Pistol for humane dispatch

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What a fantasticly helpful thread. SD at it most positive. Can't think why I've been absent!


I value your input so don't be put off from contributing for fear of a good spanking form a primate!

Thank you

K
Hardly a 'Spanking' K?
Just a harsh reality check and some constructive ideas as to how to progress.;)
Good to see you back!
MS
 
Fully agree, that is why he took a lot of crap for it , This is the problem with some of the folk who apply for a pistol, because they can as apposed to because they need. lack of imagination and ability.
Might I suggest that your opinion that pistols are rubbish is based on the fact that you may have had a pistol issued as a personal weapon, but you never had an occasion to actually use it other than the range. Had you been in a situation where you needed to rely on the pistol you'd be singing a different tune.



The skill with a pistol takes some time to obtain and is very quickly lost with lack of practice. I would suggest that the situation you mentioned is not a problem with the choice of firearm but the lack of competence of the person using it.
 
You mean 'fantastically'

I'm carp with numbers too but can just recall my minimum requirement is something cool in .45 Winchester Magnum. Did some research in Cabela's recently and they were very helpful but its clear there are many more over-the-counter hand cannons to choose from in 2018 than was the case back in the day:
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K
 
many more over-the-counter hand cannons to choose from in 2018 than was the case back in the day

That's for sure. I remember the armoury at RAF Leuchars back in the good old days . . . . as well as the service firearms (SLR's, SMG's, Browning 9mm mostly) there were privately-held firearms too, including handguns. They weren't permitted to be kept in married quarters or the singley's accommodation, and I seem to recall there was everything from .357 revolvers to .500 NE :shock:
 
Try a gut shot mature Sika Stag in thick planted forestry block and the light fading fast....................410 waste of time, rifle waste of time as you cant bring the rifle to bear on the beast.................revolver if you know how to use it yes.

We do not all need a dispatch pistol, but those that knock the use of one have maybe not been in situations where its use is needed, besides on the edge of a road.
 
Try a gut shot mature Sika Stag in thick planted forestry block and the light fading fast....................410 waste of time, rifle waste of time as you cant bring the rifle to bear on the beast.................revolver if you know how to use it yes.

We do not all need a dispatch pistol, but those that knock the use of one have maybe not been in situations where its use is needed, besides on the edge of a road.

Funnily enough mate I was reading this thread and just recalling you telling me this story hehe!

And I was thinking "I wonder if Malc will be along to bring that one up" :D
 
Try a gut shot mature Sika Stag in thick planted forestry block and the light fading fast....................410 waste of time, rifle waste of time as you cant bring the rifle to bear on the beast.................revolver if you know how to use it yes.

We do not all need a dispatch pistol, but those that knock the use of one have maybe not been in situations where its use is needed, besides on the edge of a road.

If you can get to the beast, then so can your rifle? If you can point a short barrelled pistol accurately enough to hit the brain (which is necessary for such a low powered firearm), then you can surely point a long barrel with more accuracy and with enough muzzle energy to take an engine room shot which would be preferable in such a situation. Carcass damage is secondary to deer welfare. Even the deer tracking guys carry a short barrelled large calibre rifle as a preference to a pistol and they get into some very tight spots on a regular basis. Getting a safe, fatal shot into the beast should be your only concern at this point. I would also never chase after a gut shot deer at last light as you are more likely to just push it on or over a boundary. That one would wait until first light when it would most likely be dead anyway or at least still in the same place and unlikely to move.

I have never been in a stalking situation where I haven't been able to use a rifle to finish a beast off. I've certainly been in many urban situations where I couldn't use a pistol or a rifle though. Wounded muntjac in the middle of towns are now a regular occurrence. That is where the silenced .410 is the only safe option! I tackled a muntjac buck with a knife once - and only once! It became a bit of a 'fair fight' which I thankfully won, but it was very educational!

As a regular stalker, if you are having to carry out HD on a regular basis, then you are doing something very wrong! It should be only a very small percentage which require finishing off. Of that small percentage, there will only be an even smaller percentage which you can't follow up swiftly with a rifle which is why we all load more than one round and reload immediately.
Horses for courses though, and if you choose to carry a pistol then I'm not against it, but I'm yet to be convinced there is ever any real justification for it.
MS
 
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Try a gut shot mature Sika Stag in thick planted forestry block and the light fading fast....................410 waste of time, rifle waste of time as you cant bring the rifle to bear on the beast.................revolver if you know how to use it yes.

We do not all need a dispatch pistol, but those that knock the use of one have maybe not been in situations where its use is needed, besides on the edge of a road.

Only ever been in that situation once and not sure how badly it was hit ( Estate guest) no blood to be seen but reaction indicated liver or gut. I just got dog on lead 12 bore in hand a torch and belly crawled (cover down to a foot off floor) in under the trees. Dog 3ft in front and a couple of BB's ready. I was not a happy bunny as it reminded me of other situations in a mis spent youth. Luckily it was dead, but I must admit I slipped the dog as soon as I saw it and slipped the cartridges in.
 
I would also never chase after a gut shot deer at last light as you are more likely to just push it on or over a boundary. That one would wait until first light when it would most likely be dead anyway or at least still in the same place and unlikely to move.

Interesting thread this, especially here, where MS is telling Sikamalc how it really should be done. HHmm.

To précis MS' point of view, if you own a pistol as part of your working toolkit you're no more than an amateur with wild west tendencies.

Bottom line, I'm not sure than the OP had his question answered but for sure we heard some opinions. And we all know about them.
 
Interesting thread this, especially here, where MS is telling Sikamalc how it really should be done. HHmm.

This is basic follow-up knowledge, that as an Assessor, I would expect any DCS 2 candidate to come up with. Chasing after a gut-shot deer at last light will cause more unnecessary suffering and will likely result in losing the deer completely which may then take days to die depending upon the nature of the wound. Chasing after and shooting at deer in the darkness is dangerous and you are very likely to lose and spoil the trail. If you go to any of the deer tracking group seminars or shot site analysis days this is what you will be told. Not me telling anyone how it should be done - just relating to best-practise procedures.
https://www.uksha.org.uk/follow-up-1
Far better to wait several hours overnight to return in the light of day. The deer will have hopefully died relatively peacefully or at least stiffened up to a point where it can be located and humanely dispatched from a safe distance where it will not be chased further on. Even if it does move again, you (and the dog) will have a much better chance of catching up with it quickly .
MS
 
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No, your suggestion is wrong. Whilst I flew around some pretty nasty places, I carried a pistol as well as a 5.56 rifle. I only ever relied on the pistol as a 'personal' weapon in that I would use the last bullet in it to shoot myself if it all went very wrong! Hopefully I wouldn't miss!:D...

Not wanting to be disrespectful but your anecdote actually supports my suggestion. You carried the pistol as a side arm not as a PPW, to that end you would have just undergone the usual WHT & ACMT and maybe if you're lucky the transition training but not attended an armed alone or concealed carry course.

...Skill does take time to develop, but you are probably only going to develop it shooting at paper. The reality of a wounded deer thrashing around at low light in ditch or on the road is somewhat different!..MS

True, the first thing I do when teaching pistol is to get them to shot a couple of mags at the target without any marksmanship training just to instil the reality instead of Hollywood. It's very common for even trained servicemen to miss a Fig 11 at 10m to start off with, and time on the range is never wasted. I think it's crazy that those people who have a handgun on their FAC for a PPW only are only allowed to shoot a maximum of 50 rds every 6 months. I tell them to get it authorised for target shooting as well and get down the range as often as they can.

Strangely enough the marksmanship principles to shooting paper and a wounded deer are the same, otherwise hundreds of years of military training have been wrong ;)
 
From the personal experience of having followed up a wild boar into dense brambles, crawling on my hands and knees, even if had a pistol I am not sure it would have been my first choice for dispatch. The animal was left until first light, unfortunately was still very much alive and not overly pleased to see me! I used my cheapo 3 shot semi 12bore.
 
Interesting thread this, especially here, where MS is telling Sikamalc how it really should be done. HHmm.

To précis MS' point of view, if you own a pistol as part of your working toolkit you're no more than an amateur with wild west tendencies.

Bottom line, I'm not sure than the OP had his question answered but for sure we heard some opinions. And we all know about them.

You say that like Sikamalc is any sort of authority.

There is no reason why a rifle wouldn't be adequate in the situation he describes.
 
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