This is a discussion on Stopping power VS animals within the General Firearm Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; I know that the debate about stopping power of ballistics versus humans has been run into the ground but I wonder what the consensus was ...
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I know that the debate about stopping power of ballistics versus humans has been run into the ground but I wonder what the consensus was on ballistics versus wild animals? Specifically handgun ballistics versus boars, dogs, coyotes, cougars. The type of wild animals you may encounter in the forests of Michigan. Can one reasonably expect shot placement to still be the key even with a 9mm? Or does the nature of an animal come into play somehow?
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I shot a large wild boar that was charging because I came up on its den with its babies 5 times in the face and head with a .38 special before it dropped.
I've taken two whitetail deer with a .38 Special and each only traveled a few yards after being fairly struck through the heart/lung area. Large feral dogs fall readily to good hits with a .38 Special as well. They don't fall to poor hits with a .44 Magnum or .45 Colt.
Don't know how many good hits I could register on a mad hog while being charged though.
Any handgun requires accurate placement.
“No possible rapidity of fire can atone for habitual carelessness of aim with the first shot.”
Theodore Roosevelt, The Wilderness Hunter, 1893
Nature and state of mind...much like a human.Or does the nature of an animal come into play somehow?
An animal shot while it is grazing and unaware will be much easier to put down than a female protecting her young.
A deer walking through the woods at a leisurely pace will be easier to put down than one that has been chased through the woods by a pack of dogs.
A lot of variable come into play there.
It is better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb...
AR. CHL Instr. 07/02 FFL
Maker of cool things to shoot
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Caliber may be important, but shot placement is the key whether animals or the bad guys.
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I couldn't agree more.Originally Posted by Uechi
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I know 165 grain Cor-Bon HPs work real well on dogs (pit bull) and a 350 pound wild hog....
Both charged me and learned the ultimate truth - To attack me is to attack death itself. You better get me on the first try because there will be no second.....
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined". - Patrick Henry
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If it's a charging bear, I want a BIG caliber , preferrably in a semi-auto. LOL
Coyotes, dogs, etc.... a 9mm will do the job. I might want a .357 or better with a cougar.
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Coyotes, bobcats, badgers and feral dogs can be stopped with a good 9mm hollowpoint. Cougars and wolves are handled by a .357 magnum or equivalent, but bears, especially the grizzly, I would want at least a .44 magnum loaded with a good 300 grain hard cast lead SWC round for deep penetration and bone shattering power. JMHO.
God bless our troops!
+1 on Corbon... DPX!
ALWAYS carry! - NEVER tell!
"A superior Operator is best defined as someone who uses his superior
judgement to keep himself out of situations that would require a display of his
superior skills."
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I've spent 30+ years camping, hiking, and backpacking, and have never had an occasion to shoot an animal. We have the same critters in Tennessee, plus black bears and poisonous snakes, and I've had close encounters with most of them. I'd be more concerned about the two legged kind than the four legged ones.
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Ive dropped coyotes with a single six in 22mag. From 30 or so yards it went right thru both lungs and nicked the heart and out the other side.
Current collection: Too many according to the wife...
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I'm not too worried about dogs ... I'm sure my carry piece is more than sufficient for them.
When I go deep-woods hiking, I don't have anything that will stop a bear. Well, maybe if I carried my 12 gauge w slugs. I have a .357 but I don't consider it capable of stopping an angry bear.
+1 on what Brad said about 2-Legged animals. I've run across marijuana plots in the deep woods and reported them ... you just would not believe how remote some of these small plots are, I can't believe they'd be worth the effort but whadda I know? What would happen if I'm hiking and the next thing I know I hit another pot farm and the cultivators are there? They going to let me keep hiking? I doubt it. I would NEVER consider hiking anymore w/o a sidearm and preferably my rifle when I can get away with it.
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I still go hiking and camping, and really a big can of the bear rated pepper spray will do the trick against any 4 legged creature you might cross paths with, that is what I carry and either my Glock 19 9mm or Ruger SP101 .357 magnum for the 2 legged kind.
God bless our troops!
Hmmm, the only time I shot an animal was when I wore a badge. I came across a rancher’s horse that had been struck by a car. I used a 357 to its head but that was pretty much point blank. Since then, I haven’t shot another animal and I hope I never have to again.
Regards,
“Monsters are real and so are ghosts. They live inside of us, and sometimes they win.”
~ Stephen King
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