Armadillo hunting?
- Thread starter john917v
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critter
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I have not 'hunted' 'dillo's, but I have dispatched a few. Examples were duely done in with .357 mag's, .44 mag's, 30-06, etc. All worked well against the lil 'living tanks'.
Is it good? Do you mean, as in EATING? I know some folks do or have eaten them. I am not nor am I going to get THAT HUNGRY! They are the only critters known to man (other than mankind) that can carry leprosy!
Is it good? Do you mean, as in EATING? I know some folks do or have eaten them. I am not nor am I going to get THAT HUNGRY! They are the only critters known to man (other than mankind) that can carry leprosy!
skinewmexico
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Well..............I don't know. Only animal that can carry leprosy.
MCgunner
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I've shot a few with CCI mini mag when I was a kid. They're not bad eatin', but I ain't real up on 'em. Kinda porky tasting. I didn't know about the leprocy thing when I was a kid. I really don't have a reason to shoot one, not high on my table fare list. Things were different when I was in college, though. I'd eat anything that was edible. LOL
We had a lot of dillers around where I grew up up the coast a ways toward Galveston, south of Houston, but I don't see many down here. Not real sure why. Might be the sandy soil vs the clay up there. Dillers dig for grubs and such.
We had a lot of dillers around where I grew up up the coast a ways toward Galveston, south of Houston, but I don't see many down here. Not real sure why. Might be the sandy soil vs the clay up there. Dillers dig for grubs and such.
telecaster1981
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I ran across this dude digging up a tree in our woods. First armadillo I'd ever seen on our farm (Missouri), but I took him out of the gene pool anyway...
PotatoJudge
Member
Often when you come upon an armadillo in the woods you can grab a stick, sneak up on it, and poke it/scare it out of it's wits. Still, they won't run far. If it wasn't for that armor they could never survive- they're loud, slow (relatively), they're blind and deaf as far as I can tell, and aren't very predator-savvy in the least. In short, hunting them wouldn't be much of a challenge. I don't remember hearing from anyone how they taste, but I'm sure tons of them are eaten every year.
telecaster1981
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Perhaps...
I've been told they're migrating north due to global warming. I'm hoping if I can shoot a few and drive them back to Texas where they belong I can effectively reverse global warming.
atomchaser
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We ate a few when I was in survival training about 25 years ago. Not bad, but kindy chewy -- kind of like tough pork. The preparation probably left something to be desired. I think you kill them with a 22 shot to the head. We ran ours down and killed them with heavy sticks.
Husker1911
Member
Armadillo sightings have just started in Nebraska, for the past maybe ten years. Most along the Kansas border, but one found near Ord, Nebraska. It was a carcass, and was found in a haystack. It had frozen, and was seeking the internal warmth naturally produced within the haystack. I've not seen one, yet. FYI
MCgunner
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delete
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
Time to bust some myths.
Untrue. Mice can carry leprosy as well.
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761578788/leprosy.html
Funny thing is, there is no record of leprosy in the New World before European conquest. So if anything, invading Old Worlders gave leprosy to the 'dillos, who carry it, but are not affected by it.
http://books.google.com/books?id=j1...paVugNE&sig=0etmJHcpyskMb-owW2oYQEW2Weo&hl=en
While 'dillos have relatively poor eyesight, their hearing is good enough. They are predator savvy in terms of being as savvy as they need to be. With armor, they don't have to be terribly fearful of many critters. Just like most game, they don't understand rifles. Hell, most humans don't either, however. Simply put, armadillos have few natural pretators in North America.
So sure, without their armor, they would not survive. It is their advantage. Without claws and big teeth, would bears and mountain lions survive? All animals have an adaptation or adaptations to give them advantages. For humans, we are pretty much soft underbelly all over. We have good sight, moderate hearing, poor sense of smell, no armor, no real fur, no claws, no big canines, and we are awfully slow with bipedalism. Our big advantage is culture. Without culture, we are nothing but prey.
No, they are not migrating as a result of global warming. Their migration has been natural and cultural and has been traced back into the 1800s. They didn't cross the Rio Grande until around 1870s-1900 (as I recall, and where they stayed for a few years) and then spread across Texas which was well mapped.
In 1922, they started turning up in Florida with no connecting reports between Texas and Florida. Either they came overland in trucks or entered via seaports and shipping. They didn't show up in Louisiana until 1925.
Pretty much the warm months are fine for armadillos anywhere in the lower 48. The question is then one of surviving the winters. Humans create a lot of micro habitats that are great for armadillos to survive in northern clines such as cellars, barns, abandoned buildings, etc. They can burrow under a house and be quite happy even in fairly cold climates. They don't do as well there, but they can survive. The house radiates heat to help keep the ground warm and the 'dillos stay happy. No, global warming isn't why the armadillos have come north anymore than it was the reason they moved into Texas in the first place from Mexico.
Simply put, the temps haven't changed enough in the last 200 years to matter. Animals sometimes do spread for a variety of reason and the armadillo is one of those animals.
Untrue. Mice can carry leprosy as well.
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761578788/leprosy.html
Funny thing is, there is no record of leprosy in the New World before European conquest. So if anything, invading Old Worlders gave leprosy to the 'dillos, who carry it, but are not affected by it.
http://books.google.com/books?id=j1...paVugNE&sig=0etmJHcpyskMb-owW2oYQEW2Weo&hl=en
While 'dillos have relatively poor eyesight, their hearing is good enough. They are predator savvy in terms of being as savvy as they need to be. With armor, they don't have to be terribly fearful of many critters. Just like most game, they don't understand rifles. Hell, most humans don't either, however. Simply put, armadillos have few natural pretators in North America.
So sure, without their armor, they would not survive. It is their advantage. Without claws and big teeth, would bears and mountain lions survive? All animals have an adaptation or adaptations to give them advantages. For humans, we are pretty much soft underbelly all over. We have good sight, moderate hearing, poor sense of smell, no armor, no real fur, no claws, no big canines, and we are awfully slow with bipedalism. Our big advantage is culture. Without culture, we are nothing but prey.
No, they are not migrating as a result of global warming. Their migration has been natural and cultural and has been traced back into the 1800s. They didn't cross the Rio Grande until around 1870s-1900 (as I recall, and where they stayed for a few years) and then spread across Texas which was well mapped.
In 1922, they started turning up in Florida with no connecting reports between Texas and Florida. Either they came overland in trucks or entered via seaports and shipping. They didn't show up in Louisiana until 1925.
Pretty much the warm months are fine for armadillos anywhere in the lower 48. The question is then one of surviving the winters. Humans create a lot of micro habitats that are great for armadillos to survive in northern clines such as cellars, barns, abandoned buildings, etc. They can burrow under a house and be quite happy even in fairly cold climates. They don't do as well there, but they can survive. The house radiates heat to help keep the ground warm and the 'dillos stay happy. No, global warming isn't why the armadillos have come north anymore than it was the reason they moved into Texas in the first place from Mexico.
Simply put, the temps haven't changed enough in the last 200 years to matter. Animals sometimes do spread for a variety of reason and the armadillo is one of those animals.
telecaster1981
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That was meant purely as a joke on my part...I really don't worry at all about global warming. And Al Gore can take a flying leap for all I care!
Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow
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I'm curious - how do they help the environment?
jimmyraythomason
Member
I just wish they wouldn't help so much in my front yard!
qajaq59
Member
I've had them literally walk right next to my feet when I'm on stand for hogs so I don't think it would be much of a challenge to hunt one. They sure can dig holes in the yard though which can make them a pesty critter.
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
They are actually good with turning over topsoil and hence aeriating and getting surface seeds planted subsurface (needed for some grasses, for example).
They also turnover deeper dirt, bringing it to the surface which can bring better soil to the surface.
While they can do nasty things to a person's yard, if they are eating your yard, then you likely have a grub issue.
XDKingslayer
member
In the 8 years I've been in Flordia I've seen thousands of armadillos. All of them dead. I've yet to see a live one.
I'm pretty much convinced their born dead on the side of the road.
I'm pretty much convinced their born dead on the side of the road.
qajaq59
Member
Good one..........
dogrunner
Member
Possum on the half shell.
NRA4LIFE
Member
"I've yet to see a live one."
XD,
You just gotta get there earlier! Seriously, I haven't seen one live either! All dead on the side of the road. As far north as Springfield Missouri about 15 years ago. My buddy outside of Wichita is infested with them too. They are eaten in Mexico and South America I know.
XD,
You just gotta get there earlier! Seriously, I haven't seen one live either! All dead on the side of the road. As far north as Springfield Missouri about 15 years ago. My buddy outside of Wichita is infested with them too. They are eaten in Mexico and South America I know.
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