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Posted: 7/10/2008 3:27:51 PM EDT
Buddy of mine was telling me his GF and their dog were attacked by a pit bull and the situation did not turn out well.  I walk w/ the Wife and Kid every evening w/ 2 dogs and now I am concerned. I am concerned about richochets(sp) if a dog attacked. I can reload for pistol shotshells, but I don't think it has enough stopping power. Do ya'll know of something I could reload that would stop this situation (but take richochets into account)? I was thinking of larger shot (BB size) in the shot capsules, but is that enough? Any other ideas out there? I have capsules for .38 and .44. thanks, skink |
I saw these on History Channel Modern Marvels: Bullets. They tore a chunk of meat all to heck with no ricochet. Pretty impressive |
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I had two pit bulls corner my wife and 2-year old a couple years ago (in my front yard). I ended up not having to shoot them, but I did have the hammer ready to drop as I told the wife to very slowly work her way to the house. To shoot a pit (or other animal) I'd want the heaviest constructed HP or soft point I could get. Not something light, or something frangible that will underpenetrate. I didn't have to shoot the dogs, which is good becasue 1) a dog is not that easy a target with a handgun 2) I don't want to shoot in my neighborhood unless I have to. Got the wife in the house and ran the dogs off with the F-150. |
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Quoted: FWIW, a walking stick is much more practical and alot less noisy - unless you are just that afraid of a dog in which case you should probably just turn in your man card. Appreciate your thoughful comments... Remind me not to take any of your reloading advice, 'cause I am sure there will be some compensating going. Oh that is right, you didn't see the pics of GF's arm that was split open or the remains of their pet, did you? I do appreciate the actual useful advice the rest of you posted, though. This is the reloading forum, not the stick whittling forum, right??? |
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Use the shot capsules but cover the shot in molten wax before loading. It will act as a semi-solid bullet until it hits. Then it is like the shot, point blank. Test it, not all wax is the same. I used beeswax which remains pliable. I had similar problems...but with raccoon. After it took me 9 rounds of .45 ACP shot to kill one in the attic, I devised these loads. They still go through a single layer of drywall. But a single shot will take out a raccoon. |
You may have missed the hot melt glue bullets last winter. |
That might work too. Best to use fine shot and warm it...a wad cut from cardboard and a sharpened case on top of a modest powder charge, then drop in a layer of pellets and alternate pellets with glue. Or you could cast them in a mold. Should be a light bullet but enough mass to kill a dog. All I know is my home-made wax-lead shot "bullets" will kill a raccoon without exiting. And they clock at over 1200 FPS since the total mass is about 140 grains. I use an assortment of dies to form the cases from .308 Win, cut to 1.30" and then run through a .250 Savage die before finishing in a .45 ACP seating die with the seating stem removed and backed out a bit. Forms the "shoulder". After "charging" and loading by hand, the rest of the case is crimped with the bullet seater just a bit for a round edge. They function. They hit hard. |
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I was attacked by a pit bull and had to shoot it. It was very fast and instinctive shooting. Hit the damn thing with one shot in the head. My .40 165 grain gold dot struck the dog in the top of the head, went under the skin all the way around the skull and exited the bottom jaw, not killing the dog. The dog did to a 180 instantly and ran back to it's house. It was captured (very carefully) and put to sleep by animal control after numerous neighbors came forward with complaints about the dog after the incident. In my opinion, large mean dogs require the same killing power as a person would, if the situation calls for it. I wouldn't use anything less than a full power self defense load. PS I am a dog lover and do not enjoy shooting domestic animals. |
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Skink since you mentioned that you have a shot capsule I'm guessing it's Speer brand. You can make "tripple shot" by using #1 buckshot. I load 3 of the #1 buckshots in the shot capsule. I use a .38spl case. with a very light crimp. Either Unique or Win 231. Standard small pistol primer. Start with 5 grains for either powder. At 25 yards I can still hit center of a paper plate. There's only little deviation of the buckshots. At close range the buckshots act as one. The buckshot I use is made by Honardy. Pure lead cold formed. Cabelas I believe may still carry a bag of it. |
I do something similar, except I use 00 or 000 buckshot cut out of a shot shell (LOTS cheaper than buying a 25# bag of shot!). I weigh the pellets and load as though they were a single lead bullet. An overshot card and a little hot glue holds the shot in place very nicely. |
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The walking stick is a pretty good idea. Really. I used to run a bit and often carried a three foot long piece of dogwood (for whacking dogs with) - it was slightly curved like a katana. I had a few face offs with dogs, and nearly brained one, but for the most part they were more show than action. Two dogs at once might require something more. Since the big stick method is not popular around here, maybe you can put some rock salt or peppercorns in the shot capsules. Load two or three in the cylinder, and the rest HP's. |
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Had a guy next door to me got himself a pit and just let it run loose all the time,well it wasn't long before it jumped my Lab,at the time I didn't have my .357 handy so I clubbed the SOB with a 2 x 4 till he retreated back home. Being I have a 6 Yr. old with down syndrome who likes to play outside allot (always under my watchful eye) I wasn't about to take the chance of her being attacked so I called animal control,who promptly came out the next day took the animal and put it to sleep. I was prepared to shoot to kill on sight the next time it came into my yard,I don't trust a pit and if you own one your responsible for whatever it does. This dog never showed any aggression it would just snap and attack for no reason. |
I have some for my 458SOCOM and they are pretty cool Plus the guy that runs it is top notch |
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Not to push off topic, but this thread seems to be more about people who make otherwise workable dogs mean and nasty than about loading for minimum collateral damage. I'd go with wadcutters myself. They deform nicely when you hit something solid (like a big dog's head), and even if they don't penetrate the bone, they transfer plenty of energy. They're cheap and available. I'd also keep some high-performance, human-capable rounds in the gun if one or two wadcutters didn't do the job. Dogs have very sensitive hearing, so a dog that's not gun-trained will probably be very startled by the report of the pistol and retreat even if you only graze him. And I'd start talking to local law enforcement about people in the neighborhood who own large dogs but don't restrain them. There really are no "bad" dog breeds, but there are a ton of bad dog owners, and THEY are the real problem. |
Not trying to start a fight but I long ago ruled out the birdshot/wax bullet/warning shot type of self defence. If the situation crosses the line and I need to pull the trigger I want full power lethal ammo from the first shot . Bad things can happen very fast. I second the other gentleman's idea of the F 150. I am more of a Chevy guy myself but the power level does seem about right. I myself do not look for trouble, and I am certainly a dog lover but the bottom line is that the very reason that many of us own guns is that sometimes we come across something that NEEDS killing! |
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I tried loading up some of the following: #7 1/2 shot with wood glue (never dried) Hot melt glue (cooled to soon and f^&!*ed up the shot case) Nail polish see HMG (they are stretchy, though  ..."I do have some 100gr WC .38 bullets, but I can't find load data (3-D manufacture) I do like the ideas, though. It seem a "real" bullet may be the answer. Right now I am carrying a K-Bar  , but I really don't want to have to get personal with a "Bad Dog!, Bad Dog!".thanks, skink |
+1 Skip the homemade bullets, IMO. Too much chance of a failure. Plus you don't want to confuse yourself regarding what type of ammo is or is not in a handgun. |
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Skink- I (if I could carry in my shit state) would carry factory ammunition that you would use in any other defensive situation. Do you plan to swap mags for different situations? Like a poster stated above "It was a quick, instinctive shot". You wont have time to change mags or bullets for humans or dogs. I know your concerned about a ricochet, but think, YOUR life and YOUR family is most important to YOU. You can deal with the collateral damage later. You and your family will still be alive, and that should be the most important thing to you. Most dogs will run from the noise if they are hit or not. I love dogs too, but I would not hesitate to shoot one. Especially some pit (bring on the flame, I'm prepared to defend that statement). I commend NVGdude allowing the two dogs to live that cornered his wife and child. They would have been dead the second I put the front site on them. Then, I would quite possibly pistol whip the owner of the animals. |
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