A friend of my uncles made the mistake of placing a bucket of grain in the center of the barn, where the block and tackle were set up, with the idea that a quick shot to the head of the feeding steer was all of the preparation they needed to butcher it.
That was a terrible idea and after they finally got it killed, and surveyed the damage that 1500 Lbs of mad cow can do in a minute or two they understood why my grand father insisted on chaining them to the draw bar of a tractor before any of the shooting started.
