What do you use to put down livestock?

[tool]

12 gauge slugs are great.

A meat inspector friend tells me that lots of smaller plants knock cattle with birdshot loads from 12 gauge as well, he says up close it's very effective.

Don't trust a .22, they don't always have enough penetrating power.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by 1899b

6.5 Creedmoor

Not enough cartridge.....

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by Gade81

.22lr is all you need. More will kill em too

I worked in a slaughter house when I was younger.

In my experience, I think the key to a .22 LR; is getting right up close to the animal...a 6" stand-off worked well for cows, bulls, horses, pigs; everything that came through....

I witnessed the Hutterites using a .22LR as their go to instrument; again very close to the animal....and they all dropped immediately.....

[trapperdodge]

The most effective killing area is the axis where the spinal cord, brain and artery converge. It's a side shot and lethal.

[Diesel_wiesel]

when I was growing up my father couldn't kill an animal of any type
so he hired a butcher guy to come out and do the killing and butchering for us,
this guy would only use the broad side of an axe
he would stand there , both hands over his head with the axe ,and hit them
down they went deader then a door nail he showed me one time what it would do, he skinned out the head of a big steer and he grabbed each side of the skinned out skull and literally with no effort pulled the skull in two parts, he said it didn't take much power just hit them in the right spot and a basic ball pin hammer would do the same thing , he showed me the brain how badly hemorrhaged it was just from a thump with the axe
so the next year when he came out I asked if could try killing the rotten dirty fence crawling steer (cuz I had a hate on for that particular animal) so he just marked it where I should hit it and sure enough , I hit that ugly steer and it died right there on its feet dropped like a ton of bricks,
after that I could never understand how people could justify even using a gun when they killed a beef
hogs just a 22, killed a horse that had broken its leg the same way once as well

[lattery1]

Been used for a sheep, angus bull and a horse in past few months. Although the old horse was hard due to teary eyes.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by trapperdodge

The most effective killing area is the axis where the spinal cord, brain and artery converge. It's a side shot and lethal.

Trouble is. it's a small target and hard to locate exactly. Besides, a bullet head on is less likely to travel as far.

Grizz

[Eagle Trapper]

This is the little beauty I picked up specifically for mobile killing. Good force without over penetration, repeating incase something goes awry, mag fed to aid in quick unloading on farm, stainless and synthetic because of the inevitable blood rain and manure. 30 carbine was going to be my second choice if I was unable to find one of these but bashaw had one.

[bat119]

My Grampa used a high standard duramatic .22 for cattle and hogs he had hanging on a nail in the barn dropped them like a rock he called it being "Pearl harbored"
On mountain men last night Eustace did A 600 LB. hog mountain man style with a SKS to the forehead

[Eagle Trapper]

Originally Posted by bat119

My Grampa used a high standard duramatic .22 for cattle and hogs he had hanging on a nail in the barn dropped them like a rock he called it being "Pearl harbored"
On mountain men last night Eustace did A 600 LB. hog mountain man style with a SKS to the forehead

If it's the old episode, that was not a clean kill. But I spose they can't all go 100%

[Bushmaster]

I've found that most guys don't like it when I put down their livestock !

[creeky]

Diagonal line from ear base to opposing eye used everything from a 22 to 30 06 to 7mm.

Had to euthanize many a race horse with bloods up snapped legs @ a big racetrack & aforementioned precision & steadfast calm with good help always always better.


Creeky....


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Dean2]

I put down Livestock the same way I do put down everything else, Call them filthy names, cast aspersions on their ancestry, disrespect their mothers and their linage, and taunt them relentlessly if they are too fat, too skinny, too short or too tall. Can't think of a better way personally without resorting to physical violence.

Merry Christmas.

[happy honker]

What do I use to put down livestock?
Well, usually the standard insults.

"Hey bull...yo mommas a cow and your sister's a heifer!"

"Hey horse, if your face was any longer they could ski jump off it"

"Hey steer, bet you'd like to jump that fence, but you don't have the balls"

That's how I usually put down livestock.

[happy honker]

Originally Posted by Dean2

I put down Livestock the same way I do put down everything else, Call them filthy names, cast aspersions on their ancestry, disrespect their mothers and their linage, and taunt them relentlessly if they are too fat, too skinny, too short or too tall. Can't think of a better way personally without resorting to physical violence.

Merry Christmas.

Ha! beat me to it!

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by Eagle Trapper

This is the little beauty I picked up specifically for mobile killing. Good force without over penetration, repeating incase something goes awry, mag fed to aid in quick unloading on farm, stainless and synthetic because of the inevitable blood rain and manure. 30 carbine was going to be my second choice if I was unable to find one of these but bashaw had one.

I've seen 357 mag not be enough to finish a larger steer. Esp the white ones. Those were a curse word when I was killing mobile. 44 mag seemed to work perfectly for 800 lbs-1800 lbs. First shot completely dead. No eye response to poking in the eye.

Worked perfect for front shots, side of the neck shots, and neck breakers from behind or high angle behind shots.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by trapperdodge

The most effective killing area is the axis where the spinal cord, brain and artery converge. It's a side shot and lethal.

That can be done from the front, as many have said, and from the side as well... From the side, all you really have to do is hit the spine one vertebrae behind the skull to interrupt that process in the body. With the 44 mag at least, the force of the bullet hitting to bone was enough to break the back of the skull to severe the spinal cord.

One other shot I would do with cattle that would give the the back end treatment was to shoot the hardened part of the top of the head from the back. This resulted in instant kills from a neck that was broken from elongation. But there was about 2 sq inches to shoot it from. The 44 mag never fully penetrated that part of the skull when I shot it. The slug would be found in the bone. It stretched the neck out good, and one slice would take the head off...

[Smokinyotes]

I usually pour a little grain in the trough and whack them with the 22 mag. I haven’t ever had one go any place but straight down.

[RZR]

A .22 right to the forehead. It’s cheap and easy.

[260 Rem]

.22 LR back in the good old days ... now buddy uses 41 Magnum Carbine which is deadly in the corral where shots can be 25M.
Will never forget the day we went to help a neighbor butcher an Angus steer. All he had was 22 shorts, it dropped then up and through a fence into his mostly bush quarter where he had another 50 head. We chased those wild angus around that quarter all day. Finally landed him the next morning with a 25-35.

[vcmm]

You want to hit the brain stem(apricot) for all you snipers. Side shot aim for the Atlas joint.

[El Carnicero]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Have only seen it done with a .22, but isn’t there a bolt gun that you can hold up to the forehead?

You are speaking of a captive-bolt gun.
They are expensive. Some vets will have them to use in some cases.

At the plants we use .22 cal. Or a 410. Both directly at the head. Make an X between the horns and the eyes and hit the center if it and it will go down without much fight. Bigger animals you might want to skip the .22 completely and just go for the 410

[220 Swift]

Originally Posted by Diesel_wiesel

when I was growing up my father couldn't kill an animal of any type
so he hired a butcher guy to come out and do the killing and butchering for us,
this guy would only use the broad side of an axe
he would stand there , both hands over his head with the axe ,and hit them
down they went deader then a door nail he showed me one time what it would do, he skinned out the head of a big steer and he grabbed each side of the skinned out skull and literally with no effort pulled the skull in two parts, he said it didn't take much power just hit them in the right spot and a basic ball pin hammer would do the same thing , he showed me the brain how badly hemorrhaged it was just from a thump with the axe
so the next year when he came out I asked if could try killing the rotten dirty fence crawling steer (cuz I had a hate on for that particular animal) so he just marked it where I should hit it and sure enough , I hit that ugly steer and it died right there on its feet dropped like a ton of bricks,
after that I could never understand how people could justify even using a gun when they killed a beef
hogs just a 22, killed a horse that had broken its leg the same way once as well

the back of the Axe with two hands overhead, has a certain sound that i dont think i will ever forget. Dropped them as mentioned above. My dad and uncle did this on a few calves that i remember.

i myself have used a 7.62x39 on an older cow.

used a 303 on an old horse.

308 on an old bull.


All of the calibers above dropped them instantly. Remember the imaginary X with the eyes and ears as mentioned above. I put another through the vitals to help them bleed out, when they were down.

.22LR on pigs is what we did. there was some that had issues and needed a couple shots.



.

[tikka250]

i have used
357
38spc
7.62x39
308
7x57
222
22lr
44mag
223
like OP lots of them are in a feedlot situation ranging in all kinds of size all the way up to large bulls.
i have found that for all but the biggest bulls 357mag with a 158gr cast bullet is the best medicine. fun thing to note is that fmj style bullets are less than ideal as they can sometimes veer off in odd ways inside the animal.
i wont go into the details as to why but sadly sometimes a perfect standing still between the eyes shot is not offered and you need a bullet that can handle those less than perfect situations.

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by 220 Swift

the back of the Axe with two hands overhead, has a certain sound that i dont think i will ever forget. Dropped them as mentioned above. My dad and uncle did this on a few calves that i remember.

i myself have used a 7.62x39 on an older cow.

used a 303 on an old horse.

308 on an old bull.


All of the calibers above dropped them instantly. Remember the imaginary X with the eyes and ears as mentioned above. I put another through the vitals to help them bleed out, when they were down.

.22LR on pigs is what we did. there was some that had issues and needed a couple shots.



.

Yes that sound is difficult to forget. I saw a guy fall off a platform on the back of his head...same sound....same effect. I still hear it.

[Old Dirty Grandpa]

I am the official dispatcher of all animals on my friends farm, including a 33 year old horse, a family pet that was older than their sons, no room for error there. I use a .22 lr for everything, no hollow points, it is mostly about placement and no further than a foot away and never touching. All sweet spots are different on animals so do your homework first, I cannot offer a lot more than this without diagrams but I am sure you will find what you need on the internet. Dont forget eye and ear protection and take your time, a misplaced shot is not an option. Be safe and happy holidays.

[Old Dirty Grandpa]

I am the official dispatcher of all animals on my friends farm, including a 33 year old horse, a family pet that was older than their sons, no room for error there. I use a .22 lr for everything, no hollow points, it is mostly about placement and no further than a foot away and never touching. All sweet spots are different on animals so do your homework first, I cannot offer a lot more than this without diagrams but I am sure you will find what you need on the internet. Dont forget eye and ear protection and take your time, a misplaced shot is not an option. Be safe and happy holidays.

[amosfella]

Today, I whacked off my horse that was injured. Decided to keep the meat for dogfood. Used Hornady American Gunner 357 mag 125 gr xtp. It was used in a Winchester 92 carbine.

He entire back of the horses head at the atlas joint (Where the head and the spine connect) was blown to pieces. Both sided of the joint were blown apart. The entire brain was complete mush. This horse did not give much hope to SJWs. She was dead before she hit the ground.

[NCC]

Did you shout her from the front or the side?

I had to put down a mare that had a hole in her guts. I shot her in the forehead and she was also dead when she hit the ground but she lurched ahead and would have landed on me if I didn’t have her halter tied to the fence.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by NCC

Did you shout her from the front or the side?

I had to put down a mare that had a hole in her guts. I shot her in the forehead and she was also dead when she hit the ground but she lurched ahead and would have landed on me if I didn’t have her halter tied to the fence.

Front. Best shot she offered.