Odd question about .38 Special

[Hunter8282]

So we raise goats and we have some large full size goats and we have some "mini" goats (half way between a dwarf and full size).

In the event of an emergency and I had to put one down, the recommendation is a shot to the base of the skull. I'd feel more comfortable doing this with something large than a .22lr so that likely leads me to my 686 4" to do the task.

So my question is what bullet type would you pick for an up close shot like this to ensure a humane kill without making a gruesome scene.

Would something like these SJSP point be the ticket?

I am sorry if this offends anyone but I won't let an animal suffer needlessly in the event of an emergency and just want to be best prepared should I ever be faced with the scenario.

Thanks!

 

[klausinak]

@ contact range damn near anything will work, from your super HD hollowpoints to a lowly 148 wadcutter.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

For point-blank work where you can place your shot precisely every time there is nothing that will beat the 148-grain wadcutter in .38 Special.

 

[tbgunner88]

A well placed point blank shot from a 22lr is all that is required for 300 to 500lb hogs come slaughter time, so I'm sure a goat would be no problem.

 

[poordevil]

Yes the .22 will work well. I have shot slaughter hogs with my Ruger MKI auto pistol. But instead of the back or base of the skull I shot them just behind the ear, in the soft area behind the ear. They all went down right now and did not move after......Of course the .38 Spl will do what a .22 will and more. If I were to use the .38 I would use a fast light hollow point. All my .22's and the pigs never exited. A .38 would be more likely to exit.

 

[Warren Sear]

Where I grew up, when any animal needed to be killed, the farmers would make an imaginary line from the right eye to the left ear, and a second line from the left eye to the right ear. Where the lines met is where the bullet goes. All they ever used was a full length rifle and 22 long rifle ammo (not hollow point). It worked 100% every time for any and every animal.

 

[sigp220.45]

I have goats. A pit bull ran one into a fence and it got tangled up and broke a leg. 22 LR to the gourd put the lights out post haste.

 

[Tom Beavert]

Shot placement

What Warren Sear said. Direct line from one ear to the opposite eye.
Be well
TB

 

[bigsteve113]

.22 would do, but if you want to use a .38 I'd just use a LSWC!

 

[wolfe2701]

A .22 will do the job. I also have put down hogs when we raised and butchered them. As above the .22 stayed in the skull. A .38 is going to be messy and excuse the phrase overkill.

 

[David R]

Warren Sear has it.

Been there done that, but not a goat. Other animals.

Make an X between the eyes and ears. A 22 will drop a cow.

David

 

[Beachblaster]

During my high school years I worked the early milking shift at a dairy. The putting down of a cow was almost a daily job. The post from Warren Sears is how it was done there. Not an odd question at all. Anyone involved in animal husbandry has been there and done that.

 

[RobertJ.]

I have goats. A pit bull ran one into a fence and it got tangled up and broke a leg. 22 LR to the gourd put the lights out post haste.

The pit bull's lights?

Many years ago, I had to put a horse down for a girlfriend who couldn't do it. All I had on me was a SA 1911 in .45 ACP (which I thought might be too messy), so I used her dad's .22 rifle, and it worked just fine.

 

[PR24]

Extra insurance a .22 Mag will definitely work.

 

[djt17]

Back in the day; on the farm, we had 3 different butchers that would do "house calls". They all used .22 LR

 

[wheelgun1958]

Choot im Lizbet!

 

[Engine49guy]

Where I grew up, when any animal needed to be killed, the farmers would make an imaginary line from the right eye to the left ear, and a second line from the left eye to the right ear. Where the lines met is where the bullet goes. All they ever used was a full length rifle and 22 long rifle ammo (not hollow point). It worked 100% every time for any and every animal.

Im not planning to dispatch any of my pets but can you elaborate on the shot placement as it kinda sounds like the "X" shot is right through the top of the skull ?

If so wouldnt a .22lr shot below the base of the skull have better penetration and be safer especially on larger animals with thicker skulls ?

 

[Warren Sear]

I am not a veterinarian, nor do I play one on TV, but I can speak from experience that a bullet placed as I described in my first post above works with complete reliability. DRT. No suffering. Also, much less traumatic for the animal than a trip to the vet to have it euthanized.

 

[breakerofwind]

Dispatching them with a shot to the base of the skull with a .22 cal should suffice.

Any other area of the head, e.g., between the eyes, a 155mm howitzer might do the trick.

 

[model70hunter]

Thru the skull frontal view, flat of the skull, below the horn boss or heavier portion of a higs skull. The eye to opposite ear X pretty well places the bullet there.

22 LR solid will do it perfect.

The 22 will also stay in the skull. A 38 thru the smaller bones and vertebrae may not stop the bullet allowing for ricochet or other runaway bullet scenarios.

I have seen the victim who arrived DOA and his Xrays. The 22 will penetrate the human skull in front at the X and will not penetrate the rear of the skull. It will follow the curve inside the skull to about the original entrance wound. Bone fragments will also travel thru the brain to the rear of the skull and stop.

There is no need for anything larger than a 22. Again a 38 is too much. Most old time slaughter houses used a 22. It it took a 38 that's what they would have used.

I have dispatched cows, hogs and a large domestic Ram. All with a 22.