Caliber dilemma.

[digitalexplr]

Several years ago I had to put down a deer. I was carrying 158gr SWC's in a S&W Model 15 Combat Masterpiece. It did the job.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[RKM]

RKM - I brought a dog home from Afghanistan as well. A bunch of paperwork, and not inexpensive, but TS has been living fat and happy in the States since early 2005.

The dogs we killed were truly feral, wild, dangerous animals. A pack of them had grown up around our trash/burn pit, and had been getting bigger and more aggressive as time went on. Eventually, a few came inside the FOB and attacked one of the "pet" dogs there, as well as threatening troops on several occasions. I love dogs, have owned them all of my life, and would never hurt one unless it was absolutely necessary. Even though it WAS necessary in this case, I still feel bad about having to do it. Were there a realistic alternative, I would have made it happen...

Our dog was all over the world on his way to the US. At one point, they told us he was placed at a zoo in France beside the tigers. He was defiantly not a domestic dog. He has a very defensive personality, from having to defend him self from packs of other dogs. Though he's kind of defensive and can seem aggressive at first, he wouldn't hurt a thing. He's all bark. My bro-in-law said he lived off MRE's that they fed him. When we brought him home our white GSD put him in his place and beat him up a bit, but now they're best friends! I don't think they could live without each other.



Play time! :) They're just playing, I promise!


Sorry, didn't mean to stray off topic :)

But yes, I agree with everyone else who say's animals are just plain tough. Human's are weak creatures. We're only on the top of the food chain due to intelligence and technology. If we had neither of those, we'd be screwed.

[OPFOR]

Warning - continued thread drift...

TS was just the opposite: if she didn't know you, she'd go after you without warning. It took quite a while (and a short, short leash) to socialize her. Now, she's as gentle as any dog can get - which is not to say that she would NEVER go after someone, because she is still an animal and can never be totally predictable. But I trust her around kids, other dogs, and so on without hesitation. I couldn't say that for the first year of her life...

P.S That's a REALLY pretty dog... :)

[LanceORYGUN]

I mentioned to a friend the other day that I shot a deer that was hit on the side of the road 5 times with my G19 and it didn't die. I said that the other guy with me shot it in the back of the head with the same gun to put it down. His response was along the lines of this.

Most deer are smaller than people, and they are all muscle. They don't wear clothes and it was injured. Makes you think about a 357 doesn't it?

So I got to thinking, I carry 2 different 9s on duty. I am thinking about going back to my .45 and carrying a 357 as a BUG. I chose the .45 as the duty weapon because its a hard hitting round too. We discussed the fact that those are the two hardest hitting rounds that I am allowed to carry on duty.

Do I stick with the G21 as my .45 and my SP101 as my BUG w/ .357s loaded up?

or

Do I go with a 1911 and some other .357 ?

I used to carry the 21/30 combo and it was ok but I don't have the 30 anymore.

Let's see your opinions. Thanks in advance.

I would say that this incident is completely irrelevant to self-defense shooting.

The last deer I harvested I shot at just under 200 yards with my Remington 700 Mountain Rifle in .270 Winchester. Got a clean hit through both lungs. The Deer was fatally wounded, but it did not realize that it was dead. It kicked its heels up in the air on being hit, and ran a good 60 yards before it finally dropped. It probably even remained alive a little bit after falling to the ground. But it took me a while to reach it, so I don't know for sure.

Does that mean that the .270 Winchester is inadequate for deer hunting? Should I have used a rifle in .338 Winchester Magnum instead? I certainly hit it with far, far more energy than any .357 Mag revolver can generate.

So is this story relevant at all to self-defense shooting? Again, I would say no. It is comparing apples with oranges.

If you do want significantly more power and are a Glock fan, then the obvious choice for you to consider is one of the .357 Sig or 10mm Glocks.

.

[Insignia]

Bigger is better but it has be able to to penetrate also. I like the G21 cause I love the .45acp but I often carry a 9mm with 147 gr. gold dots.