A captive bolt (also variously known as a cattle gun, stunbolt gun, bolt gun, or stunner) is a device used for

stunning Stunning is the process of rendering animals immobile or unconscious, with or without killing the animal, when or immediately prior to slaughtering them for food. Rationale Within the European Union, most animals slaughtered for human consumpt ...

animals prior to slaughter. The goal of captive bolt stunning is to inflict a forceful strike on the

forehead In human anatomy, the forehead is an area of the head bounded by three features, two of the skull and one of the scalp. The top of the forehead is marked by the hairline, the edge of the area where hair on the scalp grows. The bottom of the fo ...

with the bolt in order to induce

unconsciousness Unconsciousness is a state in which a living individual exhibits a complete, or near-complete, inability to maintain an awareness of self and environment or to respond to any human or environmental stimulus. Unconsciousness may occur as the r ...

. For the non-penetrating bolt gun variation the bolt may or may not destroy part of the

brain A brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as Visual perception, vision. I ...

, while brain tissue is always destroyed with the penetrating bolt gun. The bolt consists of a heavy rod made of corrosion-resistant alloys, such as

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's r ...

. It is held in position inside the barrel of the stunner by means of rubber

washer Washer most commonly refers to: *Washer (hardware), a thin usually disc-shaped plate with a hole in the middle typically used with a bolt or nut *Washing machine, for cleaning clothes Washer may also refer to: *Dishwasher, a machine for cleani ...

s. The bolt is usually not visible in a stunner in good condition. The bolt is actuated by a trigger pull and is propelled forward by compressed air, a spring mechanism, or by the discharge of a

blank round A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound ( muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a bl ...

ignited by a

firing pin A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...

. After striking a shallow but forceful blow on the forehead of the animal, spring tension causes the bolt to recoil back into the barrel. The captive bolt pistol was invented in 1903 by Hugo Heiss, former director of a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

Straubing Straubing () is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held. The city is located on the Danube for ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Variations

Captive bolt pistols are of three types: penetrating, non-penetrating, and free bolt. The use of penetrating captive bolts has largely been discontinued in commercial situations in order to minimize the risk of transmission of disease. In the penetrating type, the stunner uses a pointed bolt which is propelled by pressurized air, spring mechanism, or a

blank cartridge A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound ( muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a bl ...

. The bolt penetrates the

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

of the animal, enters the cranium, and catastrophically damages the

cerebrum The cerebrum, telencephalon or endbrain is the largest part of the brain containing the cerebral cortex (of the two cerebral hemispheres), as well as several subcortical structures, including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfactory bulb. ...

and part of the

cerebellum The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebe ...

Concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration ...

causes destruction of vital centers of the

and an increase in

intracranial pressure Intracranial pressure (ICP) is the pressure exerted by fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inside the skull and on the brain tissue. ICP is measured in millimeters of mercury ( mmHg) and at rest, is normally 7–15 mmHg for a supine adul ...

, causing the animal to lose consciousness. This method is currently the most effective type of stunning, since it physically destroys brain matter (increasing the probability of a successful stun), while also leaving the

brain stem The brainstem (or brain stem) is the posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. The midbrain is co ...

intact and thus ensuring the heart continues to pump during the

exsanguination Exsanguination is death caused by loss of blood. Depending upon the health of the individual, people usually die from losing half to two-thirds of their blood; a loss of roughly one-third of the blood volume is considered very serious. Even a sin ...

. One disadvantage of this method is that brain matter is allowed to enter the

blood stream The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

, possibly contaminating other tissue with

bovine spongiform encephalopathy Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...

(BSE, colloquially known as mad cow disease). The action of a non-penetrating stunner is similar, but the bolt is blunt with a mushroom-shaped tip. The bolt strikes the forehead with great force and immediately retracts. The subsequent concussion is responsible for the unconsciousness of the animal. This type of stunner is less reliable at causing immediate unconsciousness than penetrating types; however, it has undergone a resurgence of popularity because of concerns about mad cow disease. In the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, this captive bolt design is required for slaughter of animals that will be used for

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

manufacture. The free bolt stunner is used for emergency, in-the-field

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

of large farm-animals that cannot be restrained. It differs from a true captive bolt gun in that the projectile is not retractable; it is similar in operation to a powder-actuated

nail gun A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a form of hammer used to drive nails into wood or other materials. It is usually driven by compressed air (pneumatic), electromagnetism, highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuate ...

or conventional firearm. Capable of firing only when pressed firmly against a surface (typically the animal's forehead), the device fires a small projectile through the animal's skull. The

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

can then either leave the animal to die from the projectile wound or administer lethal drugs.

Use

With cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits, and horses, failure to adequately stun using a penetrating stunner can largely be attributed to incorrect positioning. Captive bolts allow for meat trimmings from the head to be salvaged. In some

veal Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, v ...

operations, a non-penetrating concussive stunner is used in order to preserve the brains for further processing. Captive bolt stunners are safer to use in most red meat slaughter situations. There is no danger of ricochet or over-penetration as there is with regular firearms. The cartridges typically use 2 to 3

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

s (130 to 190 mg) of

smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared t ...

but can use up to 7 grains (450 mg) in the case of large animals such as bulls. The velocity of the bolt is usually in the case of small animals and in the case of large animals.

Use for homicide

There have been a number of cases where a captive bolt pistol has been used for homicide, including: * A 46-year-old German man with a history of alcohol abuse and aggressive behaviour killed his wife. * An English slaughterman killed a woman with two shots to the chest.

In fiction

* In the TV series ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

'', the mother of protagonist

Temperance "Bones" Brennan Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. (born Joy Keenan) is a fictional character portrayed by Emily Deschanel in the American Fox television series ''Bones''. An anthropologist, forensic anthropologist, and kinesiologist, she is described i ...

is discovered to have been murdered with a captive bolt pistol, which convicts a suspected hitman who evaded arrest for decades due to his favored murder weapon being unknown prior to his capture. * In the novel ''

No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, th ...

'' and its

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

Anton Chigurh Anton Chigurh () is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Cormac McCarthy's novel ''No Country for Old Men''. In the film adaptation of the same name, he is portrayed by Javier Bardem. Bardem's performance as Chigurh was widely lau ...

uses a captive bolt pistol as a murder weapon, as well as an impromptu breaking-and-entering device. * In Austrian director

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...

's 1992 film ''

Benny's Video ''Benny's Video'' is a 1992 Austrian-Swiss psychological thriller film directed by Michael Haneke and set in Vienna. The plot of the film centers on Benny (Arno Frisch), a teenager who views much of his life as distilled through video images, an ...

'', the murder of a young girl is perpetrated with a captive bolt pistol. * In the 2017 film '' It'', protagonist

Bill Denbrough William "Bill" Denbrough is a fictional character created by Stephen King and the main protagonist of his 1986 novel '' It''. The character is considered to be the leader of "The Losers Club" and initiates finding and killing Pennywise the Dancing ...

used the bolt pistol on Pennywise. * The song "Captive Bolt Pistol" by British

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...

describes the use of captive bolt pistols for slaughtering cattle and humans. * A veterinarian's "horse gun" is used as a murder weapon in the episode entitled "Confection" of the British TV series '' Endeavour''. * In the 2020 film '' Bloodshot'', Martin Axe uses a captive bolt gun to kill Ray’s wife, Gina. *In '' Fear the Walking Dead'' (season 1, episode 6), it is explained that a captive bolt pistol is used to prevent the dead from turning. *In the ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Detec ...

'' episode “And They’re Offed”, a captive bolt gun is used to kill a racehorse owner. *In the movie '' The Butcher Boy'', Francie Brady kills his neighbor with a bolt gun. *In the TV series '' Haven'', "the bolt gun killer" is a serial killer who kills women with a bolt gun. *In the Netflix series '' Welcome to Eden'', a captive bolt pistol is used to kill people on the dystopian island of Eden. *In the '' CSI: Vegas'' episode “In The White Room”, a captive bolt gun is used to kill three people.

References

External links

AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2013 Edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Captive Bolt Pistol Firearms Meat industry Animal killing Farming tools