Wild dogs and caliber

[slabuda]

.22 hornet is just fine, if guys out here can use .22 mag for coyotes then that should do just as well on feral dogs. But as youve chosen .223 all the better for when you cant get close. I have one and am fully confident to take decent sized yote at 300 yrds as long as the wind isnt bad. It is sighted in for approx 225 yds and a slight hold over at 300 will do just fine. More than enough energy to do the job. And with the .223/20 if they get close the 20 ga with larger shot will get em in their tracks.

One thing about the combo guns though is not an easy follow up shot like you have with a bolt action if you do miss or gut shoot it.

 

[cz85cmbt]

If you want quiet go with a marlin .357/.38. Bullets have plenty of weight for penetration and the loads can be super quiet. If range is short use .38 specials and sound is quiet like a .22 and if longer distance is needed a .357 would kill a dog past 150 yds.

 

[Daniel]

Some updates:

I got a dog with the 12 gauge shotgun (I thought I may as well try it in the thicker brush where the range is short, but I didn't expect to bump into anything due to the nose that dogs have). Set up along the creek, and a few walked on by; hit the last one with a load of 00 buckshot at about 20 paces through the modified choke. One dead dog. All pellets hit, with several hitting the kill zone and the immediate vicinity around it. No exits from my quick perusal of the animal. The others bolted, and I had another barrel, but I didn't feel comfortable in taking it. The dog was medium sized and appeared well fed (seemed to be a dumped/lost domestic rather than a Dingo); which doesn't surprise me, as there's so much for them to eat around here.

I've learnt respect for 12 gauge buckshot; shooting bottles and recovering those little undeformed balls made me look at it a little funny in regards to power, but seeing the dog hit the ground where it was shot opened my eyes (I suppose all of that recoil is imparting some force on the other end after all).

I ended up buying a .22 Magnum bolt-action + scope deal (CZ) for a really good price ("quiet" target shooting), and I'm keeping the 12 gauge as my hunting arm (I'm just going to emulate the same tactics).

O, and hearing protection seems like a good idea in the future when hunting.... The coach gun is very loud, even outside.

O again, I know how the gun patterns, so I'm fine out to about a maximum/don't exceed range of 50 paces (I always get four pellets in the kill zone at 50 paces out of nine).

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I was trapping fox on a cattle farm where the owner was loosing calves to wild dogs. Part of getting permission to trap included killing ever dog I came across. This was before it was illegal. I caught one dog,an absolute monster, in a fox set. It saw me at the same time I saw it. It went berserk! It did everything it could to get to me. Knowing that the trap was a #1 1/2 coilspring and not knowing how well it was caught,I took a rest @30+yards and shot it between the eyes with my Savage 65M in .22WMR. Stone cold dead no kick,no twitch just DRT. It weighed in excess of 80 lbs. Never underestimate the power of rimfires. BTW,it only had 2 toes in the trap which completely filled the trap. IF I were to go looking for wild dogs to shoot I would take something bigger though.

 

[MCgunner]

The .22 Mag ain't yo mama's .22. It's got some zap to it and shoots flat to 100 yards. I kinda like mine even though I don't have a real use for it. Not a big predator hunter, just take yotes as targets of opportunity when deer hunting. But, I traded a guy out of the gun, a Remington 597 magnum, and it's VERY accurate. I shoot it for practice at the range. Good 100 yard practice and I don't have to reload for it. LOL It's more'n plenty for feral dog to 100 yards and maybe a bit more IMHO.

O, and hearing protection seems like a good idea in the future when hunting.... The coach gun is very loud, even outside.

Yeah, I shoot doves with a 20 gauge coach gun and it is a might loud, one thing I don't like about it. It has screw in chokes and is good for 40 yards on dove. It's quick on upland game and it's compact when I take it down. I can take it along on the motorcycle which is kiinda cool.

 

[Daniel]

O yeah, I know the power that a .22 Magnum has; it ain't no slouch (they also had a good .22LR + scope deal from CZ, but I wanted the Magnum for its power). I'm sure I could have killed the aforementioned dog with a .22 Magnum just as quickly, well, I probably would have taken a heart shot, so the dog would have probably run off and hit the ground a short distance away, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. It's kinda like a short ranged .22 Hornet in many ways (the Hornet just extends its range for the most part). I'll see how it shoots at 100 meters. If it's decent (I don't see why it wouldn't be), I can see myself using it for the "long" shots of 50 to 70 meters (thick woodland).

RE: coach gun,

Yep, that's one of the reasons I like it so much; with a simple flick of the switch on the forearm, and you then have two short pieces that can fit in a small pack (once you put the forearm back on the barrel), and you can put it back together in a couple of seconds at most. This is one reason I chose it over the Norc Lever-action (I wanted to also have something I can take with me on trips that can fit in a bag that doesn't scream out "rifle"/"shotgun"). I'm happy with it. They say you often don't hear the noise of the shot when hunting; I heard it alright, and it sounded like Thor decided to hit the ground near me with his hammer (it didn't hurt that much, but then, I've already got tinnitus from firing a 1911 .45 indoors without protection; that wasn't loud, that was just pure pain). Buckshot just works (basic high velocity 2-3/4 inch 9 pellet OO load).

 

[scotjute]

Have used .22 mag once when pack of dogs entered yard. Dropped about 70 lb. one at 50 yds with a chest shot. I'd say that it is about the minimum caliber to drop one. Nice flat shooting out to 100 yds. or so.