chief
Member
All of that bs about striking the dog in the ribs and striking them smartly on the head, snout, etc. sounds good on paper. In the late 70's I had my first encounter with a pit bull, it was tearing the throat out of it's second Shepherd and the broad leather collar was only slowing the process. I was a rookie patrolman, 10 feet tall and bulletproof. I had my "unbreakable" plastic LAPD style baton and had recently completed my training with it. I struck the pit in the ribs repeatedly and it was the 4th or 5th blow before it even looked at me, I cracked it on the head several times and it was unimpressed. I jammed the stick in the corner of it's mouth and jacked it open after several tries, I have never seen anything as quick it spun and came at me. As many (most) rookies, I had been practicing my fast draw. I drew and shot as the pit lunged at me and it ended up being a contact wound as the pit hit me. One shot from my duty weapon at contact distance (head) did the job. I learned a lesson that is still with me. Since then I have added to my list. A 9 or 38 is too small, headshots are good but not a sure thing, if you get one down finish it quick, a knife is only good for a finisher and if you use a bludgeon of some sort have a metal striking surface or all-metal.