MidSouth Shooters SupplyLoad DataRotoMetals2Wideners
Inline FabricationRepackboxReloading EverythingLee Precision
Titan Reloading
Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 62

Thread: Packs of Dogs

  1. #1
    Boolit Master ACC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    San Antonio Texas
    Posts
    579

    Packs of Dogs

    Some of you may know that I have a feral dog problem out at my wife's property. I shoot as many as I can due to the fact that we have lost a calf to them.

    But the problem has gotten worse over these last few months. Sunday my wife and I went out to check on things when a pack of 7 dogs with about 8 puppies got a little to close for our liking. I pulled out my rifle and got 2 but the others ran off. I just can't work the bolt as fast as I used to on my Ruger Ranch rifle. Would I be able to do better with a Mini-30? It also is in 7.62X39 so the same cast bullet ammo should work.

    Any better ideas, as I really need some better ones.

    ACC

  2. #2
    Boolit Master



    skeettx's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Amarillo, Texas
    Posts
    4,102
    Why would you be working the bolt on a Ruger Ranch Rifle

    Now a Ruger American Ranch Rifle is a bolt gun

    Get an AR in 223 for dog control
    Last edited by skeettx; 05-12-2020 at 08:59 PM.
    NRA Benefactor 2004 USAF RET 1971-95

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
    Scrounge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    OKC Metro
    Posts
    1,433
    Quote Originally Posted by ACC View Post
    Some of you may know that I have a feral dog problem out at my wife's property. I shoot as many as I can due to the fact that we have lost a calf to them.

    But the problem has gotten worse over these last few months. Sunday my wife and I went out to check on things when a pack of 7 dogs with about 8 puppies got a little to close for our liking. I pulled out my rifle and got 2 but the others ran off. I just can't work the bolt as fast as I used to on my Ruger Ranch rifle. Would I be able to do better with a Mini-30? It also is in 7.62X39 so the same cast bullet ammo should work.

    Any better ideas, as I really need some better ones.

    ACC
    Any magazine-fed semi-auto that you can rapidly re-aim will do. 7.62x39 should have plenty of knock-down and penetration for the job. If you've got a mini-14, you should use it. Maybe a little range time before hand would be good, but you know your skills way better than I do. I'm rusty from not doing a lot shooting, so I'd probably have trouble with it.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master KYCaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Rolling Fork River Valley
    Posts
    2,258
    SKS with 20 round magazine and forward mounted 1X pistol scope or red dot sight.
    Rugged, accurate, cast boolit friendly, quick on target... what's not to like!

    You can thank me later,
    Jerry
    Buzzard's luck!! Can't kill nothin', nothin'll die!!

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Southern Ohio
    Posts
    551
    AR15 with jacketed soft points. 55-65 grains. This isn't the time to worry about cast bullets. Shoot it enough to get confident.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Blackwater, Virginia
    Posts
    710
    I Second the not worrying about cast in a situation like this, (Please pardon me for a moment!) But I have been there & done that. I lost 8 calves due to stray & domestic dogs in a 4-month period. I have 2 newer model stainless Ruger Ranch rifles & they are far more accurate than most of the older ones. I carried an AR-14 When I worked @ Wallens Ridge State Prison & was not near as confident with that rifle as I am with the Ruger. The .223 with a 45 gr bullet & up will smack the p--s out of just about any K-9. Smoke'm & Be Rid of them Discreetly & move on. I tried to meet amends through the law & would have needed a Philly Lawyer to get there. My 2 cents. Jim

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Blackwater, Virginia
    Posts
    710
    WOW should have been AR-15, Do I Look Like an Ignorant Puts.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master reloader28's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    nw wyoming
    Posts
    1,536
    If they are close enough leave the AR in the truck and use a 12 gauge with #4 buck. Less aiming and more chance of hitting something or somethings with each shot

  9. #9
    Banned



    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Kansas
    Posts
    7,068
    Quote Originally Posted by reloader28 View Post
    If they are close enough leave the AR in the truck and use a 12 gauge with #4 buck. Less aiming and more chance of hitting something or somethings with each shot
    Not sure what ranges you're talking about, but I'd generally have to agree that a pump or autoloading shotgun would be the best choice if they're close enough (50 yards or closer).

  10. #10
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Anchorage, AK
    Posts
    1,113
    Good advise above, when it comes to killing, 12 ga #4 - 00 for 0-35/50 yds and an AR carbine with an Aimpoints red dot with a 30 mm (don't get a cheap one with a 20mm, to narrow FOV) obj for tracking moving targets to 200yds.

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
    Dinny's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    189
    Packs of dogs ran amiss all over Iraq in 2003. They were aggressive and quite often gave away our positions. Whenever we'd make contact and break silence we'd lay into the enemy and then the dogs. The M249 SAW did a great job on both. I vote for a light recoiling semi-auto rifle. Chances are you'll be able to make more accurate follow up shots with that than a shotgun loaded with buckshot.

    Thanks, Dinny
    I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.

    Thomas Paine

  12. #12
    Moderator Emeritus


    MrWolf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    NE West Virginia
    Posts
    4,852
    Quote Originally Posted by versa-06 View Post
    I Second the not worrying about cast in a situation like this, (Please pardon me for a moment!) But I have been there & done that. I lost 8 calves due to stray & domestic dogs in a 4-month period. I have 2 newer model stainless Ruger Ranch rifles & they are far more accurate than most of the older ones. I carried an AR-14 When I worked @ Wallens Ridge State Prison & was not near as confident with that rifle as I am with the Ruger. The .223 with a 45 gr bullet & up will smack the p--s out of just about any K-9. Smoke'm & Be Rid of them Discreetly & move on. I tried to meet amends through the law & would have needed a Philly Lawyer to get there. My 2 cents. Jim
    Joe Biden alert! We got an imposter here! AR 14

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
    CastingFool's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Climax, Michigan
    Posts
    2,633
    Quote Originally Posted by MrWolf View Post
    Joe Biden alert! We got an imposter here! AR 14
    With a 100 round clip!

  14. #14
    Boolit Master knifemaker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Mountain area of Northern CA.
    Posts
    927
    I think you would be better off with the mini-30 instead of a shotgun with #4 buckshot. If you have to shoot the dog past 25-30 yards, the buckshot may only wound him and he gets back home and you have a ticked off dog owner that failed to keep his dogs on his property. There is a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture code that allows you to shoot dogs on your property if they are harassing your livestock. The code states you can not be charged with a crime for shooting the dogs and you can not be held civil liable either. Other words no law suit against you.
    In my law enforcement career, I worked a rural area where live stock owners had problems with dog packs and I carried copies of the Agriculture code to hand out to the live stock owners and to dog owners that wanted me to arrest the livestock owner for shooting their dog. Made a lot of the dog owners keep a closer eye on their dogs and keep them at home.
    I retired in 2003, so you should check the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture code sections to be sure that code is still active today.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    NH
    Posts
    3,783
    Make sure your cast loads work the action on the mini-30 or just use any jacketed round they will work.

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Bryson City, NC
    Posts
    333
    When used well anything from a 22 lr to a 458 Win May will kill a dog. What you want is dead right there, not dead sometime.
    Use what will get you the desired result. If I had a Semi auto in 7.62 X39 that would be my go to. Jacketed soft points.
    From what I have it would be my AR, then my 357 Mag lever action, I would pick oneofmy bolt actions last.
    CF
    Vote Independent, vote Republican, vote Democratic, just don’t vote Incumbent!
    I believe in the Bible, Freedom, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and personal responsibility. My government believes I am narrow minded, intolerant and dangerous.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master gpidaho's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Beautiful Idaho
    Posts
    2,644
    My AR 300 Blackout feeds the Noe 314-129-sp or the Noe 311 -214-FN-CA5 just fine (powder coated and sized .310) The 129gr. loaded over 17gr. LilGun pretty much mimics 7.62X39.. It would do a number on feral dogs. If I owned one, I would think the Mini 30 would be excellent for that sort of work. Gp

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy gumbo333's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    NE by the Mighty Mo
    Posts
    409
    I take it that you do have a bolt rifle in 7.62 x 39 and a Ruger mini-30 in 7.62 x 39. Lots of loaded ammo in 7.62x 39 is dirt cheap, get some and practice with that mini 30. What sight do you have?
    Never trade luck for skill.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
    am44mag's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    NE Texas/SE Oklahoma
    Posts
    757
    Quote Originally Posted by ACC View Post
    Some of you may know that I have a feral dog problem out at my wife's property. I shoot as many as I can due to the fact that we have lost a calf to them.

    But the problem has gotten worse over these last few months. Sunday my wife and I went out to check on things when a pack of 7 dogs with about 8 puppies got a little to close for our liking. I pulled out my rifle and got 2 but the others ran off. I just can't work the bolt as fast as I used to on my Ruger Ranch rifle. Would I be able to do better with a Mini-30? It also is in 7.62X39 so the same cast bullet ammo should work.

    Any better ideas, as I really need some better ones.

    ACC
    I do not have experience with the Mini 30, but I have read that the magazines for those aren't the best. That may be an issue you want to look into before buying one. If you are dead set on 7.62x39, an AK or SKS would be good. You can also get an AR in it, PSA sells both standard ARs and hybrid ARs that use AK mags. With the standard, you'll want to buy some C products 7.62x39 mags to get the gun to run reliably, and you will want to dial the gas system in so that you don't destroy the bolt (7.62x39 ARs are notorious about breaking bolts). A well made bolt (I like toolcraft) with either an H2 or H3 buffer will usually solve that issue. An adjustable gas block is good too. You want that bolt to cycle as gently as possible, but still be completely reliable. I built an AR pistol in 7.62x39, and it's a wonderful little gun.

    A standard AR in 5.56 would probably serve you just as well. 300 Blackout would be good too, and would be far better for cast than a 5.56. The only reason I don't have one is because a 300 blackout uses the same bolt and mags as a 5.56, and will chamber and fire in a 5.56 with not so good results. I'd rather not even create a situation where a mix up like that is possible, so that's why I went with 7.62x39. I love the round, enough that I want to build a rifle in it now.
    Last edited by am44mag; 05-13-2020 at 04:44 PM.
    ______________________________________________
    Aaron

  20. #20
    Boolit Master Dapaki's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Minne-Snow-Ta!
    Posts
    600
    I like the 7.62x39 for taking the dogs down. WOLF soft points expand OK, drop them where they stand. Most definitely use a semi auto with a 30 round magazine and lead them by a full body length as most dogs can do 25 mph at full speed.

    Better yet, bait them and have a couple buddies you trust with a gun help you out and call the shots.

Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check