Thank you, Cecil. What you wrote is what I feared. I have always used a
mallet before butchering rabbits and know that others ring their necks. I
will surely never attempt to simply bleed an animal to death again. It's a
shame I have learned this now from experience and didn't know it ahead of
time. Wow, if the meat is tougher, I'll never hear the end of it!
Carol, I think I was the one who had the unfortunate experience of
attempting to kill a lamb by shooting it in the forehead -- bad advice from
a neighbor! I've never done that again.
I guess this means that chickens will not run around wildly without their
heads if their neck is wrung first.
>What you described is typical of bleeding to death. The reason for
shooting them in the head is that it stops the central nervous system
reaction and stuns or paralyzes the animal prior to draining the blood
from the body. When you cause the bleeding to death syndrome you allow
the adrenaline response to engage and create a very tough meat. Before
the use of the powder actuated and later air actuated bolts that
penetrate into the brain stem, a large mallet was used, and the animal
was knocked out...
Cecil
>Several years ago, one of the subscribers to this list described a horrible
experience he had while shooting a ram in the head. Because of the horn
plate, a "between the eyes" shot (or even one from behind the head)
resulted in a long, tortuous death, and many additional shots were required
to put the animal out of its misery.
Carol
Rick Krach
Auburn, California
(530) 889-1488
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