This will be controversial, and potentially offensive to people who object to dispatching animals in a less than optimal way. In my defense, I did not expect the results that I observed and will not elect to repeat this process. I had a buck goat and a ram that needed to be culled from our herd.

Generally I use a 12 gauge shotgun with T shot at very close range in the head. Death is instant. I carry a .357 magnum revolver as an EDC defensive weapon with a specific load out: empty resting chamber, 125 gr JHP 1700 fps 802 ftlbs, 180 gr JHP 1500 fps 899 ftlbs, copper tumble upon impact, 2 180 gr 1400 fps 783 ftlbs hard cast. I do this for a variety of reason I won’t explain here, in short I used these bullets to shoot the goat at 30 feet through the chest. I shot the goat five times and thought I missed five times. My autopsy revealed that none of those bullets performed in the expected way with the exception of the hard cast which are included to defeat body armor in a mass shooting scenario. There was practically no tissue damage, no nerve disruption, in fact the goat twitched like they do when the needle is inserted for a vaccine, and kept grazing until blood loss prompted him to lay down and go to sleep. I simply didn’t bring more bullets because I didn’t imagine I would need them.

The lesson here is that for those of you who carry a defensive handgun, let’s hope you never need it, but if you do, know that most bullets will not stop an assailant in an expedient manner. This buck was the size of a large man, 200 pounds with very similar physiology in front of the diaphragm to human beings. The .357 magnum is the most powerful 9mm by a large margin, the cartridges are top of the line hunting rounds. There is lots of talk about penetration, but in defense we shoot to stop the behavior and the energy from the bullet has to be effectively delivered to your target. If it passes through not only will it not be effective, it may strike an unintended target. What are your experiences, and what defensive carry ammunition do you prefer?

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