Snake shot, rat shot, or dust shot, more formally known as shotshell or canister shot, refers to handgun and rifle cartridges loaded with lead shot canisters instead of bullets, intended for pest control. As the names suggest, the main targets for such ammunition are snakes, rodents, birds, and other pests at very close range.

Shot is a collective term for small spheres or pellets, often made of lead. These have been projected from slings since ancient times and were the original projectiles for shotguns and are still fired primarily from shotguns and grenade launchers, while it's less commonly used in riot guns. Shot shells are also available in many handgun calibers in a configuration known as "birdshot", "rat shot", or "snake shot".