What handgun for Armidillo hunting

[R.W.Dale]

I cannot decide between using a slow moving cast wadcutter say .38cal or a very fast light HP in say 7.62x25. Accuracy isn't an issue since the little pasture destroying rascals are so dumb 5yds would be a long shot. The landowner wants me to shoot all of them I can. Heck the last time I went squirell huntin I shot 7 .

 

[trickyasafox]

only story i've ever heard about dillo shootin was from my college teams field goal kicker. they just popped em with 22's. that being said, i love 38 sp, so i'd vote for that

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

I found .22s from a pistol bounced off far too many times. I changed over to 9mm ball. That did it. That armor does work.

 

[ulflyer]

Being an easterner, I know nothing about those critters. What is it they do that is destructive, or creating hazards to farmers, etc?

 

[steveracer]

I shot one with .45 ACP

It had been a road hazard, and it took the front spoiler clean off my BMW. So, I stepped around the car to see how mangled it was, and it was still walking. Armadillo-1, Fiberglass trim-0. One shot from five feet with 230gn Golden Saber. Steve-1, Armadillo-0.
It made a mess, but not like I expected. Passed through, but the bullet didn't expand fully, as the point was plugged with armadillo-hyde. I think .38 swc or even a round lead round would be better.
Are you going to cook them? They are supposed to be very good in soup/stew. I recommend caution when they are still alive and wounded, because their saliva can cause lepresy.
Steve.

 

[R.W.Dale]

It had been a road hazard, and it took the front spoiler clean off my BMW. So, I stepped around the car to see how mangled it was, and it was still walking. Armadillo-1, Fiberglass trim-0. One shot from five feet with 230gn Golden Saber. Steve-1, Armadillo-0.
It made a mess, but not like I expected. Passed through, but the bullet didn't expand fully, as the point was plugged with armadillo-hyde. I think .38 swc or even a round lead round would be better.
Are you going to cook them? They are supposed to be very good in soup/stew. I recommend caution when they are still alive and wounded, because their saliva can cause lepresy.
Steve.

EAT EM! Pukeatronic. No I'm gonna shoot em and let the cyotes munch on em.

 

[bulbboy]

I hit one with a .357 once and it turned and charged me! It took another in the face to stop it! He doesn't have much of a face anymore...

 

[Red Tornado]

My first thought is; a chance to go hunting with a CZ-52, Wow! I'd be all over that! I'd need 10 yard range or less, so I'd jump at the opportunity.
RT

 

[R.W.Dale]

My first thought is; a chance to go hunting with a CZ-52, Wow! I'd be all over that! I'd need 10 yard range or less, so I'd jump at the opportunity.
RT

Actually The handgun will be a Norinco 54-1 I sold my CZ52. But that's kinda what I am thinking so I loaded up some 85gr JHP's they run about 1450 FPS or so. That outta knockem for a loop.

 

[el44vaquero]

Killed many a dillo with a .22lr hp. Never had one bounce off. Crazy how many and how big those suckers are getting up in this part of Oklahoma.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Killed many a dillo with a .22lr hp. Never had one bounce off. Crazy how many and how big those suckers are getting up in this part of Oklahoma.

It's gettin insane! If I go out into the pasture just after sundown on a night with a full moon I can shoot a dozen without walking half a mile.

 

[HighVelocity]

I cannot decide between using a slow moving cast wadcutter say .38cal or a very fast light HP in say 7.62x25. Accuracy isn't an issue since the little pasture destroying rascals are so dumb 5yds would be a long shot. The landowner wants me to shoot all of them I can. Heck the last time I went squirell huntin I shot 7 .

That sounds like fun. Is he paying you for this or are you doing it as a courtesy?

 

[R.W.Dale]

That sounds like fun. Is he paying you for this or are you doing it as a courtesy?

Let's just say that I'm not in it for the money. This is personal.

 

[EmGeeGeorge]

Armadillos are our friends. You shouldn't shoot them. You should only shoot bunnies.

 

[Smoke]

I found .22s from a pistol bounced off far too many times.

I'd say you missed. I've shot them with .22 shorts and they didn't bounce off. Armor doesn't work that well.

I've shot 'dillers with every gun I own (mostly) 20 ga slugs are fun. Bad shots with smaller calibers make them flop around like a fish. Bad hearing/sight makes first shot easy. Follow up shots are difficult.

Smoke

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

Holy Cow,

The Dillies I shot down in the Everglades areas of Florida (not in the park just in the area) were not even disturbed by .22 LR Stingers from my 4 inch Walther pistol. As said here, they let you get up real close so missing them is not an issue. I shot some with .45 and that did OK and .44 mag out of 8 inches did very well.... sort of EXPANDED them.

This makes me think there may be different kinds or that the ones in Florida had much thicker shells. In Florida they would jump up under a passing car and although sometimes bending up stuff on the car and sounding like a bomb going off, usually hardly even marked the shell and I never saw one on the road with a broken shell from cars.

 

[el44vaquero]

The way some of you guys are talking about how hard the shells are, you sure you aren't shooting turtles or small shermans?

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

The ones in Florida that I shot were small, thick, Shermans. right back at-cha.

 

[Weezer]

Armadilo spit can cause lepersy??

 

[ShelbyV8]

A .223 makes them a Dillo on a half shell.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

I'd probably try a little of everything. First on my list would be:

12 gauge 00 buck
7.62x39 Wolf 122 gr FMJ
10mm Auto Double Tap 180 gr Speer Gold Dot

Then I would try 7mm Rem Mag and a 40 gr Velocitor from my Ruger 10/22.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Killed many a dillo with a .22lr hp. Never had one bounce off. Crazy how many and how big those suckers are getting up in this part of Oklahoma.

Their really illiegals in costume.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

To answer ulflyer's question in post #4' armadillo's dig burrow holes in the ground to nest in. On the cattle ranch I worked on we killed them for the safety of livestock. The holes are several feet deep and it's easy for cattle to injure legs.

 

[steveracer]

oklahoma surprised me.

I was training with my Marine Corps step-brothers at Ft Sill, and met up with a local farmer who wanted the dillo's killed. We three guys went over there with all kinds of ordinance, and I saw exactly none. I left, and they shot a whole heap of them. I guess the dillos can tell when there's a New Yorker around. Or maybe it was they could smell the only sailor for three hundred miles. Either way, they are amazing fast when they finally notice you. One of the guys thought it would be funny to try throwing a knife into one (ten feet away). The report I got was the knife stuck, and the dillo took off like a shot with a Hibben knife sticking out of him. One shot from the young Marine's .41 mag ended the running, but it was pretty cool, from his account. I always miss the best stuff!

 

[pauli]

Armadildo spit can lepersy??

armadillos, due to their unusually low body temperature, are one of three species known to be susceptible to leprosy - the others being humans, and mice (though apparently only on the pads of their feet).

discovering this was quite a boon to researchers, it seems - as a few people have attested, there's no shortage of armadillos.

there is a shortage of glyptodons, however, which is a darn shame - i think they'd've been vastly amusing to watch in action.