The hunters side arm, can 9mm work?

[Chance]

I ask because the common practice in my area for euthanizing cattle/most other livestock is a .22 lr to a "soft spot" in the skull....

I've seen that go horribly wrong. Five additional shots later and the pig was still squealing. Supposed to be a demo of how effective the technique was, so they didn't bother bringing additional rounds, or an additional firearm.

[Welder]

I've seen that go horribly wrong. Five additional shots later and the pig was still squealing. Supposed to be a demo of how effective the technique was, so they didn't bother bringing additional rounds, or an additional firearm.

I have seen the exact same thing with a steer.

[SLG]

I have seen the exact same thing with a steer.

Me too, but with a squirrel. :-)

[serialsolver]

I have seen the exact same thing with a steer.

I did that to an old cow. Three rounds of 44 sp and she just looked at me. Ya got to know were the brain pan is. I know now.


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[Tabasco]

There's a guy round these parts who works for a local meat processing facility. He comes by with a special trailer for the carcass and a .22 rifle. Cow is down, gutted, and in the trailer in about 1/2 hour. Never seen him screw it up. He says you need to use solid bullets, I think he uses Remington Yellowjackets or Hornets, whichever is non-hollowpoint. Have to hit them in the "X" formed between the eyes and horns.

[Flintsky]

Bill Wilson has reported good success harvesting hogs in TX with a Beretta 92 and Barnes JHP. With good bullet placement, he says it drops them about like a .308.

I want .45 with Super ammo for penetrating a bear's skull, since that requirement strikes me as pass/fail, in that you penetrate the skull or not. Otherwise, a 9mm with good ammo wouldn't bother me a bit, especially considering the situation you describe.

I took a hog a few months ago with a Sig MPX 9mm using Federal 147gr HST. I had a nice broadside shot that hit the heart and it dropped that hog quick......almost like a rifle hit.

[MickAK]

The reason I switch sidearms for woods work is muzzle flash. It's entirely unscientific. I've seen more than one animal attempt to be scared off by a shot and whether or not they see the flash tends to determine whether they nope off or get more aggravated, or just stay put. My personal view, from examining a few brown bear and hog skulls is that any service caliber with decent ammo will penetrate sufficiently if the angle is right, which has a lot more to do with luck on the bounce of a charge (slight dips up and down, up slope or down slope, angle of fire) than marksmanship (as long as you hit the spot). Also why I practice moving to the right while firing when I'm practicing with my woods gun. I thought a few times about making a thread asking opinions but it seems a little thin for a whole thread, maybe it could tag on to this one.

To the 9mm vs. .45 question if you tagged a shoulder bone the extra mass might help. Otherwise I wouldn't expect much difference.