Have you fired a gun or walked and carried with it for a couple of hours? It’s heavy and it’s loud. It can also hurt and could potentially kill you.

If you are unable to kill the snake with a hoe I would, in the most respectful way I know how, ask that you not use a much more deadly weapon like a firearm to try it. I’d stick to the relocation efforts. When I was a kid we would see how far we could toss them in the air. We pretended we were playing a primitive form of LaCrosse called LaSnake. I have no love for snakes but many more people are killed by dogs each year than snakes. I would not recommend a dog gun but in terms of risk of harm, dogs win paws down.