Tonight I had the unfortunate oppurtunity to fire my wepon in the line of duty. Thanfully it was a dog, not a person. I reponded to a viscious animal at large call, and with head fully in ass, I did not grab the shotgun from the car when I got out. I spot the dog, a very agitated Pit mix. The dog, instead of doing the normal dog thing, and backing off while remaining defensive, comes toward me in a menacing manner. It lunged at me once, and backed off. Light bulb above my head goes off, and I unholster my Sig P220, and ooze ever so slowly towards my patrol car to fetch the scattergun.
The dog doesnt give me chance, and again approaches me in a threatening manner. I shot the dog once in the center of the chest from a distance of about 6 feet, maybe 8. Shot lands good, and the dog does a complete backflip, and takes off running. I fire one more shot, that I THINK landed in the gut region. The dog then proceds to run about a mile and a half into the woods, where I lose it. The whole time the dog is running, its dying. from my hunting days, i can tell a lung shot easily. Frothy blood everywhere, and running on pure fear and adrenaline. Every few feet, the dog falters, and regains its step. By the time I lose visual, the dog is completely red, covered in blood it has aspirated.
230gr .45acp Gold Dots are good rounds. No one has ever denied that. This simply goes to show that a pne shot stop is a myth, even in a dog. Anger, fear, and adrenaline are powerful mitigating factors in survival. I am sure the dog died soon after losing it. I am sure the dog would have died had I not chased it, causing more fear. I should have went for a head shot, but Hindsight is 20/20, and the shot did protect myself, stopping the threat.
Now, I must undergo a shooting advisory board. Have I lost faith in the Gold Dot? Absoultely not. The shot was good, and the best I can tell, the bullet performed as designed. The dog simply did not want to die, and thats what any shooting boils down to, I imagine.
The dog doesnt give me chance, and again approaches me in a threatening manner. I shot the dog once in the center of the chest from a distance of about 6 feet, maybe 8. Shot lands good, and the dog does a complete backflip, and takes off running. I fire one more shot, that I THINK landed in the gut region. The dog then proceds to run about a mile and a half into the woods, where I lose it. The whole time the dog is running, its dying. from my hunting days, i can tell a lung shot easily. Frothy blood everywhere, and running on pure fear and adrenaline. Every few feet, the dog falters, and regains its step. By the time I lose visual, the dog is completely red, covered in blood it has aspirated.
230gr .45acp Gold Dots are good rounds. No one has ever denied that. This simply goes to show that a pne shot stop is a myth, even in a dog. Anger, fear, and adrenaline are powerful mitigating factors in survival. I am sure the dog died soon after losing it. I am sure the dog would have died had I not chased it, causing more fear. I should have went for a head shot, but Hindsight is 20/20, and the shot did protect myself, stopping the threat.
Now, I must undergo a shooting advisory board. Have I lost faith in the Gold Dot? Absoultely not. The shot was good, and the best I can tell, the bullet performed as designed. The dog simply did not want to die, and thats what any shooting boils down to, I imagine.