Armadillo Hunting?

[DonMountain]

Here in mid-Missouri we are having a problem with armadillos digging up everything and getting jammed in farm machinery when cutting hay, and combining. I keep a 20 gauge shotgun by the door loaded with 3/4 ounce number 6's for the squirrel problem in our pecan trees in the yard and eating all the wiring out of our cars. So, my question is, what does it take to kill these armadillos, usually at a close range? Will the shotgun do it? Or will I have to resort to my deer rifle? (45-70 with 300 grain RCBS cast projectiles)

[steveu]

I use my .25 cal air rifle, drops them dead!

[Winger Ed.]

I should be ashamed of myself for laughing at that.

They look like a armor plated rat, but their shell is really more like a stiff leather
I'd think #6 pellets at fairly close range would do fine.
If not, switch over to buckshot or slugs.
You'll find out for sure what works for you with the first one ya hit.

A problem they have with them here is live stock can trip in their holes/burrows and break their leg.

Awhile back, a friend of a friend bought a weekender house out of the city and they just marveled
at the wild life--- and armadillos all over the place.

One time they pulled up, saw a armadillo going through their flower beds like a bulldozer.
Armadillos instantly went from, "Oh, look at them, they're so cute"... to, "SHOOT THE DEVIL"!!

[Eddie Southgate]

#4 shot

[Recycled bullet]

Mountain Cannon

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[Texas by God]

20 gauge #6 will mop them up just fine.
I’ve been using one for armadillos for fifty years.


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[BK7saum]

air rifle, .22, shotgun with bird shot, 12 gauge slugs, 7mm rem mag, 45-70, .50 cal all work on armadillos.

[sukivel]

A 257 Weatherby mag works real nice!


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[popper]

A 22lr at close range will work too and less expensive that 20ga shells. Problem is they are usually only out at night. In daytime - are they sick? Kid's dog got one at the ranch, GK finished it with 22lr. Friend in town was trying to trap one, just to find it was really a possum. Armadillo = possum on half shell.

[BK7saum]

Thia time of year they are primarily nocturnal with limited exposure at dawn and dusk.

In February, and March they are out a lot during the day when temps are cold and days are warm. Seen as many as 30 to 35 out driving around.

[Winger Ed.]

Friend in town was trying to trap one, just to find it was really a possum. Armadillo = possum on half shell.

It's almost impossible to trap one.
They won't come to bait, and they're darn near blind.

Some guy on the web sells traps for them.
You put it where they wander around at in their 'territory'.

It doesn't have bait, but when he builds them, he keeps a live armadillo in it for a few days before he sells it.
They can't see very well, but they are attracted to another armadillo's BO or smell.

I've seen a few out in the daytime, but figured food was a little scarce, and they were just hungry.
Or, maybe it was mating season.

I tolerate possums. If you have possums around, ticks will be real scarce.
We have ticks around here that can carry some horrible diseases like you'd read about in the Bible.
They eat ticks like a bum going after a baloney sandwich.

[DonMountain]

Well, I don't have a slug mold for the 20 gauge since I use a rifle for deer here in Missouri. I do all my own reloading for shotshell plus pistol/rifle. So it would be easier to just use a rifle as opposed to buying a slug mold for the 20 gauge. Someone was suggesting a 257 Weatherby mag, but I don't have one of those either? Would a 338 Win Mag work? But I don't have a mold for that one either?

[Wayne Smith]

Don, if a .22 will work anything you have short of throwing rocks is likely to work!

[kayala]

Sorry couldn't resist
"Take off and nuke the site from orbit" ©

[Winger Ed.]

Would a 338 Win Mag work? But I don't have a mold for that one either?

Any new project is the perfect reason to buy more power tools.
In this case, it is the perfect opportunity to show the finance dept. why you 'need' that mold.

[BK7saum]

Don, if a .22 will work anything you have short of throwing rocks is likely to work!

Throwing rocks works very well, too. Have killed several over the years with a rock.

[725]

I know of one that didn't like a .54 round ball from a T/C Scout pistol.

[Digital Dan]

I have been whacking them for quite a few years with .22 CB shorts and .22 BB Caps. They are not hard to kill and my longest shot with the CB shorts was near 50 yards. Don't play with their carcass, they are vectors for leprosy.

[jaysouth]

74 Ford F-100 does a great job. No need to reload.

[versa-06]

My extractor load is 8.0 gr 800-x Lee 118gr soupcan out of a 30-30. I even use this load for putting down hogs at butcher time. Bullet travels all the way from the forehead to the guts past the ribs.