Hypothetical: What would you carry, concealed?

Glock 19.
15 rounds on tap and if even one hits, its going to be more debilitating than #4 shot at low velocity.

Also, after my recent first (and last) experience with a Charter Arms revolver, I have zero confidence in the weapon itself. Ya, ya, I know someone somewhere has a good one- but mine wasn't. Never again.

I  do pretty much live there, and my solution is pepper spray and a knife. Shooting a dog in SoCal would make all the papers and my life would be wreckage. I'd honestly rather get chewed up while "defending himself with a can of mace and a pocket knife" than go through that kind of legal hell.

Where I live a vicious dog gets the same treatment as a car jacker or a home invader. Today I was carrying my Glock 19 so that would be my choice.

If I walked anywhere that was a remote possibility I'd walk with a hiking stick and use the stick as a defensive weapon even if I were also carrying a gun for 2 legged threats. Georgia is pretty gun friendly but even here it would be hard to justify shooting a dog.

Another advantage to pepper spray is that your dog is likely to get tangled up with the aggressive one pretty quick in the OPs scenario and you'll likely hit both dogs with whatever you use.

Another option would be a high-candle power LED strobe light. They can be downright painful and disorienting, especially at night.

jmr40 said:

If I walked anywhere that was a remote possibility I'd walk with a hiking stick and use the stick as a defensive weapon even if I were also carrying a gun for 2 legged threats. Georgia is pretty gun friendly but even here it would be hard to justify shooting a dog.

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Only problem is the OP states he's walking his dog. You'd have to let go of the leash to use the stick effectively and then you're trying to pry both dogs apart and defend yourself and not hurt your dog...
That also precludes holding a flashlight. You would also have to justify that you weren't looking for trouble walking your dog with a stick after dark.

Now, if we are talking a daylight hiking scenario, by all means. However, you still need a modicum of physical strength and mobility to wield a staff.
I had to fight off two aggressive pits with a broomhandle when I was in my '20s and held a Red Belt and even then it was a close run. Now I can barely hobble around the house and it wouldn't end well for me, Im sure.

I don't carry. I haul in my truck and car. If I broke down , had to walk, getting fuel , I wouldn't be alone. SP 101 357 is a dependable friend. Bad dog proof

If I had to confine myself to shot rather than a bullet, it'd be #00 Buck for a charging pit bull!

(How do you stoip a charging pit bull?)

















(Take away his credit card!) ARRRRRGH!

The only time I was charged by a dog, I hit him with a stream of Sabre Red pepper spray - he ran the other direction at Warp 9.

I would be carrying the same thing I always do but it would stay concealed because the situation you describe has not escalated to the point where I would even consider shooting someone's dog.

Monster Zero said:

Suppose you live out in a suburban neighborhood out next to a rural-ish area. You're out walking your dog, and you hear the sound of a vicious dog. You look around, and here he comes, charging out a long driveway, the last thing you wanted.

But you're prepared. Frankly you've planned for this situation. You know that you'd never hit that XL Bully with a bullet, so you're carrying a CONCEALED revolver loaded with... One or another shot loads. Which one, and why? (Or other. No long guns.)

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Pepper spray. It's something I always EDC as an alternative for situations like you described and situation involving humans that haven't crossed the lethal force threshold yet.

Monster Zero said:

But you're prepared. Frankly you've planned for this situation.

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If you planned for that situation you'd be carrying a stick and pepper spray.

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Pepper spray for the dog,
The owner of said vicious dog probably deserves the whooping with the staff more than the dog.
Oh, and I'd have my normal EDC on my hip as I ALWAYS do.

100 grains of no2 lead shot over 5grns of w231 in a 357 uberti run 1200fps and works wonders on things that go bump in the night. 4ea 180 slugs in the next 4 chambers make for a strong backup. 110grns of no6 with same charge does good also.

Don't think I would need it for a dog in someone elses driveway though - I'd just take another route. Varmints after my chickens at night never know what hit them though.

I like dogs and don’t like the idea of having to shoot one. I’ve euthanized a couple, and I hope to never have to do that again.

I wouldn’t want any birdshot load with any handgun or shotgun. If I had to shoot an attacking dog, I’d want it to stop the threat quickly. You just can’t count on tiny #4 pellets to do that on a hundred pound dog coming at you. You also have the potential to miss greatly increased if you fire four 000 pellets from a .410 versus one 9mm, .357, 45 Colt, etc. Every one of those shot pellets is a liability. I’d just carry a good load from Buffalo Bore, Underwood, or whoever else you trust.

As far as OC spray or a stick, those might make sense too. There are practice OC canisters loaded with water available, so anyone could try them in your backyard to see how you could deploy one with your dog in the other hand.

i voted “other” (steel 38sp revolver, loaded with wadcutter or ball ammo).
my cousin in rural n.e. asked the same question but he answered taurus judge. he is semiretired, lives at far end of a long, secluded, private road, and had real-life worries about smaller 4-legged, and 2-legged, rabid mammals. his area’s only police presence is a sole roving state trooper who covers several towns. not my suggestion but he loves his judge, open carries it on his property, ccw elsewhere (he is a big fellow), which surprises odd guys who come up his road looking for directions at odd times. he likes the feeling of shooting 45lc/410 into center mass targets from a handgun. most importantly it is “his” first handgun and served as a “gateway” to others.

so if you really have decided on some kind of shot round from a handgun, get a taurus judge or s&w governor, load it with handgun specific 410 ammo, and make it yours. snakeshot is for snakes and charter arms revolvers are for the rubbish bin.

Many years ago, when my wife and I were first married, she was out walking her two American Eskimo's, when she was attacked by a couple of Pit's. She let her dogs go, and got backed up against the apartment by the Pits. She screamed for me to "Get a gun and shoot these SOB's." Being a dog lover, I knew she was (1) scared (2) in trouble. I went to the door, and found her backed up against the building by one pit bull. Her two eskies, God bless 'em were taking turns distracting the pits. One of them would charge into the pit from the rear. As soon as the pit turned to face this "threat" the eskie would go belly up. The pit would stop the attack and looked confused. Then the other dog would attack the pit from the rear. The pit would turn to fact this new threat. This went back and forth about three times while I was watching. Those two stupid, worthless, eskimo's were fighting a perfect delaying action, going back and forth like they'd planned it all their lives. My wife said they had been doing that all the way across the courtyard. The second pit bull just sort of stood off to the side and watched.

I had a gun, a 357 Taurus model 66, but quickly decided it wasn't justified...yet. Then an old woman from another apartment came out with an industrial strength broomstick ready to do battle with the dogs, to help my wife. i mean this old lady was ready to wade into the fight herself. I took the stick from her, cracked the "bad" pit over the head with the stick. He took off across the court-yard with his less than enthuastic buddy in tow. Never saw them again. Her two dogs are looking at me..."Did we do good? Huh? Did we?"

I had to admit they earned their kibbles that day.

I suppose I could have shot the one. He had my wife (who is handicapped and walks with a cane) pinned up againt the building to where she couldn't retreat anymore. She was crying like a baby she was so scared. She couldn't fight, she couldn't run. I have no doubt if not for those silly little dogs of hers she'd have been in real trouble. I also have no doubt without those silly little dogs, those pits would have probably never bothered her. I'm just really glad I didn't have to decide rather I'd shoot them or not. 'They hadn't bitten my wife, or her dogs at that point. I'm not sure what I'd have done if the old lady with the brookstick hadn't shown up, but I was never "ready" to shoot at that point. Too many people, houses, cars around to shoot really, and the situation hadn't gone downhill far enough at that point. But it was really a close and fast moving situation. No doubt as close to having to use a gun for anything serious as I've ever been.

Edited to add: I vote "other." The 38 I have on me most likely.

That happened to me last month. A block away there was a neighborhood yard dog, a Husky, that was always chained in the front yard or backyard. From his extremely aggressive behavior, I believed he was mentally ill. I was taking a walk with my dog and my adult daughter and passing by that house when the neighbor boy was switching the Husky from the front yard to the backyard. The Husky bit him and charged us. I'm very lucky. My 100-pound Doberman-Pit mix pinned him to the ground by the head/neck area until he stopped struggling. Then his adult owner got him and we went home. My daughter was crying because she was so afraid that our dog would kill the Husky. The owners got rid of the other dog immediately after that.

After the long lead-in...

It was very, very fast. Dogs react faster than we do. Things ended well because I said my dog's name first, and he turned his head in time to see what was coming. I also had time to begin taking a step in front of my daughter.

I might or might not have had time to draw something before I was bitten. It would have been close. Whether it was a handgun or pepper spray, it would have had to have been an extremely fast draw, and it would have been point-blank range.

I'm more used to drawing a handgun, so I'm faster with that. On the other hand, I might end up shooting my dog, so pepper spray is probably a better answer. I wouldn't want to use 410 shot if I liked my dog (I do).

Something similar happened to a co-worker when she and her husband were walking their smallish dog. Her husband had to use his knife, because they were rolling around fighting and he was afraid to shoot towards his own dog like that. He's a big tough ex-Marine, but he cried when he got home because he hated cutting the other dog.

This always goes with me when I walk my dog.

I keep several cans around the house. I bought it for black bears but discovered later the much more likely threat is dogs off-lease.
Most of these dogs belong to somebody and I like dogs but they can be dangerous when unsupervised and off-lease wandering around.

Where I walk there has been black bears but there's also houses relatively close by and sometimes their pets escape the yards. I carry concealed but I don't want to be the guy who shoots the neighbors dog even if the dog is being a jack wagon.

That spray has a good 30 foot range. I carry it on bike rides also, out in the open. Folks sometimes think it's a water bottle and others think it's a little fire extinguisher.

RugerSecurity 380 Lite Rack -- I have arthritis in both hands and have become caliber limited.

Kimber 9mm micro black ice or a Khar K40 black SST which I do.

Imagine shooting a dog with a shot shell and only wounding the dog. Then later you get a knock at your door. It’s not the police, it’s a summons server and for the next year or two and thousands of dollars your life is turned upside down…whether or not you win or lose.

Do it right or don’t do it at all. If you’re going to shoot, shoot with something reliable in the chamber.
Furthermore, I would follow the stick and spray advice for dogs and carry good ammunition for 2 legged predators.
I am not discussing your selection of firearms here, just the ammunition.