.38 Special versus armadillo: ricochet fractures man's jawbone, armadillo escapes

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Armadillo shells can be pretty tough. Worn tires have been cut by sharp edges of the shell when crushed as they are run over. I would call it a freak accident if that .38 bounced straight back and hit the shooter. Why kill them? They are carriers of disease and are known to spread leprosy.
 
Now we're going to have threads asking how much gun you need to bring when hiking in armadillo country.
 
No doubt.

Closely followed by Squrrel Stopping calibers.

Then Chipmunk Hammers.
FMJ vis SP or HP questions??

8" vs 12" penetration?

Knock-Down power of .22 Short vs .22 LR??

Mercy!

I am simply not buying a .38 Special bounced straight back off an armadillo and hit the shooter in the head!!!

No way, no day!!

rc
 
a)He missed what he was shooting at/ NDed and it ricocheted off a hard surface, or b) she didn't miss and it was a near squib load / hit at the right angle to glance off.
Either way I would not be surprised if alcohol was involved.
I've been hit by .38 Super & .38 special ricochets. My ex was hit in the face by a .40 ricochet at 10 yards. In all cases the worst scenario was a cut and some blood. I guess anything is possible, but I find the reported scenario highly unlikely.
 
I remember reading in one of Elmer Keith's books where he claimed that he saw a bullet that was fired at a wood fence post enter the post and follow the grain around a big knot, make a 180 degree turn and come back to the shooter. I found that hard to believe until I saw it happen for myself. I mean - what are the odds of that? I also stood next to a guy one day shooting light .44 Spls. at a heavy swinging plate. He managed to time one shot perfectly as the plate was swinging and got a bullet batted straight back and hit him right between the eyes and went down like a sack of potatoes. He survived but it was a valuable lesson to everyone on the range. He probably couldn't do again that if you tried. Think about what "might" happen before you pull that trigger. Murphy runs the Universe.
 
He managed to time one shot perfectly as the plate was swinging and got a bullet batted straight back and hit him right between the eyes and went down like a sack of potatoes. He survived but it was a valuable lesson to everyone on the range.
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:eek: I imagine he developed a pretty noticeable flinch for a while afterwards though.
 
No, his name was Armando.

The SPCA is looking into why his amor plate worked so well against a .38 Special, so they can upgrade the armor on all the others and stop the senseless killing.

rc
 
I don't buy it, he either made a stupid mistake and shot himself or he was an ass and got shot by family. The armadillo story has got to be a story.
 
Can't believe the story as told. I shot several 'dillos when I was a kid. I was using .22 shorts because they were cheaper than longs. I killed rabbits, squirrels, skunks, 'dillos, 'possums, and most other Texas wildlife that was legal to shoot (and maybe a few that weren't). I've shot bb, .22, .177 and .22 (5mm) pellet rifles and several bb and pellet pistols. I've had a bb or two bounce back and hit me, but never hard enough to cause concern.
I've got a small 'T' shaped scar on my forehead from the case of a .22 bullet. I was stupid enough to lay some .22 longs on the ground and shoot them with a bb gun. One case came back and hit me in the forehead. Sure did bleed! Until I got to a mirror, I thought I was probably gonna die!! I often wonder how some kids live to be grownups; including me.
 
Now I know that Texas armadillos are tough, but............

Having dispatched many, many armadillos with a .22 rifle, I cannot believe that a .38 spl round of any type would "ricochet" off an armadillo. There is more to this story than appeared in the article. We all know how often the newspapers get it right.
 
barnbwt said:
Yeah, not buying the story. A pellet rifle is very nearly enough to do a dillo in . . .
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No "very nearly" about it - I know for a fact that at close range a .177 pellet from a good air rifle will penetrate & kill an armadillo, so I'm skeptical that an armadillo shell deflected a .38 bullet 180 degrees . . .
 
We all know how often the newspapers get it right.
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Agreed, morn' a few has been kill't with a 22lr.

Someone wants to play the blame game when it's the shooters responsibility to know his/her target and what's beyond it. This guy missed and hit an object beside or beyond it and took his stupidity on the chin. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions he played on the complete ignorance of the media.
 
The secret is out. Some time ago the NSA combined forces with US Fish & Wildlife to create a genetically altered armadillo with a shell made of kevlar and stainless steel inspired by the cover of the Emerson, Lake and Palmer album Tarkus. These animals were to be dropped into certain locations to spread disease among the population. An unexpected side effect was that not only does the shell deflect a bullet, it sends it back at the shooter. The test animals escaped and have obviously reproduced. The only way to dispatch them is with a .50 caliber Browning.
 
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I'm not seeing the physics on how a round made an almost perfect 180 degree turn around with enough velocity to cause serious injury.

I can see a round glancing off and flying at a different angle, just not 180 degrees exactly. If by some off chance that did happen, I think the bullet would lose most of its energy.

It could have been just a fragment too.
 
My best friend in highschool shot himself via ricochet. He decided to "test" the armor piercing qualities of Russian surplus 7.62x39. He shot an engine block and the stripped jacket made an almost perfect 180deg trip back to his shooting shoulder just between his face and the stock.
 
DWFan said:
The secret is out. Some time ago the NSA combined forces with US Fish & Wildlife to create a genetically altered armadillo with a shell made of kevlar and stainless steel inspired by the cover of the Emerson, Lake and Palmer album Tarkus. These animals were to be dropped into certain locations to spread disease among the population. An unexpected side effect was that not only does the shell deflect a bullet, it sends it back at the shooter. The test animals escaped and have obviously reproduced. The only way to dispatch them is with a .50 caliber Browning.
Click to expand...
As a prog rock musician (hence my screen name), I approve of this theory.
 
But it could have glanced off, hit something else, and come back to hit him pretty easily.
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Bullets often ricochet multiple times. I once witnessed a 45 ACP AD. The bullet went straight up through the ceiling in a bedroom. When I went onto the roof looking for a bullet hole I found none. Next into the attic where I discovered a trail of ricochets off 3-4 joists and rafters with 3-4 changes of direction. I eventually found the bullet laying in the insulation on the opposite end of the house. In near perfect condition, it could have been reloaded and fired again.

Not the 1st time it has happened. An incident here in GA a few months back.

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search...madillo&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-004
 
I've killed quite a few dillers over the years, never needed more'n a .22LR, and never had to have my jaw wired shut. :rolleyes: I've also shot pigs in my trap and gotten shocking amounts of penetration from a 148 cast WC over 2.7 grains of Bullseye. This load produces about 200 ft lbs.

My BS meter pegs on this one.
 
.38 special round bouncing back

Years ago I was out in the woods with a buddy plinking/shooting at tree trunks with a .38 special 4" S&W revolver. One of the rounds bounced back hitting me in the arm while my buddy was shooting. Luckily it lost most of its steam but still left a bruise on my arm. Distance was about 7 yards
 
An angled shot going with the scales should be able to deflect. Not sure how it would hit the shooter though. I can see it hitting something down range. It's not going to change direction completely back to point of origin unless (as stated by a few) it hit a hard surface on the other side. I used to shoot bowling pin matches with my SW 64. I used to get bumped by my ricochets all the time.
 
I can buy the deflection with no problem. I have a bit of a problem buying into the bullet coming back to hit the "gunman". I have even more trouble believing the bullet had enough force to break the guys jaw!
I imagine some in depth questioning of the two people would lead to some interesting discussions about what really happened.
 
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