pistol for humane destruction

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interlock

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guys,
I am in the UK and pistols are a prohibited weapon here. they are regulated under s 5 firearms act.
I do quite a lot of humane destruction work of deer and other animals at the roadside. I am thinking that a pistol might be quite a useful addition to my kit. I used a browning Hi power a lot when i was in the army and i quite fancy one. I also quite like the look of walther ppk. But i understand they are only available in .32acp. I will be killing big animals but at close range. will the .32acp have the capability to put a bullet through a horse or cow skull at 6 feet?

I think the browning will definately have the muscle for this. as handguns are not common here anymore i am a little unsure of what bullets to go for.

thanks

interlock
 
Do they not have special purpose designed pistols for humane destruction in the UK? It wouldn't be my favoured option but I suspect the powers that be will push you in that direction.
 
Walthers also come in .380 or 9mm Kurz. I would definitely trust the 9mm Hi Power moreso than the .32 or .380 Walther. Generally a tough medium like bone requires a bullet with more velocity, like the 9mm Parabellum, for reliable penetration.
 
Actually, .22s will work for this task as well. As you may know, the skull of many large animals (humans included) are tough enough to deflect even Magnum caliber handgun rounds from certain angles.

Take a .22, or any other caliber, and aim right down the animal's ear canal to the center point of an imaginary line drawn between it's eyeballs. That should reliably allow even the tiniest bullet to penetrate through to the brain to make a humane kill. This technique has been used in the US for harvesting cattle, hogs etc for years, with the lowly .22 probably being the most commonly used caliber for their low noise.

The key is not to shoot at the toughest part of the skull. I read about a police officer in the US that tried to put down an injured deer or an elk in the road by shooting it dead center on the top of the skull. IIRC, he was using either a 9mm or .40. Anyway, the bullet bounced off and caught him in the foot.
 
A revolver in .45 Colt, as that is a round that was designed to stop a horse (literally, as in cavalry)

A revolver might be less scary, as it's not as mean, or ugly or something.....
 
Isn't there

an item called a "bolt gun"? No, not a bolt action, but a single shot with a captive bolt in the barrel that is propelled into the animals brain by a blank cartridge. Have no idea what caliber, but nail guns use .22 shorts.
 
I know a guy here in NH that works at a slaughter house for cows. He was telling me that they use a bolt gun first (explained above) and then, if this doesn't put the animal down they use a 22 L/R or magnum round.
 
My .38 special revolver was bought specifically for when horse trailing; a friend's horse involved in an accident and suffered greatly until a vet arrived to put him down.

As others have said, shot placement is key. For a horse, I was taught to put the shot in the center of the forehead, where an imaginary "X" would be when lines are drawn from the eye to the opposite ear, and with the shot's angle going down the neck/spine.

A smaller caliber probably could do the job, and some would prefer a larger caliber, but the .38 was my choice.
 
Hi Interlock.

I'm in the UK too and one of the guys in our gun club has a permit for a pistol for humane dispatch of animals. Bear in mind he's employed by the local council in pest control and humane dispatch is part of his job. He was a pistol shooter before the ban and asked if he could keep his S&W Mod 66 in .357 mag for the job. The police argued that the .357 was overkill and restricted him to a revolver in .38/200. I think you may have a hard time convincing your local Chief Constable that a 13 shot 9mm semi-auto would be a suitable weapon but hey - you never know till you ask....

Phil
 
Not sure on UK laws but here, stateside, restrictions on handguns/uses often revolve around mag capacity/ a handguns ability to take a large capacity magazine. That said, I would look towards a "politicly friendly" 5-6 shot revolver in 38/357 with a 3-4" barrel. Something like a S&W Mod 60, 65, 64, 66 , 19 or Ruger Sp101/GP100. ( all teh 357 mags can shoot 38 special ammo and this is what I would recomend. ) Revolvers have several advantages for general "kit guns". Reliable as a hammer in all weather conditions, ammo power/types can be varied to meet the needs of the task, can be fired SA or DA.
 
For the purpose of humanely dispatching an animal, a .22 LR or .22 WMR is about as good as it gets. Millions of farm animals have been butchered using these calibers. I would choose a revolver for simpicity of operation and reliability. I would assume much of your work is done in the dark in a ditch. For me, simplicity and reliability would be a must.

Both of these are common rifle calibers, so availability of ammunition should not be a problem. I would assume if handgun ownership is restricted, common handgun rounds would be expensive and hard to find.

The .22 LR is not nearly as loud as a regular handgun round. This may be important to you also if the people nearby are not accustomed to gun fire. A shot from a .22 LR may be dismissed by the public as an engine backfire, a shot from a 9mm or a .38 would be instantly recognized as a gunshot. I doubt you want to draw attention to yourself or cause concern.

Good Luck!
 
Interlock, from what I have read (and spoken with Surrey Police) no matter what you get allowed calibre wise (and 9 out of 10 it will be .38) it will be a revolver modified to only hold a maximum of 2 rounds, end of chat on that one!
The UK govt put its foot down firmly on us after Dunblane, and it will never be overturned.

Here is a link to the BASC ( the closest we have t a national association) advice on handguns
http://www.basc.org.uk/download.cfm/docid/2DB22D3A-BE08-44D5-AFE52DB6B141280A
 
UKarmourer they would make you mangle a six shooter? Why not just get a derringer then? Two shots, up close, available in 38 special, inexpensive, and maybe not scary looking to your officials.
 
SVTruth -- there is indeed such a thing as a "bolt gun." The now-infamous "No Country for Old Men" featured one extensively. The one featured in the aforementioned movie used compressed air, but, yes, some use .22 blanks.
 
A little Smith & Wesson 5 shot j-frame model 637 38 Special +P

loaded with 38 Special+P 158gr. SWC Hardcasts.

That'll work.
 
Sorry about your limited choices, fellas. I wasn't aware of the extent of your laws.
I'm not picking on Britain, but IMO it's downright unjust to deny an entire population something that was abused by a very small number of lunatics. But I suppose that happens everywhere in some form or other.
 
I think they would be happiest if you carried one of these:

34300.jpg

Can't go taking advantage of that modern technology. Gotta keep you guys in the 18th century, for you own good of course.
 
I have put down pigs,horse,and deer.

All were shot with either a .44 magnum,a .357 magnum and a .45 ACP.

I am sure it can be done with a smaller round and once I finished a deer that I had dropped using a 9 MM h.p.

We prefer to use a shotgun at my agency,I believe that is overkill.
 
Forget the gun.
Use an ordinary concrete nail gun that you put a blank in, put the nail in the end, place end against animal's skull and hit the back sharply with a hammer.

Remington among other companies make them and the better ones don't require a hammer, I believe they have a regular trigger mechanism. You can purchase that at your local building supply store here in the states.

That nail will not ricochet, but it may go through, so, be careful of your "backstop."
 
...place end against animal's skull and...
Click to expand...

How safe is it to approach a wounded wild animal to do the humane thing at point-blank range?

This may affect the choice of gun.
 
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