Armadillo Hunting

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ballistic gelatin

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Can anyone tell me how to hunt armadillo's at night without disturbing neighbors? A guy who is a big shot at a Golf Course/Housing Community asked me if I know how to get rid of or new anyone who could get rid of armadillo's in their golf course. They want someone to come in and shoot them after dark. Will a regular rifle scope work on full moon nights or do I need a night vision scope? I would like to get a suppressed/silenced .22 rifle also. Does anyone have any advice/opinion on this matter?

I am sending in paperwork next week to become a State Licensed Nuisance Animal Trapper which will allow me to shoot/destroy armadillos legally. And a permit to hunt with a rifle and a light after dark is in the works too.
 
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A bolt action .22 with even just Shorts will work. High Speed Hollow Point LRs are better, but you'd have to check out the noise level. Long barrels are quieter than short barrels. A low-power scope is plenty good, along with something like a standard three-cell flashlight.

Armadillos are pretty easy to ease up to and get close. The key is walk softly and don't march along in hard-soled boots or waffle-stompers.

If you want a silenced rifle, hunt up a Class III dealer. They'll know all the drill on the paperwork. The Ruger 10/22 is a good way to go.

Art
 
Hey Art, thanks for the advice...when you say "waffle-stompers" do you mean military issue type boots?

Low power scope is good enough. okay. How about that 3 cell flashlight? Are you using that for taking aim? I am concerned about the neighbors who's houses are dotted along the perimeter of the Golf Course seeing the light and becoming uneasy.

I was thinking about printing out some life-sized armadillo targets to practice on before hunting. I had planned on head shots so the little critters didn't run away. Is that an unrealistic idea?

I probably can't afford a suppressed rifle right now but do you prefer the 10/22 over a bolt action?

Thanks so much.
 
"Waffle Stompers" is my generic name for any lugged or cleated sole. It's hard to walk quietly in them. Plus, they make a bit of vibration in the ground, which small critters can sense.

If snakes are a possible problem, I prefer a flat, crepe-soled Wellington boot over tenny-runners.

A long-barrelled .22 is pretty quiet, and they're more often found in a bolt-action. Most any old good-used rifle will do.

I just hold the flashlight alongside the forearm. I've added a cardboard tube around the front of the light, to avoid "splashback" of light into the scope.

It's best to inform adjacent residents, and the local police authority, as to what you're doing. Otherwise, somebody is gonna call 911 and you'll have all manner of problems. Certainly, let the PD know so the dispatcher can reassure the locals.

Head shot; heart shot. Armadillos die fairly easily. Penetration of the shell is easy, even for shorts.

Art
 
It's best to inform adjacent residents, and the local police authority, as to what you're doing. Otherwise, somebody is gonna call 911 and you'll have all manner of problems. Certainly, let the PD know so the dispatcher can reassure the locals.
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Thanks Art, good stuff. I definately plan on contacting the local LEO's. I will probably leave homeowner notification to the homeowners association. Property owners/golf course members, they know how to smooth those things over better than some Wildlife Trapper.

I really don't want this thing to go sour at any point.
 
Be very carefull of what's behind your target. Richochets are troublesome.

I've wacked some 30 or 40 squirrels with a .22 loaded with CB ammo. Very good penetration and accuracy. You have to check and adjust your zero though.
 
Hey Gizmo, I just bought a box of CB (CCI .22 shorts) today and plan on trying them out tomorrow afternoon. What can you tell me about your rifle model and the sound level.

Be very carefull of what's behind your target. Richochets are troublesome.
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I plan on getting a map of the area with house positions and work out some safe firing lanes. Also will do some tests at the range to determine bullet's bounce at different angles.

Thanks everyone, keep feeding me info. I love it...just ask my wife. If she hears me clicking on the keyboard one more night after she turns out the lights, she'll probably go "ballistic" on me.
 
Do like my dad and his buddy when they were in Med school.

Get drunk and when you see one, jump out of the car with a tire tool, when they go into their hole, grab them by the tail, pull them out, and beat them with the tire tool:D

Then bring them to the "poor part of town" and have an old timer cook them up for you.

It worked for them and you don't have to worry about your backstop.
 
"Tastes like chicken." :D

A CB in a long-barrelled .22 is about like a hand-clap. I've done in a few squirrels in west Austin, with the neighbors none the wiser.

:), Art
 
I usually run the CCI 22 CB Long rounds through my Remington 521. I've also used them in my Marlin 39 and Ruger 77/22 with great success. Each rifle required re-zeroing though.

Noise level is about like a loud hand clap.

Giz
 
Some thoughts re shootin on a golf course.
Most are surrounded by houses. Many of those houses contain people. some of those people tend to walk around a bit at night. .22 isn't considered to be all that much but any loading that would have a high probability of dispatching an armadiller has some chance of doin great harm to a person.

Carefull homework is in order.

Sam
 
I think you're worrying unduly about the noise factor. Just a .22 of standard velocity won't be very loud.

Consider: These neighbors live in well-insulated houses, and until some hour have the TV blaring on some Prime Time Pap. They probably wouldn't hear a bomb go off, nor care so long as it didn't knock out their electricity.

Notification by the management of the golf course/club could not only mention "...to prevent damage to YOUR greens...", but "...in order to reduce the hazard of leprosy..."

You could also consider a .410 shotty-gun, with light loads.

:), Art
 
Yeah, there you go. Or how about an M4 with a dozen thirty round mags? Heck that little .223 isn't nearly as loud as a .30-06! Night vision goggles, GPS to locate which hole you're on, and a VOX and headset equipped transceiver, in case you have to call for backup on a wounded killer diller?

Awright, awright, just kidding.:rolleyes:
 
As the shimmering heat waves gently caresed across the the green hills of Texas, I saw him. he had already seen me and when our eyes meet he had strange mixed angry expression on his face he looked at me as though I owed him money. And then he came in his peculiar wobbling gate he came and he came fast small red eyes focused on me as my .600 Nitro double gun came to shoulder, the thought of a tomb I'd just viewed at the local cemetary came to mind in everlasting wisdom it read "He tried to shoot one to many Armadillos".

And then I remebered, when hunting Armadillos alway, always use enough gun.

Faithfully submitted
H&Hhunter
 
Yeah, H&H, it pays to be cautious.

The armadillo is the most ferocious creature in the U.S. Think for a moment: How many times have you seen one on his back in the middle of the highway, claws up, waiting to catch a car?

:), Art
 
"...., claws up, waiting to catch a car?

, Art

:D :D :D :D All right Art, you owe me a cleanup on my monitor! Coffee everywhere, ROTFLMAO!
 
Hey you guys keep an eye out for my book "Dillo armored death in the short grass"

"Claws up waiting to catch a car":) :D

Yep that's a good one
 
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