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45 vs 355 For Pit Bull Defense
- Thread starter 918v
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I was told one time by a guy that ran a lot of pits for catch dogs hunting pigs that a finger up the rear end would make them turn loose every time.
Apparently, amidst all the fury of squealing pigs, dogs and trying to stab the pig, he'd gotten in-between some of the dogs and their intended target a couple times.
I personally am glad for all the pitbull jesus freaks, quick and easy way to sort them into the fuckwit pile and move on.
About 20 years ago I was serving a Domestic Violence petition on a guy. As I knocked on the door, he jerked it open and shout "get him". His 90# pitbull jumped up and grabbed me by the duty belt. I shot it point blank in the top of the head with a G21 in 45 acp (Speer Gold Dot) and all it did was knock the dog out. I shoved it into a bathroom and shut the door. Another officer eventually took it to the vet, the bullet was stuck in the bone but did not penetrate. He ended up adopting the dog and laughed every time he brought it around the dept. It.would growl and bark at me but always kept its distance
I had one come into the clinic one morning that had just been shot in the face at close range with a "pistol". There was a split in his upper lip right below his nose, bleeding everywhere, and no exit wound. The dog, however, was running around, barking at other dogs, and wagging his tail like nothing was wrong. Once we had him sedated, I traced the wound. The bullet entered head-on, dead-center, but at a very slight angle to the longitudinal axis of his skull. It went through the upper lip just below his nose, and blew through his incisor teeth. It shed most of its jacket, which I found embedded (but visible) in his tongue. The lead slug continued to travel at the same slight angle across the top of his tongue, cutting a furrow, but not very deep. It exited the oral cavity by taking out a couple molar teeth, but did not exit his cheek. Instead it entered the massive jaw muscle (masseter) that gives a Pit that characteristic block-head look. X-rays showed the remainder of the slug deeply embedded in that muscle.Don't use a 10mm or .40S&W!!! They do nothing on pits.
I helped my wife with this one as it was last minute right before Christmas.
Likeable enough pit that got out and came back shot. Judging by the entrance of the bullet (hip), it was shot from the 6 O'clock as it was running away. The bullet smashed the trochanter of the femur as it traveled (from 6 to 12 here), before traveling about 14" and coming to rest against the liver.
I measured the base of the bullet...10mm exactly.
Almost 4 weeks later and it is still alive.
I picked out all the metal fragments in his mouth that I could access. The only large pieces on the X-rays were the jacket base (which I removed from the tongue), and the slug in the masseter, which I left alone. The rest of what I removed were just small slivers and fragments along the wound path. The base of the jacket was perfectly intact, and I set it aside, noting that it was at least .40 cal, but probably .45. Surgically, all he needed was a little wound debridement, a few sutures in his upper lip, extraction of a few tooth root remnants (which were almost falling out, so just grab-and-pull), and a couple more sutures in his gingiva, and tongue. I sent him home that afternoon, running around, happy as a clam like nothing had happened but a great adventure.
The slug base did turn out to measure .45. I was amazed. I would have thought a .45 to the head would be instant lights out, but it proved that even then shot placement (and subsequent bullet path) is important. But mainly, the massive structure and toughness of the anatomy of his head is what allowed him to absorb that impact and soak it up without any serious injury.
Yeah that's bad for business. Keeping stuff alive is what pays the bills...
That is both cool and not cool.
It does to show that shot placement and angle are still king.
My dad's best friend and another guy we're shot at the same time by a guy (who one of them got into a fight with at a bar and apparently messed up). Dude walked up to the car as they were getting ready to pull out and stuck a .38 SPL *TO* the driver's head. Driver said he didn't have the balls and the guy pulled the trigger.
Bullet traveled under the skin around the entire front of the skull where it exited and then continued into the shoulder of my dad's friend. Dad's friend told that story and showed his Bullet scar every time he had a beer...which was pretty damn frequently.
Interesting
So head shots on pits may not be the best idea, at least with a 45 acp.
You think spine & guts might be better?
Man, I put cattle down with a .40 S&W fairly regularly. And that's just because it's what I'm carrying on my hip. There's a lot of old boys that still do it with rimfires.
It is all about the angle and where you hit. However if you're being attacked...shoot them wherever you can is my first bit of advice.
https://www.wbng.com/2025/01/17/tioga-co-woman-dead-following-dog-attack/
Local news to me yesterday. Apparently after the pit bull killed its owner, it attacked a man walking his dog. He was carrying and dispatched it. Didn't catch what caliber though.
Local news to me yesterday. Apparently after the pit bull killed its owner, it attacked a man walking his dog. He was carrying and dispatched it. Didn't catch what caliber though.
I think your confused, those are the dark two legged ones you’re describing
Dogs are so dangerous. Look at how fierce this one is!!
See @diggler1833 post #59 above. While the gunshot I described was very well-tolerated by the patient, I'm fairly certain that it disengaged him from whatever unwanted activity he was engaged in at the time and gave him something else to think about for a minute, but that's about all. But if the placement had been an inch or two higher or lower (between the eyes, or in the neck just under his jaw) it probably would have been quickly/instantly fatal.
There's a video linked somewhere on this site of farm-to-table beef operations (which are mostly small, local family operations) dispatching finished steers for slaughter. They were all using suppressed rimfire .22 mag rifles and the lights went OUT instantly every time. In my large animal practice days, we had a .38 Spl in the truck for quick dispatch of a terminal animal where administering IV euthanasia wasn't possible (sick cow bogged down in a pond in water up to her chin, for example). Draw an imaginary line from base of each ear to the eye on the opposite side, put the bullet where the lines intersect. Instant lights out.
They probably did, but it was years ago and I have CRS disease
. I seem to recall the shooter was justified, but not if it was attacking the shooter or the shooter's dog (or livestock, or whatever). Trajectory would suggest it was at least confronting the shooter.While the pit goes for your throat. The little one goes up inside your pant leg and chews your nuts off……
I notice the jack Russell isn't in any subsequent photos.......nom nom nom?
Its not that you have a googly eye on your face right now is it?
You're.
Am I the ONLY one who heard this in Pat Rogers voice?1? google "death on a sunny afternoon" if ya dont get it..
I've twice seen a butcher put down a steer with a .22lr from about 10 yards. The 1st time I thought he was crazy, and offered to bring him a .308. (The steers were my neighbors.)
Having said that, it took him 3 tries each time cuz he can't shoot worth a shit!!
God only knows where the bullets ended up because they bounced off the steers heads. But yeah, when he finally hit the right spot, it was lights out.
22lr certainly kills pit bulls.
If they are facing you then you aim just under the chin, goes right in through the vitals and guts. They change their mind quick.
Now, random thoughts and observations from dog interactions.
If you are on wheels and they run out at you? Put the muzzle straight at them and they will try biting it, pull the trigger and send one down their throat. Works.
A dog lunging at you? If you hold something out, left arm for example, they will latch on to it. then you can use a knife with your free hand.
Big dogs coming at you on the street? A walking stick works wonders, jab em in the face, or down their throat, or swing it and take out their ankles, lots of targets on a dog if you got a cane.
Beat a dog or two to death with a stick and you learn how they die.
Oh, if a dog does get hold of you, then you need to get ahold of the dogs body with your legs or something, if they can plant their feet then their power comes in and they can rip very hard. If you get em down or leg lock their body, then they are disadvantaged. Then you can work on other parts of the dog to end it.
If they are facing you then you aim just under the chin, goes right in through the vitals and guts. They change their mind quick.
Now, random thoughts and observations from dog interactions.
If you are on wheels and they run out at you? Put the muzzle straight at them and they will try biting it, pull the trigger and send one down their throat. Works.
A dog lunging at you? If you hold something out, left arm for example, they will latch on to it. then you can use a knife with your free hand.
Big dogs coming at you on the street? A walking stick works wonders, jab em in the face, or down their throat, or swing it and take out their ankles, lots of targets on a dog if you got a cane.
Beat a dog or two to death with a stick and you learn how they die.
Oh, if a dog does get hold of you, then you need to get ahold of the dogs body with your legs or something, if they can plant their feet then their power comes in and they can rip very hard. If you get em down or leg lock their body, then they are disadvantaged. Then you can work on other parts of the dog to end it.
I had a pit/dogo mix and he was relentless. Also a Presa that would hit you with his forehead as a warning I don't think either of them would stop until they were dead. So, whatever caliber is in reach?
I don't think either of them would stop until they were dead. So, whatever caliber is in reach?
All this talk of dogs, I just had two strays try to come into the yard where my 6 year old daughter was playing about an hour ago. I was sitting at the table, throwing powder charges for one of my rifles. *Please bear in mind that the closest neighbor is a half mile away.
Don't know what they would have done to her. The first one hit the hotwire and it changed his mind. By that point I'd pulled the 5.56 off of the china cabinet and stepped outside. They were both piled up quickly and humanely. I don't fuck around when it comes to my kids.
Don't know what they would have done to her. The first one hit the hotwire and it changed his mind. By that point I'd pulled the 5.56 off of the china cabinet and stepped outside. They were both piled up quickly and humanely. I don't fuck around when it comes to my kids.
I'm not that fearful... I'd have taken my kids inside, gotten a pistol, walked over, and attempted to ascertain if they were friendly and just lost/wandering. They may have been really good pets that simply wandered off.
Some places wandering off is a fatal mistake.
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Yeah, no.
Out here, dogs in packs or even pairs are quick to no good. Pets have collars. The one was actually one I'd wished I'd see again after I had it chasing deer through my stands a few months ago, and a month ago. Frequently they are dumped off, but these weren't. They weren't starving either...just patrolling for shit to get into.
I understand that many might not understand my position without me writing 15 paragraphs explaining in detail. And that is why I'm not trying to bristle up, so please don't take my response as an attempt to call you out or take some sort of moral high ground. I will say though, that once you start losing calves, cats, and even deer (which can't be claimed) that 99% of the dudes out there will understand my position more...Especially when cattle pay the bills around here.
I learned the hard way that when you let them be, you'll just regret it the next time you see them. More than one and they turn into a pack of 70lb coyotes once something starts to look like prey.
If they are alone, behaving, and with a collar...this is entirely a different conversation. I will try to catch those and get them home if possible.
I worked in a slaughter house as a teen. They used either a .22 or a piston (i forget what its called). It was basically a long steel rod propelled by air and then a spring pushes it back.Man, I put cattle down with a .40 S&W fairly regularly. And that's just because it's what I'm carrying on my hip. There's a lot of old boys that still do it with rimfires.
It is all about the angle and where you hit. However if you're being attacked...shoot them wherever you can is my first bit of advice.
Ditch the bear spray and go for hornet spray instead. Easier to aim and greater distance.
Depending on the area and laws, carrying around hornet spray as a defensive tool might get you in hot water, even on dogs. I'm not saying you can't, I'm just saying to be cautious about regulations.
The great thing about OC spray is that it also really affects the nose. Dogs have somewhere between 100 - 300 million sensory resecpter sites in their nasal cavity, where we have about 6. The same applies for bears, and is why bear spray is pretty effective.
The only bad thing is that there is no guarantee that the spray will work (high percentage yes, guarantee no). I'd carry a gun as a reserve still.
I showed that story to my best friend who 20 yr career LEO and that was his question.
Don’t shoot the messenger (unless it’s with that 45).
.
I can believe that. I shot an 80lb. feral hog between the eyes at a measured 145' with a 200gr. Cor-Bon out of a .45 5" Gov. and I found the bullet intact, fully mushroomed in the neck. It travelled about 8".
At a range of almost fifty yards, it went through tough hair, hide and skull, ending up in hard lean muscle. I was not disappointed.
Yes. That +P round knocked the fuck out of steel at 15yds.
For some stupid reason it's been discontinued.
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