes. Staying calm can take a considerable conscious effort. I find it helps to carefully consider the situation. If I haven't been bit I figure either the snake can't bite me, or it is disinclined to bite me. Sooo ... if I don't do anything to change that odds are I will remain unbit.

Then again if I was required by my job to jump blind into confined spaces commonly inhabited by poisonous snakes on a regular basis I might be tempted to pack iron. Iron loaded for ... well ... snake. IMHO a light pump or double barrel shotgun, ideally a 20ga, loaded with #7 would be what I would carry. Most pistol-sized shot shells, topically loaded with #9 shot, are too light to reliably do the job.

The contradiction for me is that pistol-sized shot shells work but you have to be close. If your that close opening distance would be wiser. If your not that close the snake isn't an immediate threat so there is no need to shoot it.