Was attacked today in my Neighborhood by a Pit Bull and had to shoot it!

[Ascension]

Right around the corner from my home I was walking my dog and out of no where a big Pit bull runs up and grabbed my dog on the leash!  I was SCREAMING at the thing  but it was absolutely fixated on killing my dog and when it grabbed my mutt by the neck I dropped it before it could bite down. I was carrying a Taurus .380 loaded with Corebond +P 95 grain JHP but the first round did not seem to faze the big bull took a second round to stop the thing!! Put both rounds in the area just behind the shoulder and am still in disbelief that the first round did nothing to stop the attack!! Me and my dog both were shaken but survived simply because I was carrying did not panic and could place my shots well. Been a rough day and I though I would vent a little over here.

[DM1906]

I'm glad to hear it ended well, all things considered.

The "but the first round did not seem to faze the big bull" isn't uncommon.  There's something about some breeds of dogs (and other animals, too).  I took a pit/shar-pei mix with 3 rounds of .357M, 1 head and 2 shoulder.  That thing just didn't quit until the shoulder shots destroyed its frame so it couldn't support itself.  The final head shot put the animal out of its misery.  This was on duty, during a felony warranty service.  The dog's owner was very upset (his dog was just killed), but didn't offer any resistance while being cuffed and stuffed.  He later apologized to me for the dog attack.  I returned the apology for destroying his dog (animal control would have taken it, anyway).  His reply, "it was my fault, I shouldn't have let him out.  I was gonna run or fight, but that took the fight out of me."  He knew I was coming, and let the dog out.  I don't know if it was the loss of his dog, or hearing three .357M shots at the front door that pulled his plug.

[Ascension]

I'm glad to hear it ended well, all things considered.

The "but the first round did not seem to faze the big bull" isn't uncommon.  There's something about some breeds of dogs (and other animals, too).  I took a pit/shar-pei mix with 3 rounds of .357M, 1 head and 2 shoulder.  That thing just didn't quit until the shoulder shots destroyed its frame so it couldn't support itself.  The final head shot put the animal out of its misery. 

Thanks for that as the first round doing almost nothing to stop the attack really freaked me out. It did make the pit release my dogs neck as it had just grabbed my dog by the entire neck and was about to kill him. As soon as I hit him he loosened the grip on the neck just enough for my dog to get loose then went right at him again. It was so fixated on the kill that the first shot didn't seem to faze it. I am convinced that here had I not been armed today on that walk and well trained with my weapon my dog would been dead now and I would have been badly bitten!!
Still killing the other dog was a hard sad thing but had no choice!

[Patriot]

Glad to hear you are OK. These things sometimes end badly. I hate pit bulls. They can't be trusted.

You got real lucky with that particular round. I don't know if I would trust my life with a .380. Obviously since I run this website I'm a big 10mm guy. I stand by it's performance because it's field tested. I have hunted deer with it. Bear. I even dropped a cougar with a single shot of 10mm 175 gr Silvertip. I have no doubt a pit bull wouldn't need a second shot with a 10mm.

[Intercooler]

   This is my Sister In-Laws foot which also had a broken bone. She had other damage done too keeping her out of work for a couple of months and over 100 stitches. Oddly this is the second biting by the Pit. The first was her Brother (the owner) who got it right in the crotch and he lost a testicle over it. If it were my Dog I know where it would have been after the first time!

[Ascension]

Glad to hear you are OK. These things sometimes end badly. I hate pit bulls. They can't be trusted.

You got real lucky with that particular round. I don't know if I would trust my life with a .380. Obviously since I run this website I'm a big 10mm guy. I stand by it's performance because it's field tested. I have hunted deer with it. Bear. I even dropped a cougar with a single shot of 10mm 175 Win Silvertip. I have no doubt a pit bull wouldn't need a second shot with a 10mm.

I have no doubt that if I had been carrying my Glock 29 loaded with the 165 grain Underwoods I often carry while walking my Dog one round would have stopped the attack cold.
Luck had nothing to do with the stop training on my weapon did. In a combat situation shooting one handed at a moving target at around 15 feet I put the only 2 rounds fired into a solid kill zone with a pocket sized .380. Had I not spent time on the range with that particular Pistol things could have turned out much differently. On the first round I had my dog on the end of a 15 foot leash was being pulled and the pit had just grabbed his whole neck in it's mouth. That was not an easy shot to make under duress!

[Intercooler]

What happens after something like this? Do you call the Police, SPCA, etc...? Who cleans up the area and do they try to locate the owner or do some kind of investigation?

[4949shooter]

Two of my friends from work went to serve a warrant on a guy at his residence. The guy "accidentally" let his pit bull out. The dog charged the one guy who let two rounds of 9mm fly at it (124 grain Gold dot). I can't remember if he hit it but the pit missed him and turned and charged again. He hit it on the second charge and the pitbull took off. Animal control found it the next day and was able to bring it to the pound where it was euthanized. My buddy has a picture of the thing at the pound before they put it down. It had a 9mm hole underneath its left eye. It looked like it was just having a bad day, laying there upright.

They are tough, nasty animals.

[4949shooter]

What happens after something like this? Do you call the Police, SPCA, etc...? Who cleans up the area and do they try to locate the owner or do some kind of investigation?

I don't know what happened in Ascension's case, but the police as well as animal control normal would come out. Animal control will clean up the scene. Either they or the police will notify the owner, if the owner can be located.

[4949shooter]

Glad to hear you are OK. These things sometimes end badly. I hate pit bulls. They can't be trusted.

You got real lucky with that particular round. I don't know if I would trust my life with a .380. Obviously since I run this website I'm a big 10mm guy. I stand by it's performance because it's field tested. I have hunted deer with it. Bear. I even dropped a cougar with a single shot of 10mm  175 gr Silvertip. I have no doubt a pit bull wouldn't need a second shot with a 10mm.

Reaper, which load did you use on bear?

I carry a G20 as a backup when I am hunting predator's at night, and I have called in a lot of bear while doing so.

[Intercooler]

   Our gun laws here pretty much suck but we have a leash law. If it isn't attacking you I wonder if you could be put on the hot seat for shooting it here? I know on your own property you can but in public I don't know. Thankfully I haven't had anything happen like that!

[uz2bUSMC]

Right around the corner from my home I was walking my dog and out of no where a big Pit bull runs up and grabbed my dog on the leash!  I was SCREAMING at the thing  but it was absolutely fixated on killing my dog and when it grabbed my mutt by the neck I dropped it before it could bite down. I was carrying a Taurus .380 loaded with Corebond +P 95 grain JHP but the first round did not seem to faze the big bull took a second round to stop the thing!! Put both rounds in the area just behind the shoulder and am still in disbelief that the first round did nothing to stop the attack!! Me and my dog both were shaken but survived simply because I was carrying did not panic and could place my shots well. Been a rough day and I though I would vent a little over here.

Glad you and your pup made it out ok. Hopefully your 10mm gets more carry time now, there are bad guys out there that have the same drive as a pit bull.

[Patriot]

Glad to hear you are OK. These things sometimes end badly. I hate pit bulls. They can't be trusted.

You got real lucky with that particular round. I don't know if I would trust my life with a .380. Obviously since I run this website I'm a big 10mm guy. I stand by it's performance because it's field tested. I have hunted deer with it. Bear. I even dropped a cougar with a single shot of 10mm  175 gr Silvertip. I have no doubt a pit bull wouldn't need a second shot with a 10mm.

Reaper, which load did you use on bear?

I carry a G20 as a backup when I am hunting predator's at night, and I have called in a lot of bear while doing so.

I have successfully hunted two bears with 10mm, the first one in 2006 with a 200 gr LFN hand load my friend put together with Longshot powder, unsure of the powder charge.

The second was 2009 with a 180 FMJ, which was my own reload with 7.4 gr Unique. I went up to do some plinking and had my bear tag on me and watched this bear about 40 yards up the hill. I walked to within 30 yards and took my shot. He ran about 40 yards and turned around to look at me. I thought I had missed. Then he just fell over. Both were with a full size Witness.

[Ascension]

What happens after something like this? Do you call the Police, SPCA, etc...? Who cleans up the area and do they try to locate the owner or do some kind of investigation?

I called 911 and filed a full police report.
Cops looked at my permit ran the SN on the Taurus and then took a full report. They gave me my permit and pistol back and sent me on my way. However the owner was a City Attorney for Birmingham and I am a current candidate for a City Council seat here so question will be what comes next. The law here is clear  as Alabama is a castle doctrine State I was legally allowed to defend myself in that situation. Also we have a leash law my dog was on a leash the Pit was running loose. Normally it would be a non issue here but with the politics involved ??

[4949shooter]

[q

The second was 2009 with a 180 FMJ, which was my own reload with 7.4 gr Unique. I went up to do some plinking and had my bear tag on me and watched this bear about 40 yards up the hill. I walked to within 30 yards and took my shot. He ran about 40 yards and turned around to look at me. I thought I had missed. Then he just fell over. Both were with a full size Witness.

I like a solid lead or fmj bullet for bear. Since my G20 is registered as a back up / off duty gun with my agency, I have to carry jacketed hollow points, even in the woods unfortunately.