copaup
Member
I debated posting about this, but I think perhaps a lesson can be learned from it. If inappropriate, Mods please delete. Weapon used was an 870 loaded with Federal 00 "tactical" buck.
I was put in the unfortunate position recently of having to shoot a charging stray pit bull that had been trying to maul some neighborhood children and attacked us when we made the scene. This was by far the most aggressive animal I have ever seen and was actually trying to tear through a screen door to get at the occupants inside when we first arrived. The first round was fired downward at the dog at a range of about 10ft (so the background was the ground), with 2 very quick follow up shots, the last of which was nearly straight down between my feet. This shot broke the dogs foreleg and it broke off the attack and ran under a nearby carport. The dog made a second attempt to attack and a fourth and final round was fired from a distance of about 6 feet, striking the animal in the right shoulder. I've made hits on game animals and coyote in the same place and fully expected the shot to pass through the shoulder and into the vitals in the chest. I was disappointed.
The shot stopped the dog, nearly removing the foreleg, but the animal simply laid down and licked it wounds. The animal was still alive and aggressive an hour later when animal control finally loaded it up to take it to the vet to be put down. A finishing shot was impossible for a variety of reasons after it became apparent that the 4th wound was not going to prove rapidly fatal.
Granted, the first 3 shots were very quick, at a rapidly moving target intent on removing part of my body I'm fond of, and most of the pellets struck the legs and flank, but all 3 rounds at least hit the dog and it not only did not stop its charge until the leg was broken, but it then launched a second charge on 3 legs. The 4th shot struck the dog directly on the shoulder but the shot apparently did not penetrate the heavy muscle into the chest cavity and resulted in a very ugly, incapacitating, but not (rapidly) lethal wound.
This dog was a freak of nature, and so intent on mayhem that I think you could have hit it with a truck and it would not notice for a bit. I have seen a few muscled up 2 legged monsters on various drugs that are every bit as hyped up and 4 times this dogs weight. NO weapon, including the mighty 12 ga shotgun, can be 100% effective in stopping a target on the first solid hit. Expect the first shot to fail and reapply as needed.
I was put in the unfortunate position recently of having to shoot a charging stray pit bull that had been trying to maul some neighborhood children and attacked us when we made the scene. This was by far the most aggressive animal I have ever seen and was actually trying to tear through a screen door to get at the occupants inside when we first arrived. The first round was fired downward at the dog at a range of about 10ft (so the background was the ground), with 2 very quick follow up shots, the last of which was nearly straight down between my feet. This shot broke the dogs foreleg and it broke off the attack and ran under a nearby carport. The dog made a second attempt to attack and a fourth and final round was fired from a distance of about 6 feet, striking the animal in the right shoulder. I've made hits on game animals and coyote in the same place and fully expected the shot to pass through the shoulder and into the vitals in the chest. I was disappointed.
The shot stopped the dog, nearly removing the foreleg, but the animal simply laid down and licked it wounds. The animal was still alive and aggressive an hour later when animal control finally loaded it up to take it to the vet to be put down. A finishing shot was impossible for a variety of reasons after it became apparent that the 4th wound was not going to prove rapidly fatal.
Granted, the first 3 shots were very quick, at a rapidly moving target intent on removing part of my body I'm fond of, and most of the pellets struck the legs and flank, but all 3 rounds at least hit the dog and it not only did not stop its charge until the leg was broken, but it then launched a second charge on 3 legs. The 4th shot struck the dog directly on the shoulder but the shot apparently did not penetrate the heavy muscle into the chest cavity and resulted in a very ugly, incapacitating, but not (rapidly) lethal wound.
This dog was a freak of nature, and so intent on mayhem that I think you could have hit it with a truck and it would not notice for a bit. I have seen a few muscled up 2 legged monsters on various drugs that are every bit as hyped up and 4 times this dogs weight. NO weapon, including the mighty 12 ga shotgun, can be 100% effective in stopping a target on the first solid hit. Expect the first shot to fail and reapply as needed.
