I live on a 200 acre farm with horses.

They have a captive bolt gun the vet uses.

This thread blows me away in 2026. I must be getting soft.

Kind of interesting the resistance to euthanizing a horse with a firearm on a gun forum. A .22 rifle is adequate and humane if used properly.

I guess it all comes down to what folks want to do. Our large animal vet first sedates, then uses the pink juice. Neither the docs there will use a firearm for horses, cattle, goats, or sheep.

I used a p229 with a 22lr conversion kit right between the eyes on a goat once. Didn’t work and I would not do it that way again. Perhaps a larger caliber behind the ear would work better. I’m not particularly interested in trying again.

ETA: To be fair, with 20:20 hindsight shooting an animal in the forehead with 22lr and expecting it to work when the animals bash their foreheads into each other for sport was kinda stupid.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
This thread blows me away in 2026. I must be getting soft.

Me too. I think that a sedation and proper injection might be the answer.

Its hard to understand some of these posts. I have a horse farm (with a few odd other things like goats).
I would never pick euthanasia by firearm as my primary choice. These are animals I know as individuals and love. We call the vet and normally they respond in a reasonable time and we use injectable drugs following sedation.
But there are circumstances where that simply cannot or will not work. They can't get there in a reasonable time due to a natural disaster or weather situation or the animal is suffering in a tramatic way and you are left to use your other options. Letting an animal suffering badly while waiting a day or more for the vet would be wrong. The issue of caliber has been studied and of things most of us might have around from least to most effective you get .223, slug, 9mm or .45 (the same practically) and then .22lr.
Me personally I prefer a rifle rather than a pistol (independent of caliber) not for any ballistics advantage but it gives you the option to be a bit further away from what may be a dangerous situation.
Slosig you shoot goats with horn from a higher angle to avoid the poll.
If you need to euthanise an animal by firearm and you have access to the internet you can find the recommended spots fairly easily. In a crisis whatever you have is likely better than doing nothing.
Edited to add, for a vet I would get a captive bolt gun as my backup method. But whatever you are carrying for your self defense will get the job done as well.

I’ve had to euthanize a cow with a broken front leg on a remote ranch. A .357 magnum bullet is effective if placed according to Horsedoc’s instructions.

My uncles have killed many a cow with A .22 behind the ear. My
Dad shot one between the eyes with a .40sw and it didn’t work.

A friend has a mini ranch, raises pigs, lamb, goats etc. She has used 22LR, but says it is not reliable on hogs.

I was there once, dispatched a 250 lb. hog with my 9mm. One shot of hollow point between the eyes, and up 2"-3". Angled the shot perpendicular to the skull surface. It was instant lights out.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
This thread blows me away in 2026. I must be getting soft.

No. We use guns on our enemies, or to hunt for food. Not on our friends unless it's extreme and unavoidable. Don't forget the reaction we all shared when Kristi Noem said she shot a dog for some lame reason.

A couple years ago, a Vet misdiagnosed my cat, said something like, "all animals occasionally have bloody, dark stool" and sent me home with her. A couple hours after the clinic closed, she collapsed in agony and I held her until she died at 6:15 the next morning.

I couldn't bring myself to use a gun, as much as I wanted to end her misery.

Horses are, for the most part, pets. Livestock is a completely different situation, and I didn't hesitate to euthanize injured or ailing livestock when I had to.

I fully understand euthanasia with a firearm - worked cattle plenty of times while carrying a 45. (Mostly for pigs, but also if forced to kill a steer, etc.)

But, it’s one of those things where I’d use it, if I had to in the middle of a ranch/to get an animal off someone - but I’m not crazy about being in a corral while shooting a suffering animal.

I know injection won’t always work/sometimes the blood pressure is too low/etc.

But, if it’s my profession, it seems like a captive bolt gun is worth the expense.

Apparently, it’s bird shot. Makes sense at very close ranges I guess

https://vetmed.iastate.edu/vdp...rating-captive-bolt/

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
I would expect a large animal vet to keep euthanasia medicines in syringes for her patients and not have to shoot animals.

^^^This^^^

Why would a trained Vet need to use a gun to put a horse down instead of having the appropriate drugs available???? I could see using a gun for a rabid animal but not a horse that just needs to be euthanized.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
The US Army Calvary used .45 caliber pistols.

Yep. It was a specific design criteria for the trials that resulted in the adoption of the Single Action Army that the new round for the cavalry pistol needed to be able to put down a horse.

As to why it isn't as simple as it seems to use drugs all the time, from the article I linked on page 1:

"In recent years authorities have tightened restrictions on the disposal of equine carcasses euthanized with the barbiturate pentobarbital. Concerns include groundwater contamination, soil contamination, pet food contamination at rendering facilities, and poisoning of scavenging wildlife or domestic animals. Consequently, veterinarians need alternative options for euthanizing horses."

Particulary when you have to use a quantity of a drug sufficient "to kill a horse"

quote:

Why would a trained Vet need to use a gun to put a horse down instead of having the appropriate drugs available????

You are now stretching my personal practical real world knowledge, but sometimes for various reasons I understand they do not work. I fully get the idea of a plan b for anything in life. And try to live that way myself.

Man… hurts to even think about this. I’m a softy, but I understand this discussion needs to be had at times. I would much prefer the injection method as it seems much more ethical and humane. On a side note, how do you dispose of a 1k plus dead animal ?

Me personally I have buried mine. But options are cremation and composting.
To the post above there are in my area 55 pages of regulations on burial of a chemically euthanized horse and there are 0 pages for one shot with a gun or captive bolt.
However, I never use that as a reason to not choose the best possible method under the circumstances for the horse.
I want all my horses to die happy of old age in their sleep. But sometimes it doesn't work that way.
PS this topic is the one part of owning animals that I dread more than any other aspect.

9mm is very quick and effective when applied properly. Shot placement is key.

Dad was a vet. I recall for canine, "euthanasia solution" was given by the pound. Don't know if the same product would be used on horse. I never liked holding the animal for the euthanasia injection. The sudden going limp is heart wrenching