Armadillo Hunting?

[steve urquell]

I'd sure like to try my .22mag on one. Should be good medicine.

After the .22LR fiasco I shot 2 with my .22mag. One from the back with Maxi Mag HPs. The bullet shattered on the haunch and I had to put it down with another bullet.

I bought Maxi Mag solids and they would shoot thru and thru. I was OK with them but switched to 9mm and haven't looked back.

[steve urquell]

I was in my lower field today on the tractor and found this along the way.


Got the Diller Killer ready to go at dusk.

[steve urquell]

I've had no luck after a couple of outings. My wife bought me a game cam and I put it out last night. 10PM this guy was caught on film. I'll get him eventually.


And then there is this at 3AM. No idea what it is but most likely idea is a land stingray. Maybe a chupacabra.

[max it]

2c worth:
my neighbors in Argentina buried a 55gal barrel in corner of field with a few inches exposed (might have been a cross section of a barrel). They claimed that Armadillos headed for the corners and fell in. [were they putting me on?].

[MOA]

38 special works good, easy to load and cast for. Revolver or lever action will do the job nicely.

[steve urquell]

2c worth:
my neighbors in Argentina buried a 55gal barrel in corner of field with a few inches exposed (might have been a cross section of a barrel). They claimed that Armadillos headed for the corners and fell in. [were they putting me on?].

I usually see dillos working the edges of my fields vs out in the open. Maybe?

38 special works good, easy to load and cast for. Revolver or lever action will do the job nicely.

That's what I like about subsonic 9mm. I feel like a subsonic round 750-1000fps ~125-160 grains is the perfect dillo round.

[Barry54]

They are deceptively easy to kill . The "shell" is only stiff leather hard and not very thick at all . 22LR or any thing you hunt squirrel / rabbits with .
I squirrel hunt with a 20 ga. and #5 shot but usually take a armadillo with the 22 LR revolver I carry on my belt , CB cap or shorts work fine ... a head shot is best .

Most armadillo's do not carry Hansen's , the few that do are usually in the deep South , Louisiana and Texas ... the bacteria doesn't thrive in cold weather areas . Reaserch has shown only about 6% in the deep south have it ...that's a low number and there is a easy way to avoid transmisson ... Cook to 155 F. - 160 F. med-well !
Do Not Undercook ...Cooking the meat well , as you would cook pork (remember trichinosis) kills the Hanses's bacteria just as it would the trichinosis bacteria .

They are edible and the meat quite good . My Mom said that during the 1930's depression Her daddy would take armadillo , squirrel and the occasional rabbit to feed them ... She called them "Hoover Hog's " ... Quote " We would have starved slap to death if not for the Hoover Hogs and such daddy shot with his 38 S&W DA belt pistol , times was hard and meat wasn't easy to get . "

After hearing Mom's stories and seeing the curved knives her daddy made to clean under the curved armadillo shells ... my brother and I decided to take a couple and try them . Taste like pork . We made a great Chili and Sauce Picante , cooked the meat well and neither of us got Hansen's .
Don't be afraid to try eating , simply cooking the meat as you would cook pork - well done - kills any bacteria ... and not every armadillo is carring it .
My Dad always insisted we try and utilize whatever we killed for food ... He didn't take to killing animals for no reason ... He said God made every animal for a reason and if we didn't need it for food then we shouldn't kill it .
Gary

I believe you on cooking armadillo well. But it’s not how I cook pork. I like porkchops medium. Bacon rare. Where the fat just turns from white to opaque. I even tried a bite of raw bacon just to see. The fat wasn’t good, but the muscle was okay.

[Digital Dan]

I wish I could find a TC barrel chambered for shorts. What length is yours? Would a 14" be quiet, do you think?

Mine is 19” and shoots 5 in 1/2-1” at 25 yds. 14” quiet? Sure. My supply of BB & CB caps is somewhat limited and will not be replaced. Preferred ammo is CCI CB Shorts. It has killed over 150 hogs over the years, ranging 30-250 pounds. One required a second shot.

Bullberry can make one if anyone is interested.

[steve urquell]

So part of the reason I have attempted to eradicate my armadillos is to allow my turkey population to return. I have had a turkey hen hanging around my property and she disappeared. I was on my tractor in my lower field today after work and saw her.

She was walking very slowly and the brush behind her was moving as she walked. I thought she might have something wrapped around a leg but was thrilled to see she had a line of 7 poults following her. I have turkey chicks! Very happy with this. Below is a short vid of her near my house before I stopped seeing her.

[Good Cheer]

If you have a night light they will come to it to eat the bugs for easy pickin's with a scoped .22 or whatever.

[scattershot]

I didn’t know there was such a thing as a live armadillo. All I have seen were dead, flat on the highway.

[gwpercle]

I can't believe this thread is 10 pages long ...

That's a lot of dead armadillo's ... and very few recupies !

Gary
Cajuns eat anything

[barnetmill]

I can't believe this thread is 10 pages long ...

That's a lot of dead armadillo's ... and very few recupies !

Gary
Cajuns eat anything

I think it was Justin Wilson that called it possum on the half shell.

[steve urquell]

Full moon tonight


Poor dillo met his end at a 148gr HST @1050fps. I'm afraid the strain was more than he could bear.


As I rounded the bottom of my field "Ms Turkey-Lurkey" as my neighbor calls her was spotted bedded down. I'm glad I could help keep her and her poults safe.

[barnetmill]

I was blaming the foxes, but could armadillos have had a role in the disappearance of our southern quail
Google factoide

Using remote cameras to study nest predation, several studies have shown that armadillos also consume quail eggs and likely target other ground nesting birds.

[steve urquell]

I was blaming the foxes, but could armadillos have had a role in the disappearance of our southern quail
Google factoide

Yep. That's why I destroy them. I had no turkeys for years while the armadillo population was increasing. Never had quail but I also had armadillos here when I moved in. I have drastically reduced my dillo population and hopefully see the turkey and quail return.

[barnetmill]

Yep. That's why I destroy them. I had no turkeys for years while the armadillo population was increasing. Never had quail but I also had armadillos here when I moved in. I have drastically reduced my dillo population and hopefully see the turkey and quail return.

Maybe if the coyotes grow a little bit bigger and if we get more lions the armadillos population will get reduced. Just one man on a crusade might work for your place if your are supper efficient, but you can not clean up the state.

[steve urquell]

Maybe if the coyotes grow a little bit bigger and if we get more lions the armadillos population will get reduced. Just one man on a crusade might work for your place if your are supper efficient, but you can not clean up the state.

It is weird that the coyotes can't kill them or choose not to. I spread the word about them and hope others join the crusade but know it is a losing battle.

[popper]

'coyotes can't kill them or choose not to' The one I shot was gone the next morning and there are yotes around. I know it was dead! No turkey in that county. Also NO squirrel hunting allowed.

[steve urquell]

'coyotes can't kill them or choose not to' The one I shot was gone the next morning and there are yotes around. I know it was dead! No turkey in that county. Also NO squirrel hunting allowed.

They get dragged off here as well. Yotes or dogs. My neighbor was griping about his German Shepard dragging a huge one to his house stinking up the place. He's 1/2 mile down the road from me. I just kept my mouth shut. It was the biggest dillo I've ever seen or shot. Probably ~30lbs.