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What's The Best Caliber for Cows ???

Zappa

Zappa

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Cow shot 24 times by police: Incident under review

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For euthanasia by firearm, operators are advised to never place the muzzle of the gun against the cow’s head. "Proper placement of the bullet is essential and best achieved by holding the firearm, when possible, within 2' to 3' of the intended target," Shearer says.

The AVMA committee advocates the use of solid-point bullets. "Hollow-point bullets are designed to fragment on impact and may not penetrate the skull, thus limiting brain destruction," Shearer adds.

If a penetrating captive bolt is used to euthanize a dairy cow, make sure it’s done properly, with good restraint of the animal’s head. Unlike a firearm, the muzzle of a captive bolt gun must be held flush with the skull. Powder-activated guns are available in 9 mm, .22 and .25 calibers.
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https://www.agweb.com/article/euthanasia_done_right
 
SERE said:
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A friend of mine worked at a slaughterhouse in Vermont back in the mid 70's, he said they used one of those, but without the scuba tank because it had an air hose to a stationary compressor. He himself didn't do the killing, they had one guy who he described as a "psycho" that did that, and really seemed to enjoy it too. Before the pneumatic bolt gun, he used a .22 revolver, but the USDA ended that practice due to the possibility of lead contamination. He told me one day the compressor broke down so this guy pulled out a ball peen hammer and used that instead. He said that the pneumatic gun doesn't necessarily kill the animal, but does knock them out long enough to wrap a chain around its hind leg and hoist the animal up in the air, so the next guy can cut the animals throat and let it bleed out.
 
Zappa said:
A friend of mine worked at a slaughterhouse in Vermont back in the mid 70's, he said they used one of those, but without the scuba tank because it had an air hose to a stationary compressor. He himself didn't do the killing, they had one guy who he described as a "psycho" that did that, and really seemed to enjoy it too. Before the pneumatic bolt gun, he used a .22 revolver, but the USDA ended that practice due to the possibility of lead contamination. He told me one day the compressor broke down so this guy pulled out a ball peen hammer and used that instead. He said that the pneumatic gun doesn't necessarily kill the animal, but does knock them out long enough to wrap a chain around its leg and hoist the animal up in the air, so the next guy can cut the animals throat and let it bleed out.
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Hey, he found a job he loved. As long as he maintained good work-life separation and didn't bring his work duties home.
 
Zappa said:
A friend of mine worked at a slaughterhouse in Vermont back in the mid 70's, he said they used one of those, but without the scuba tank because it had an air hose to a stationary compressor. He himself didn't do the killing, they had one guy who he described as a "psycho" that did that, and really seemed to enjoy it too. Before the pneumatic bolt gun, he used a .22 revolver, but the USDA ended that practice due to the possibility of lead contamination. He told me one day the compressor broke down so this guy pulled out a ball peen hammer and used that instead. He said that the pneumatic gun doesn't necessarily kill the animal, but does knock them out long enough to wrap a chain around its hind leg and hoist the animal up in the air, so the next guy can cut the animals throat and let it bleed out.
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Well, the killing implement is called a captive-bold stunner. I have some extra-large Hilti-type blank cartridges for a powder-actuated one. One of the most disturbing scenes in a movie with one of those is in Cloud Atlas (no cow involved).
 
I have a pretty horrific family story about putting down a cow. My uncle has been raising and slaughtering his own cattle for a long time now. He usually has 2 on his property. It's the only beef he eats. My cousin wanted to learn how to process a cow from his dad and asked if he could use one of his guns to kill the cow then help him butcher it. My uncle agreed....what could possibly go wrong right? My cousin brought his storm 9mm carbine to do the job. My uncle had always used his 30-30 Winchester 94.....put a bucket of grain near the fence on the inside and when "Bessie" comes over and puts her head down in the bucket he would stand on a fence rail and have a perfect downward head shot into the cows brain worked perfectly for decades. My cousin.....with his storm 9mm......he stands outside the fence and aims between the cows eyes..... Shot didn't do anything except piss the cow off! Now my uncle has a raging pissed off cow running around the enclosure and my cousin is standing there bewildered not knowing what to do next. My uncle ran in the house to get the 30-30 and ends up having to put three rounds through her broadside to finish the job (because she was pissed off and running around the enclosure he couldn't get a head shot on her). He was absolutely pissed.....mostly at himself for allowing it to happen. He is not a "gun guy" and didn't realize that a 9mm carbine wasn't enough gun to go through the skull at a distance or he wouldn't have let my cousin do it that way.....his only fire arms are "farm guns".....the Winchester and an old single shot 12 gauge is all he had used for decades. Anyway.....when they got around to figuring out what happened with the 9mm the fmj bullet had hit her between the eyes but the bullet slid along the skull upward and exited the skin on the top of her head.

Use the right tool for the job and stick to what always worked was the lesson learned that day. A 9mm carbine is not enough gun to cleanly put down a beef cow at a distance. If he had done the technique with the bucket of grain and got close to the cows head it probably would have worked but my cousin wanted to show off and shoot it between the eyes from 30 yards away. 🙄
 
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If you have to ask, the answer is ALWAYS 50 cal. Either BMG or Beowulf. Personally, 50 BMG would win. Then again, the cow wouldn't have a head after that shot. ;)
 
C. Stockwell said:
Cows kill around twenty people per year:

You're more likely to be killed by a dog or cow in the US, than a shark or crocodile. Here's where the 11 deadliest animals live.

One animal I would not want to piss off is a cow.
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Wow...I never would have guessed. Although, I'm assuming part of the reason for that list is proximity. Humans purposefully go near dogs and cows and avoid sharks and crocodiles, so the potential for incident is probably exponentially higher in the former.
 
ReluctantDecoy said:
Wow...I never would have guessed. Although, I'm assuming part of the reason for that list is proximity. Humans purposefully go near dogs and cows and avoid sharks and crocodiles, so the potential for incident is probably exponentially higher in the former.
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Farming is a dangerous profession laced with potential hazards such as being mauled by machinery, being kicked by cows (usually the most common cow-related injury, bare minimum, this knocks the wind out of a human), or suicide. Most common form of death is tractors rolling over and crushing farmers or their employees.

Agriculture 6th most dangerous U.S. occupation
 

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