Is .380 ACP effective against canine threats?

[smoothshooter]

Many years ago I helped my uncle in his butcher shop. We dispatched a lot of hogs and beef with 1 shot from a .22 Short.
It's about shot placement. That's been said thousands times thousands of time before. I .22 Short in the right place is more effective than a bad placement with .44 Mag.
When we were issued the S&W 39 I was breaking in a new Troop. We had a car hit deer to dispatch. He emptied his 39 into the deer's head and it was still alive. He complained the 9mm wasn't powerful enough to kill a deer. I had a Ruger Single Six in my squad and used 1 shot to kill the deer. I then showed him where all his 9mm rds had hit. Not a single shot hit the brain. All of his rds hit in the nasal passage of the deer. He didn't know where to aim to kill a deer. He thought he was shooting the deer between the eyes to hit the brain. Not so. His rds were well below the brain.
When people complain X rd won't kill such and such animal because they shot it Umpteen times and it was still alive only shows they didn't hit it in the vitals and tells nothing about the rd they were using.
To answer your question - if you get a brain or spine shot with a .380 it will definitely do the job. Do a lung, shoulder, hip shot and maybe it will deter the animal, maybe not, depends on the determination of the animal, no different than a human getting hit.

A small container of pepper mace in addition to a gun would be a wise option.

 

[smoothshooter]

49 years ago a buddy and I were back in a wilderness area of a national forest scouting for archery season. No firearms (or bows) with us. We had hiked in nearly three miles, located the place to site our camp and scouting for sign when we had a nasty encounter with a pack of 8 feral dogs (there was NO house within 4 miles of us in any direction). The surrounded us growling and making feints toward us. I really wasn’t scared of being killed (though maybe I should have been) but I was scared to death of being bitten and winding up with rabies shots. Carl and I wound up retreating up a handy tree. The milled around growling and snarling for over an hour before they finally wandered off. We waited a bit then cautiously made our way back to my Scout. Came back the following day with an old Winchester 92 44-40 and an M1 carbine and permanently solved that problem. That was the last time I went back in the toolies sans firearm. A .380 (or even a .22) will do the job IF you do yours.

I can't figure out why you were out there without a gun to begin with.
To me that’s unthinkable.

 

[Doug M.]

Good placement under stress is a lot less likely. If I had to go someplace predicting a pack of feral dogs (which are probably more dangerous than a similar pack of coyotes or wolves as dogs do not have the same innate fear of humans), the minimum I would be carrying is my RDS equipped Glock 17.

 

[BC38]

CROTCH SHOT.........Works on ALL males...........

Yeah, but how do you get rover to turn around in the middle of his attack so you can make that shot?

 

[lihpster]

I can't figure out why you were out there without a gun to begin with.
To me that’s unthinkable.

A buddy once asked me if I took a gun with me when I went into the woods. I told him, "No. I take several."

 

[smoothshooter]

I remember that issue!! We called it the "Feral Dog" issue of whatever magazine it was and it served as a permanent coffee book magazine for the coffee table at his parents country house on the northshore! Had a GREAT picture of a snarling dog on the cover-this was back in the late 70's

I remember reading a lengthy gun magazine article years ago about how dangerous wild dogs were getting in rural Georgia, and recommended guns and cartridges for defense against them.

 

[upcountry]

We have a ton of javelina here and they aren't shy. The coyote tend to be shy, as are the bobcats who enjoy the pack rats and rabbits.
When I take my dog out at night, I bring a flashlight and shine it into the brush and have seen javelina eyes pretty close, watching us. One night, a few ran across the driveway in front of us, but a good sized male broke away and came at us. I bring a LCR with .22 high vel rounds in it, drew it and took one shot. He immediately turned and ran into the brush. Next day I found him DRT about 50 feet into the brush, seemed over 50 pounds. I couldn't find the entry point, but it must have been a good one.
I hate those things, I've actually heard them on the front porch.

 

[serger]

When we lived in Ft. Stockton TX my mom made
Sloppy Joes from pressure cooked Javelina.

The thing I hate about them is when they clack
their teeth and growl before they come for you.

And they run in packs

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Lately I've had growing concerns over the possibility that I may one day have to defend myself against an attack by coyotes, dogs, or possibly even wolves ...

Four legged critters should be shot in the lungs. They know they are hurt and will run off to die.

 

[vipermd]

My friends did penetration tests with their 380's (Glocks). They claimed it went through 6 water filled milk jugs.

What were they using? I have used many 380 HP's and most never exited the first jug. If they were using FMJ's I suppose they could get more than one jug, but six I would love to know what brand, and bullet. Thank You. Be Safe,

 

[vipermd]

Is .380 ACP effective against canine threats? Reply to Thread

My friends did penetration tests with their 380's (Glocks). They claimed it went through 6 water filled milk jugs.

What were they using? I have used many 380 HP's and most never exited the first jug. If they were using FMJ's I suppose they could get more than one jug, but six I would love to know what brand, and bullet. Thank You. Be Safe,

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

A Government building is the only place I go willingly without a gun. I've been bit 8 times and had to have rabies treatments twice. When I'm bike riding on open roads and country bike paths, I carry a LCR with Gold dot +P 135gr same as my daily carry. If I'm walking the woods, it is a 1911 or 1917 with Hydra-Shok 230's. As teens camping it the woods, I used a 12 gauge pump, others usually had a K98 or SMLE.

One time my best friend took a hound with a 45-70 through both lungs, the dog attacked and bit the gun muzzle, turned and fell over dead a few yards away. Whole thing lasted 10 to 15 seconds at most. LESSON: Don't stop until it is over!

I had to shoot one, used 308 soft point. Pulled lung out the hole. The dog was down but alive and suffering. I ended that asap.

So, is 380 enough gun for wild dog? Answer: Sometimes.

Ivan

 

[WR Moore]

What were they using? I have used many 380 HP's and most never exited the first jug. If they were using FMJ's I suppose they could get more than one jug, but six I would love to know what brand, and bullet. Thank You. Be Safe,

A distinguished member here reviewed several hundred homicide cases. He mentioned that with .380 the choice of fmj or jhp is a coin flip. If the jhp expands, the penetration often isn't enough to reach vital organs.

For more info on milk jug testing see :
Ballistic test medium

 

[Echo40]

The particular .380 ACP rounds I carry are Hornady American Gunner XTPs, which seem to be pretty much the gold standard for .380 JHPs because they meet minimum FBI Specs in Ballistics Gel Tests.

I wouldn't carry FMJ because those things penetrate a lot more than anyone would expect. My mother once had an ND in which she accidentally shot through the living room floor with her Taurus TCP, the bullet punched straight through the hardwood floor, penetrated through galvanized aluminum furnace ducts, and was found in a considerably deep divot in the concrete floor. I'm not sure what she had loaded, but I've seen the bullet and it appeared to have been an FMJ, hard to tell for sure though because it did mushroom out.

 

[Shibadog]

I can't figure out why you were out there without a gun to begin with.
To me that’s unthinkable.

In those days things were a bit more peaceful than in this century. This was a rural area, had hunted there a good bit in the past and never saw another person or any aggressive critters before. Lesson learned though, never again.

 

[Super Trucker]

Most .380's are small, hitting a moving target with small guns is not easy.
If the gun is big enough to shoot well, you might as well have a better caliber.

 

[Sam D]

The .380 is effective against canines. It is equally effective against incisors, bicuspids and molars.

 

[rwsmith]

What were they using? I have used many 380 HP's and most never exited the first jug. If they were using FMJ's I suppose they could get more than one jug, but six I would love to know what brand, and bullet. Thank You. Be Safe,

FMJs out of either .380 or 9mm over penetrate. Paul Harrell demonstrated that with his 'meat target'.

If you are careful with your ammo selection, which I am, .380 is adequate for canines. They get a little over 12" of penetration with decent expansion.

Two I like are Sig Saur V-crown and Precision One XTP. Both of these are standard velocity.

 

[BC38]

The .380 is effective against canines. It is equally effective against incisors, bicuspids and molars.

You FUNNY! Not very helpful, but still funny...

 

[max503]

I was a mailman for a year in the mid 80's. (Hated that job.) I worked with a woman who showed me nasty scars front and back on her legs. She had been attacked by two German Shepherds. One would attack from the front, and while she was spraying it with the little spray cans they issued. the other would attack from the rear. And so on. She told me she was off work for quite a while, but what stuck with me was she said the spray had no effect at all. One incident, I know, but my takeaway from her experience was the spray won't stop a dog or dogs who are in full attack fury. Probably works pretty well against dogs who are mostly bluffing. Again...just one incident.

A quick related story. I was only bitten once in my year on the job. Walked up to a screen room to put the mail in the box, small yapping dog was jumping against the screen door. Older woman saw me coming, and without thinking cracked open the door to take the mail from me. Dog flew through the opening and bit me on the front of my right foot, above my shoe. While he was biting me, I punted him. He flew back, and as he bounced off the screen I clubbed him with the mail I was still holding in my right hand. He went yelping back into the room. Woman was looking at me with her mouth open, and I said "Appreciate you opening the door, maam." Whole thing took 5 seconds.

As for the effectiveness of .380, I hope it works. I walk three miles every morning in a semi rural area, and I pocket carry a .380 as much for possible four legged attacks as two legged.

Your post is interesting and I believe you. But I used that Halt spray on numerous dogs and it worked every time.
Lets keep in mind I was always on a moving bicycle and it stopped them from pursuing me. Might be different if I was standing in their territory.