Maybe a little off topic, but I do know that when we were slaughtering hogs, we forgot a .22, and all I had without going to the house was my .38, with aluminum defense rounds...not a good idear from my experience...5 shots right where they needed to be, and 1 really irritated hog, went to the house, and got the .22, dropped it with one shot, in the same place...and that was some nasty tough pig...
Gun of choice, bovine slaughter?
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Certaindeaf
member
You probably didn't hit it right.. meaning you missed the peabrain.
krameranzac
Member
Beware of bystanders when you do it. A guy here in New Zealand ended up in jail after he shot a beast with a .303 and the projectile exited the beasts skull at a very different angle to the entry and killed a guy who was watching proceedings.
45bthompson
Member
My grandfather owned a locker in a small iowa town for ages. He used a .22lr revolver behind the ear. He said anything other than .22 was a waste of money. I never heard any stories of it not working.
45bthompson
Member
Don't shoot it in forehead. That is the thickest part of the skull.
A small caliber contact shot ensures proper placement and optimum outcome while any shot attempted at a distance risks wounding of the animal and undue suffering and risk. This is a domesticated farm animal and should be able to be herded into a safe place and dispatched humanely.
Elkins45
Member
When we slaughtered cattle we would lead them out to under the hoist and throw down a handful of feed. When the cow bent down to eat it, a 22 LR solid (from a single shot rifle) was fired into the top of its skull. This was immediately followed by a solid THUD as 800-1200 pounds of formerly animated bovine hit the ground as though God himself had snatched the life out of it.
Perhaps seeing this scene several times is why I have always had a lot of respect for the 22LR round?
Perhaps seeing this scene several times is why I have always had a lot of respect for the 22LR round?
primalmu
Member
The forehead is EXACTLY where you want to shoot it. It is not the thickest part of the skull (trust me, I know, not only am I a soon-to-be veterinarian, but I've sawed plenty of cattle skulls in half). The thickest part of the skull is the occipital bone (rear of the skull).
Stop arguing. Draw diagonal lines between the horns and the eyes and shoot where they meet. That's what beef producers do, that's what veterinarians do, and that's what farmers have done for ages. Its tried and true, and there is absolutely NO reason to use any other method.
And BTW, shooting and destroying the brain is NOT "stunning." Its called stunning because when they first starting doing it they had little to no knowledge of neurology and assumed that because the cow still moved and vocalized that it was still alive and just stunned. Destruction of the brain means the cow cannot experience pain. Any movement is strictly spinal reflexes and has nothing to do with the brain. The heart still pumps, but the heart is able to pump without instruction from the brain. It can even pump when removed from the body. Brain death is still death.
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Garak
Member
I'd go for a captive bolt gun, preferably Blitz-Kerner with the red rounds. No risk of collateral damage, and has also better ergonomics than a firearm for slaughtering purposes.
Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
The X method always worked for me. It was one of my occasional jobs on the farm to dispatch injured cows that couldn't be treated effectively (broken legs). I used a .38 Spl with 158 grain semiwadcutter reloads (at about 800 fps) and never had any trouble at all. Usually that placement resulted in getting the bullet into or near the foramen magnum at the base of the skull...
AlexanderA
Member
This thread makes me want to become a vegetarian. I'll bet a lot of people who eat meat wouldn't do so if they had to do the slaughtering themselves. As a society, we've "sanitized" this process -- someone else does the dirty work for us. I once witnessed a lamb being slaughtered (by having its throat cut) for a family Easter meal. I would never do this again.
Oddly enough, I would have a lot fewer qualms shooting a person than shooting an animal. The person would deserve it -- the animal doesn't. The only time I would shoot an animal is if it endangered my life directly.
Oddly enough, I would have a lot fewer qualms shooting a person than shooting an animal. The person would deserve it -- the animal doesn't. The only time I would shoot an animal is if it endangered my life directly.
Feed it in the feed bunk. You want the cow calm and content when you kill it. Take a 38 special, draw imaginary lines from the eye on one side to between the ear and horn on the other side. X marks the spot and pull the trigger. Don't chase the animal before you shoot it or get it worked up, you will end up with tough meat because its full of adrenalin. Cut the throat immediately so it bleeds out
What he said. I've done it with a ball peen hammer when I din't have anything else handy.
What he said. I've done it with a ball peen hammer when I din't have anything else handy.
TCB in TN
Member
This says less about the reality of killing and eating meat, and more about our society IMHO!
Hunter125
Member
This says less about the reality of killing and eating meat, and more about our society IMHO!
No joke. What it really says is he places at least equal, if not more, value on an animal's life than on a human's. Sad statement about our society.
kyhunter
Member
As many have said a high-speed .22 solid (the longer barrel cant hurt) has been doing it for years. Anything else is just overkill honestly. Ive seen many a .38 snubby and centerfire rifles used from ranges 5 to 100 yards. dead is dead plain and simple. The .22 is most widely used due to affordability and it just plain works. Shot placement. Shot placement. Shot placement.
limpingbear
Member
If you get real close to the cow, and look at its forehead, look at the way the hair/fur makes a little swirl right in the middle. Put a .22 solid out of a rifle right there and its a dead critter. Helped out on a couple "on the ranch" butcher jobs, and everytime a cow was shot like that, they sucked thier legs up to thier boddies so quick you say sky beneath the cow. They were dead before they hit the ground. Make sure it is a contact shot and you wont have to worry about using anything bigger.
AlexanderA, death is a part of life. Every living thing must die, whether it deserves it or not. The best we can hope for is a quick and painless departure, and that is the topic of this thread. We respect animals, but we do not adore them.
Before anyone can enjoy a hamburger, taco or pepperoni pizza, this must happen (shows the process, no need to hit the link if you don't wish to learn) http://vimeo.com/22077752
In our society, folks have lost touch with where our food comes from, and what happens between nurture and ingestion. Farming and ranching involve a lot of hard work, but they are a necessary part of life.
If people want to live a vegan lifestyle, they are welcome to that choice. The animal industry gives us gelatin, leather, even fabric softeners and plant supplements, and ignoring it doesn't mean it's not a part of the fabric of our culture.
Before anyone can enjoy a hamburger, taco or pepperoni pizza, this must happen (shows the process, no need to hit the link if you don't wish to learn) http://vimeo.com/22077752
In our society, folks have lost touch with where our food comes from, and what happens between nurture and ingestion. Farming and ranching involve a lot of hard work, but they are a necessary part of life.
If people want to live a vegan lifestyle, they are welcome to that choice. The animal industry gives us gelatin, leather, even fabric softeners and plant supplements, and ignoring it doesn't mean it's not a part of the fabric of our culture.
Very well stated! 'Rust collector'! I'll be checking your link out next. It seems as though the most humane way is with a .22 LR, rifle, at close range. I was wishing that I could set back like I would w/ a deer but as HSO and others have pointed out domesticated / wild animals are best dispatched according to their kind.
wild willy
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Can you do it.I'am not being nasty its not like hunting. I know people who have butchered a steer and a couple hogs for every year for 50 years but won't shoot them and they hunt and shoot deer and other game with no problem.The people on here who have done it know what I'am talking about.You don't do it because it fun you do it because it something that has to be done.
I've butchered many animals on the farm. I've used various weapons over the years, .22 rifles, .45ACP pistols, etc. For absolute best results I use my 22-250 single shot varmint rifle right in the middle of the X made between the ears and eyes as described here by several other commenters. Even though it's a scoped rifle I shoot them off hand from a foot away while they are standing quietly awaiting their morning feed.
I like this way best because the steer immediately folds. No thrashing, no struggling. He's dead, period. That is the safest for the people and the most humane for the beast. He will bleed out just fine this way. We immediately hoist him up with the tractor loader and slit the throat. Plenty of bleed out. No drama at all.
I firmly believe that we have an obligation to the animal to treat it as humanely as possible throughout its life,up to and including its eventual demise. People have lost their connection to the reality of feeding themselves. Pretty sad really.
I like this way best because the steer immediately folds. No thrashing, no struggling. He's dead, period. That is the safest for the people and the most humane for the beast. He will bleed out just fine this way. We immediately hoist him up with the tractor loader and slit the throat. Plenty of bleed out. No drama at all.
I firmly believe that we have an obligation to the animal to treat it as humanely as possible throughout its life,up to and including its eventual demise. People have lost their connection to the reality of feeding themselves. Pretty sad really.
Readyrod
Member
What he said.
Exactly.
Exactly again.
Yup.
That is so true on so many levels, and I'm not being sarcastic here.
Whoa, just learned something new there. Awesome! And it makes perfect sense.
We used a .357 mag in a 4" revolver as described (the cross of the imaginary X) many years ago. Cow was dead upon hitting the ground. That was the choice because it was available. I would expect most calibers would be more than adequate with a good bullet today.
We found it to be too much work to be worth the savings of a butcher after that first one, though still do our own game animals, so more power to you! There's little better eating than one's own cow; I still love going home for the beef. I think every meat eater should kill and butcher an animal at least once.
We found it to be too much work to be worth the savings of a butcher after that first one, though still do our own game animals, so more power to you! There's little better eating than one's own cow; I still love going home for the beef. I think every meat eater should kill and butcher an animal at least once.
J-Bar
Member
If you are not experienced in slaughtering and processing beef, please make sure you cook it well before serving it. The professional processors occasionally make mistakes, and folks get sick as a result. Inexperienced processors are more likely to contaminate the meat with poor technique. Use a thermometer and get the internal temperature to 145 degrees F.
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