Elmer Keith used to test his .44 magnum loads at a meat processing plant on cattle
My uncle was a rancher. If a cow needed euthanasia, the job went to me. .22 to put down instantly and then we tested loads, digging out the pistol rounds.
In the process found out how pistol rounds pale to rifle rounds.
Lot of of the big bore handgun rounds like the .475 and .500 Linebaugh will penetrate pretty deep with the right bullets. I shoot 420 gr LFN hard cast bullets at 1250 out of mine, still not big bore rifle power but will definitely kill anything here in the states.
Every cow and horse I’ve “euthanized” has been done with a Colt 1911 45 acp, and I’ve never had a single complaint. I’ve used the cheap aluminum case plinking ammo and some good personal defense hollow points, and they were all one shot kills. The same gun is my go to for clearing a pig trap, but I did try the 17 once and ended up finishing the job with the 45.
Dear old Dad used to brag about bringing his new-to-him Walther P-38 home to the farm back in the 1960s. Grandpa butchered his own hogs, and Dad was there to help. Usually hogs were dispatched with a .22 single shot, Dad wanted to shoot it with the Walther. Grandpa scoffed at the idea, but Dad took aim from across the pen and hit the pig between the eyes. Grandpa was aptly convinced that 9mm was a fine round for pigs.
We butchered our own livestock (pigs, lamb, chickens, beef). When I was a teenager my dad decided to butcher a heifer that was sterile. He got all the necessary tools in the truck and parked it under a large walnut tree. Tied the fence stretcher to a limb, the other end of it to a single tree. Heifer was in the corral and we lured her to the tree with a tub of feed.
Dad got his .22 semiautomatic rifle and stepped towards the heifer. She raised her head out of the tub and looked at him. He shot her between the eyes. She shook her head and went back to eating. He moved and she again raised her head. He shot her again between the eyes and once again she shook her head. Then she started walking away from the tree. Dad got in front of her and shot again, and again she shook her head and started walking. This continued until dad reached into his pocket for another shell, number 13!
He told me, “If this last shell doesn’t kill her, go get the .303” (Lee Enfield).
He walked up toward her side and shot her in the ear. She immediately went down. We then drug this “clean” heifer 100 yards thru the pasture and the mud and manure, back to the tree. She was then a mess.
After we finished butchering her, dad skinned her head. There on the skull were white streaks where the lead bullets impacted, flattened, then slid under the skin up and out her top-knot between her ears. 12 rounds didn’t even dent the skull.
Hardest headed animal we ever butchered!
Dad got his .22 semiautomatic rifle and stepped towards the heifer. She raised her head out of the tub and looked at him. He shot her between the eyes. She shook her head and went back to eating. He moved and she again raised her head. He shot her again between the eyes and once again she shook her head. Then she started walking away from the tree. Dad got in front of her and shot again, and again she shook her head and started walking. This continued until dad reached into his pocket for another shell, number 13!
He told me, “If this last shell doesn’t kill her, go get the .303” (Lee Enfield).
He walked up toward her side and shot her in the ear. She immediately went down. We then drug this “clean” heifer 100 yards thru the pasture and the mud and manure, back to the tree. She was then a mess.
After we finished butchering her, dad skinned her head. There on the skull were white streaks where the lead bullets impacted, flattened, then slid under the skin up and out her top-knot between her ears. 12 rounds didn’t even dent the skull.
Hardest headed animal we ever butchered!
While in a cage?I did not but the guy that trapped them was wondering how well it would do at a farther distance and mentioned turning one loose
He also stated after the 15th of Jan. it was back on for rifle hunting them.
I think I may try my hand at popping them at 60 yards or so in the ear area and see if they fall over.
.44 mag is the biggest caliber in my handgun collection. Pretty hot loads that did get a lot of penetration, enough to kill anything, but weak compared to a .30 cal. rifle that would pass completely through the hind quarters. The .44 was typically under the skin on the leg it was shot into.
