.22 mag revolver for feral dogs

I would definitely go to bigger. I know hogs aren't indestructible, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with anything less than a .45. A .357 would be my first choice.

Go 357 at least those pits are tough!

Dogs are thin skinned and die easily. At the range of SD against feral dogs a .22 magnum would be plenty.

I know hogs aren't indestructible

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dogs. Not hogs.

I wouldn't count on a .22mag for that job unless it was coming out of a rifle.

Then again, there's a thread from just a few weeks ago about shooting attacking dogs. Might be worth a look.

I agree, it would work. But if you have better choices, use those. A 30gr hollow point at 1200fps will kill, but I'd rather throw a 135g .38cal Speer Gold Dot at 850fps from a 642 Airweight.

Keltec PMR 30. I think the 22mag would do the trick, but if one can't stop it, 30 will. Besides, dogs often run in packs. I would like the extra rounds.

For a neighbourhood incident I think I'd rather just carry a pepper spray to deal with any aggresive dogs. Also a lot can be done by just standing your ground, looking menacing and growling back at them along with a really LOUD shout. Few domesticated dogs that are not on their own property/territory will continue an attack in such a case.

I know that this sounds like I've been watching too much "Dog Whisperer" episodes but long before that show was around I used this same stand and confront solution with success on two occasions.

I'd also be very leery of where any misses would be going in a populated neighbourhood so a non firearm solution would be a far better first choice for any solo dogs. Then file a report with the local dog control authourity with the owner's address.

Truly feral dogs out in a country setting would be a whole other thing. Then a sidearm would not be a bad option. And since dogs in those situations tend to travel in packs I think I'd rather be packing a semi with a lot more than 6 before reloading. Or I'd want to be pretty good with my revolver from the draw to first accurately placed shot to make all six count.

Dogs are thin-skinned, all right, but they're hunting carnivores that can take a great deal of punishment, especially in life or death situations. One of the reasons my minimum carry caliber is the .357 magnum is I'm much more likely to encounter a hostile dog than a hostile two-legged beast. In the event of trouble from a dog, you need to inflict massive tissue damage right this instant, because the chances of making a head shot to disable the nervous system are very low. Very little of a dog consists of brain and spine, and small targets are hard to hit, especially when they're in motion.

...or should I just go bigger.

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This. Check your local ordinances as well... and know that you need to defend "your life" or your family, not your pup's life sadly, that action would probably get you all kinds of trouble vis a vis discharging firearm in city limits, etc. Feral dogs tend to run in packs as well, so more/bigger is probably better. But a .22mag might work if your shot placement is precise.

I once foolishly stepped betwen our Lab "Duke" and a pitbull that decided Labrador was on the menu, to "pull them apart". Pit came outta nowhere in a flash. I was lucky that the Pitbull's total focus was on the Lab. I got one leg chewed up a bit by one of the dogs in question, but the action was so dynamic I know I would have shot my gun dog by accident if I could have gone that route. They were a bundle of yellow and brown fury, and I mean FURY! I did not have time to even think about drawing my 442, as Duke's leash was around my right hand/wrist and it was moving around wildly due to his action. (he was awesome, never seen a lab go crazy wild like that before)

There's a lesson or two to learn in there somewhere. Dog, leash, strong hand, carry weapon location, situational awareness, location, speed of threat and reaction time, etc. In hindsight, I guess a .22 mag would have done me as much good as my little .38 did. :banghead:

Plus, I'm talking spitting distance anyway. I want to be sure of hit(s).

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You also want to be sure you don't shoot yourself, your own dog, or someone with you. Small pistols are the very worst idea for this sort of thing, esp.a magnum mousegun that will buck and flame a lot. Their sole virtue is concealment.

The one time I had to shoot one furry critter attacking my own furry critter I grabbed the CZ 452 and was darn glad I did. You don't want any uncertainty about where that bullet is going.

It will work but I wouldn't want to count on it, about 10 years ago I shot an amstaff terrier 3 times with a 12 ga before he quit. Granted it was birdshot as I was dove hunting but the range was very close.

I also owned a pitbull and it seemed that any kind of pain just made him more determined. I would recommend something with more stopping power.

For literally a century, the .22 was the favorite gun for woods-walkers, and civilian wanderers in the outdoors. There was never a plethora of articles in the media about mauled or injured people.

Most animals don't want to be injured. Predators, even in packs, recognize the fact that injuries are counter-productive to survival. They will break off an attack caused simply by aggression if they are injured.

The loud noise of a gun-shot, coupled with the immediate pain, is enough for them.

Not everyone has bears, mountain lions, or 20' alligators in their neighborhood. A .22 Magnum, fired from a 3-4" revolver, should be able to insure your survival in most neighborhoods.

I will also second the admonishment to check your local laws on the use of a firearm. The various Pepper Sprays work quite well against dogs not trained as attack animals.

I like guns that serve more than one purpose.

A 38 or 357 revolver would do nicely against a dog...Heck...pepper spray might too.

But the most dangerous animal that you can come across is the North American Primate.

Why not carry a large enough caliber to cover both.

And a good CS/OC mix pepper spray would be nice hanging from your dog's leash.

Most dog attacks do not require a firearm.

I was walking a Corgi (small herding dog) one morning when a Great Dane decided it wanted to play/attack/who knows. As it approached agressively I started to draw my 9 mm. Just about the time I cleared the holster the owner stuck their head out the door and called "King" or "Duke" back. The Great Dane turned and went home never knowing what could have happened.

The Great Dane was normally fenced, but for some reason that morning it was running loose. Thankfully I was armed, thankfully I did not have to use it.

We used to come across packs of feral dogs while out hiking when I grew up. I don't know about .22 mag, but a .38 revolver has plenty of firepower; we're not talking about fending off meth heads here. It only took one bullet to drop a dog the one time Dad had to shoot, and the rest of the pack ran away.

I'd only consider using a handgun on a dog if I was out in the woods. If I was worried about being attacked in an urban area, I'd carry my walking stick.

.22mag might work at close range, but I'd want a longish barrel, at least 4". Either a revolver or auto would be fine so long as they were reliable.

Whatever the platform, I wouldn't bother with a gun that held a lot of bullets... just picture a dog appearing around a corner that you're not paying attention to and sprinting at you full tilt. They'd have to be pretty far away for me to draw from concealment and fire more than once or twice.

I was walking my Pit mix one Sunday afternoon, and we passed a pickup truck with it's windows open, parked along the curb. A few seconds after we passed it, I heard a "Huff!" behind us and a very large German Shepherd was about 6 feet behind us, going for my dog, who never wanted to, or really did, start a fight in his over 14 year life. As usual, my dog didn't respond right away, just taking damage and looking confused, and I was very lucky to get my hand clear of the GS's mouth, as he tried to bite me as I tried to grab him and pull him off my dog. I had no weapon except a pocket knife, and about the time I actually thought about using it, my dog finally "Went into Popeye mode", where he literally looked totally different, from a Golden Ret type face to a Pit face, and the GS found out he had made a mistake. I never saw a dog that he couldn't handle once he "got out the spinach can". The GS finally bailed out, and round one was over, both had bites to the neck, so it was a draw. The GS's owners came out, and he seemed to think he had backup coming, so he came back for another attack. I tried to kick him as he passed me, but I missed, and my dog at this point didn't need any help anyway. The GS wound up going to the Animal ER for a whole lot of stitches, and my dog came out of the second round with a couple of holes in one ear, and the neck wounds from the previous round. The GS had finally picked a fight with the wrong dog. I carried pepper spray, and for a while, I carried an "automatic knife", even though they were (maybe still are) illegal here. Better I get fined/whatever than have a dead or seriously injured dog or myself. If I would have had a carry permit, I would have had a .38 5 shot of some kind, with a 3" barrel. Almost totally reliable, and a .38 would probably persuade almost any dog to bail out and get out of there. A friend of mine had a C02 pellet gun that with a single shot to the neck, stopped a neighbor's Rottweiler from attacking his Beagle on a walk one morning. The one in my neighborhood took pepper spray and was kicked in the ribs and in the face and still kept coming for another neighbor's Jack Russell. The owner's son came out and managed to just barely stop him. He had 3 broken ribs and a tooth was knocked out, and he didn't care.

Here's what I would do:

I would purchase and carry a expandable baton with you on your dog walks. They are cheap and easy to carry or conceal. I would even venture as to say a Baton is a much better idea than a firearm for walking your pooch around the block. One solid strike to a K9's skull can easily crack it, causing the dog to become unconscious or die. You can also strike the dogs throat, neck, spine or legs and inflict extreme and instant damage.

Also, a baton or heavy duty stick would most likely look better in court for self defense and make a possible case go much smoother IMO.

PlateStacker said:

Here's what I would do:

I would purchase and carry a expandable baton with you on your dog walks. They are cheap and easy to carry or conceal. I would even venture as to say a Baton is a much better idea than a firearm for walking your pooch around the block. One solid strike to a K9's skull can easily crack it, causing the dog to become unconscious or die. You can also strike the dogs throat, neck, spine or legs and inflict extreme and instant damage.

Also, a baton or heavy duty stick would most likely look better in court for self defense and make a possible case go much smoother IMO.

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For those considering this option -- just adding the usual caution to check your laws, as some moronic municipalities ban Asps and other telescoping baton-type weapons also...


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Pit Bull dogs (mixed or other wise) are bad news!

I did not intend to originally reply to this thread due to time restraints, however I just had to after seeing suggestions like " no less than a .45 or .357" dear lord! Fire a .357 magnum outdoors in a setting with similar conditions of what it would be if you were walking your dog. See if its comfortable or necessary. The .22 mag should be fine but minimal. A .38 (revolver) or 9mm (pistol) would be more ideal. That said, I always have a small .22 mag on me when walking the dog (low risk) for convenience but do have and carry .357/.38's that I carry day to day. Loaded with .38's. +1 on a stick or pepper spray in addition to gun maybe. I have a pocket knife kershaw quick release that feels like it would be faster to action against a close aggressive dog but then I carry concealed.

I shot an attacking pit bull with a .22 LR hollowpoint, out of a rifle. But that's because that's what I had at the time. I would have much preferred a 12 ga shotgun -- or a .357/45ACP if I have to repeat the experiment.

i have shot dogs with a 45ACP 3" and a 22MAG 1 1/8".....both ended up the same....22 mag is plenty for a dog...if you don't kill it they'll leave you alone...