The MSM coverage of this Quebec cow killing has focused on its necessity, or lack thereof. “Police officers who shot two cows that escaped on their way to the slaughterhouse say they had to kill them because they were a threat to the public,” the AP reports. “Gatineau police spokesman Pierre Lanthier said Monday the cows charged police. Lanthier says it occurred near a primary school and says the cows could have killed a child.” For our purposes, set aside the idea of the cops waiting for a shotgun or rifle (as they did) and notice how many shots were required to send Elmer to the great meat processing factory in the sky. Of course, there’s a few key differences between a bovine that’s [temporarily] escaped from the slaughterhouse and Mr. Bad Guy. For one thing, bad guys are way harder to shoot . . .
They’re smaller and move more quickly. They’re more agile and [generally] possess more intellectual ability. They jump out at you. They carry weapons. To stop a rogue human from attacking, you really need to be on top of your game. You have to shoot them effectively. And that means slowly.
As I’ve mentioned before, adrenalin has a major impact on cognition. For one thing, your perception of time slows down. You’re moving a lot faster than you think you are. If you slow down, take your time and focus on the front sight, you’ll still shoot quickly. But you’ll be far more accurate.
Given “stray” bullets’ potential for costly collateral damage, given the advantages of shooting the perp where it hurts, you can’t have enough accuracy, really. When push comes to shove, you want to worship at the altar of center mass. And here’s the kicker: you don’t need a lot of shots on target to win a gunfight. Because all you really need to do is slow the bastard(s) down.
Remember Ralph’s Rule: when you’re in trouble, leave as soon as possible. One well-placed hit on a person trying to kill or maim you and/or yours can be incredibly discouraging—for him (her, them). It may give you time to leave, when possible.
Caveats? Lots. There’s no guarantee of anything in an armed self-defense situation. But it’s certainly true that accuracy is your friend. For the greatest possible accuracy in a life-or-death situation, follow Bart Simpson’s sage advice: don’t have a cow, man.
That was incompetant and sicking on many levels. The animal was not charging… it was going away from the “officer” when he opened fire. I wonder if he had a clear picture of what was behind the steer? Ha. Of the rounds that hit the animal, some hit in the rear haunch — the steer was favoring two opposing legs when it disappeared from sight. How bout heart lung area? How bout the brain? Our local butcher kills these animals on sight with a .22mag. One shot, one animal. I wonder if that “officer” had his eyes closed when he pulled the trigger. It looked like one of his fellows had to honk his horn to keep him from shooting the squad car.
You can’t tell from the video if the animal needed killing — you can’t let it continue if there is a path to a high speed roadway. Judging by the rest of the sickening display, my guess is no.
Poor judgement, poor execution….. just plain poor. Just try to remember Quebec wants to leave Canada and most of Western Canada (where I am) don’t really mind if they go. And they can keep their bullet proof rabid zombie cows.
I will admit I had the kill a sheep with a 380 about 12 or so years ago. My cousin kept a flock of about 30 on our farm & one day one went , for lack of a better word, nuts. It kept charing my grandmother , who was in her 80′s, over& over. No clue ask to why. We did everything to back down this wacko sheep but nothing worked. It knocked my grandmother down & it took 3 of us to get it off her. We pulled it off & it came right back at her. I am going on memory but I think it took 10 shots to kill it. Not something I wanted to do but had to. It was not pretty but I was not sure where to shoot then after a couple shots I focused on the head
I am not sure what the police above were thinking but one would assume they had access to greater firepower than a handgun. My cousin now always has a slug gun or a 30-30 with him while working his animals ( sheep & cattle) but it is more based on the feral pig threat than a rouge cow or sheep.
Good grief that was moronic.
Yes it was a cow, yes it was going to slaughter, but c’mon. That’s now how you “capture” a stray animal that’s probably scared out of it’s mind, or course it’s going to “charge” you when you box it in.
In 10 minutes could probably find a dozen or so highschool kids in 4h that could handle the situation better than these “professionals” and I don’t live in a very rural area.
In the good old days of my childhood in rural Nebraska, the local custom butcher shot fat cattle right out of the feedlot with a .22 rimfire. Just draw a line from each ear to the opposite eye. Where the lines cross is the sweet spot. Anywhere else and a .22, or 9mm pistol bullet, is just going to annoy something that size.
The gal said it best….’That’s pretty effed up’. When my Dad was little he worked in a slaughterhouse. He had a single shot .22 short and when hit just like Mr. Ortmann described every cow went down like a sack of taters with no suffering. Maiming that cow as they did was sick and completely unnecessary.
A few years back, I pulled over a Mississippi State Trooper and sent him off to deal with a herd of black angus cattle wandering along the highway.
Yep well that’s how the swat team breaking and entering a house handle the local Collie or Lab, or Beagle.
Pretty good argument for a .30 cal patrol rifle.
That was horrid. Clearly the cop had no experience with killing a large animal – not hunting much less ranch/slaughterhouse culling.
But, in his defense, a head shot might also have proved problematic. Sure a .22 or .22 mag will reliably penetrate the skull on a clean frontal shot. But a .22 mag is a penetrating machine compared to a jacketed hollowpoint 9mm antipersonnel round, which is much more likely to deflect and fail to penetrate the heavy bone. I’ve seen .44 mag hollowpoints that have failed to penetrate/been deflected by the gristle plate of a Florida wild hog.
While not as quick, given a similar situation I would have opted for a rapid double or triple into the top of the heart/lungs fired broadside. The animal would have been down within a minute.
Apparently, Me, Myself, and Irene was a required training film for these folks.
Additionally, goats drop dead when you hit them in the noggin with a 55 gr FMJ .223. You’re absolutely correct, shot placement is everything.