Well, yet again, I heard the tired old chestnut today. I was on-duty in my small growing residential semi-rural town, and received an animal complaint call. I responded to find a sheepish lady explain that her neighbor's dogs (large chows) had been peeing on her fence and in her garage, and when she had gone to shoo them off, they growled at her intimidatingly, in her own yard. She felt concerned for her safety, and called the cops. (actually she tried to get "animal control," but in our small town, she got a cop. 
) She asked what to do about them, and went on to say "my father told me on the phone that in the old days he just blasted them with rock salt loads out of his shotgun."
Well, I handled the dog issue by going to the neighbors, expressing my concerns, and securing from them a promise to put in an "invisible fence." No problem.
But I was taken aback by the rock salt comment. What amazes me is how often I hear about rock salt as the end-all, cure-all for non-lethal enforcement. But here's the thing: in all of my years in the gun culture, growing up in a cop family and in the country and attending many, many gun shows, hunt camps, shotgun, rifle, and pistol matches, I've never seen a 12ga. rocksalt shell, personally. I'm sure that a few have been loaded up by just opening up a regular shotgun shell, dumping the shot and packing it with rock salt, but I can tell you this, right now: There's a whole lot more rock salt talked about than has ever been seen.
I've had fellas "reminisce" laughingly about having their backsides peppered with rocksalt for trespassing. Ask to see the scars, and they'll tell you that this is beauty of rocksalt: it stings but doesn't do any real damage.
Bull. You take rock salt and throw it at someone with over 1300fps mv, you're going to do some damage, inside of 25 yards. At 15 yards, we're talking lethal damage. Pop someone with it, and the law will hold you just as accountable as if you'd used buckshot. Count on it.
So here's my question: Does anyone here see any merits to it?
And my poll question: Does anyone here have any REAL, PERSONAL experience with rocksalt loads? Tell me about them.
--L.P.
Durn it! "BEEN SHOOT" ? Typo! Silly poll won't let me edit the questions.
) She asked what to do about them, and went on to say "my father told me on the phone that in the old days he just blasted them with rock salt loads out of his shotgun."Well, I handled the dog issue by going to the neighbors, expressing my concerns, and securing from them a promise to put in an "invisible fence." No problem.
But I was taken aback by the rock salt comment. What amazes me is how often I hear about rock salt as the end-all, cure-all for non-lethal enforcement. But here's the thing: in all of my years in the gun culture, growing up in a cop family and in the country and attending many, many gun shows, hunt camps, shotgun, rifle, and pistol matches, I've never seen a 12ga. rocksalt shell, personally. I'm sure that a few have been loaded up by just opening up a regular shotgun shell, dumping the shot and packing it with rock salt, but I can tell you this, right now: There's a whole lot more rock salt talked about than has ever been seen.
I've had fellas "reminisce" laughingly about having their backsides peppered with rocksalt for trespassing. Ask to see the scars, and they'll tell you that this is beauty of rocksalt: it stings but doesn't do any real damage.
Bull. You take rock salt and throw it at someone with over 1300fps mv, you're going to do some damage, inside of 25 yards. At 15 yards, we're talking lethal damage. Pop someone with it, and the law will hold you just as accountable as if you'd used buckshot. Count on it.
So here's my question: Does anyone here see any merits to it?
And my poll question: Does anyone here have any REAL, PERSONAL experience with rocksalt loads? Tell me about them.
--L.P.
Durn it! "BEEN SHOOT" ? Typo! Silly poll won't let me edit the questions.
