The Gun Counter

A neighbor raises pit bulls. At first, he didn't even confine them. After a few incidences, and the intercession of the authorities, he now does. Even so, one will occasionally escape and roam the streets.

The first time, I was walking with my son who, at that time, was 8 years old. I had a hiking/walking pole with me. The dog confronted us and I fended it off with the pole long enough for my son to get away and return home to call 911. He did exactly as I asked and I was very proud of him. Once he was in the clear, I then let the dog have the pole and was up a nearby tree when the cops arrived.

The next time, I was jogging alone. No pole and a territorial dog that wanted a chunk of my ass. I had a little Taurus .22 in my pocket. I pulled the pistol and emptied the clip right between the mutt's eyes. Dead doggy, which is unfortunate, but alive and healthy me, which isn't.

I no longer have that mouse gun and would like to acquire another for the same purpose. A walking/jogging pistol to protect against predators.

My Makarov is just too big and heavy to take with me. Ditto for my .38 special, so I'm thinking another .22 or possibly a .32. I have a .25 I inherited from my uncle, but I know it's not a great caliber, even for the purpose for which I would use it. So, once again, I'm thinking .22 or .32.

What do you suggest? I know some of you will suggest a similarly sized .380, but if it recoils more than a .22 or .32, I'm not interested. I don't need a mousegun suitable for repelling ze Chermans, just something that will put a wild dog down, if needed. I'd like to keep the cost at $300 or less. Thanks in advance, for your advice.

Fire Away!

According to the USPS, pepper spray is supposed to shut a dog down v. quickly - a gun has to get the brain, or be quite powerful, as canines are remarkably tough - esp. once attacking.

Do you think I was just lucky or is the U.S.P.S. full of S.H.I.T?

I think you hit the brain - between the eyes does that on most animals. I don't think the USPS is full of it, on that matter - given that a canine's primary sense is smell (more of their brain dedicated to that, than to eye sight, hearing, etc) I would think a sudden, powerful smell could be very disorienting.

CC has mentioned his story about emptying a magazine of silvertip 9MM into a dog, then seeing it run off. Dogs are hard to kill w. body shots.

Yeah, I see your point. It was facing me and it wasn't hard to hit the target from 15 feet away. I might not be so lucky next time. Probably best to carry a couple of options.

The NAA mini-revolver in .22 mag. is an option. It's stainless so you can sweat all over it and it packs a bit of a punch for its size. Five rounds, single action.

1991A1 wrote:The NAA mini-revolver in .22 mag. is an option. It's stainless so you can sweat all over it and it packs a bit of a punch for its size. Five rounds, single action.

YMMV, but I can't hit shit with a NAA mini.

MMDV When I got mine I thought "I bet I can't hit shit with that, but it's cool." After shooting it a fair amount I'm surprised by how well I CAN shoot it.

I can't say that my P3AT (.380) recoils any more than a 32...but bullet displacement is no replacement for shot placement when it comes to stopping an attack.

MY suggestion is one of the airweight 38s loaded with 38+p. Not cheap though.

A P3AT or one of the new PF-9s might do the trick as well. Both are under $350.


HTRN