Matt 160 Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 OK, firstly, you can't 'help out friends'. If they want to slaughter a sheep for their own consumption, then they need to do it themselves. As for the ideal weapon, a .22 isn't ideal; the skull of a sheep is thicker than a horse or a bullock, and I've seen .22 rimfire rounds bounce off more than once. To the person that suggested putting it behind the ear; that is illegal in the UK. If you speak to the HSA they have booklets with diagrams on shot placement. Ideally, you need to do a frontal shot with a shotgun, aiming to put the shot down the neck. From 6 inches to a foot away, that will result in a hole about the size of a ten pence coin, and complete brain and brain stem destruction. The aiming point should be where an imaginary cross runs between the horns (or where the horns should be) and the eyes. If you haven't done it before, then you would be better off having someone there who knows what they are doing to show you the way forward. The 'stick' is very important because you need to get as much blood out of the carcass as possible as soon as you shoot it. With a free bullet shot you are better off doing a chest (pig) stick rather than a throat stick. A captive bolt is a completely different prospect, and has a different aiming point. If you need more advice then please do contact the HSA, as these things can go horribly wrong, and humanely and safely slaughtering a sheep is completely different to doing a bit of shooting in the field. An abattoir will charge £25-£30 to kill a sheep and the resulting meat can be eaten by anyone and sold to anyone. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MAIN MAN 277 Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Iv done sheep a few times for my own use! it is never worth the work and hastle, take it to a propper slaughter house if your not sure! its easy to mess up and make a bum job and more inportently it might be cruel if you dont get it right. My mate is a pro slughterman and to see him do them is an art. .22 is what i have used and works ok but he uses a bolt gun and is far better and safer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The one 8,522 Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Last one we did only got seven and a half kilo's of meat from it hardly worth the bother Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Duncan 802 Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 just to keep things on the level, the sheep in question would be closed in and not on the loose in the field - just to clarify! Another look at HSA is in order I think. Thanks for your input chaps Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bullterrier Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 thanks everyone else but is going to shoot me Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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