• The AGN App is ready! Search "Airgun Nation" in your App store. To compliment this new tech we've assigned the "Threads" Feed & "Dark" Mode. To revert back to a traditional "Forum List" view, and/or "Light" mode click HERE.

Armadillo War

Jump to latest Follow Reply
squirrel_getter

squirrel_getter

Member
Dec 11, 2021
177
14
Alabama, United States
Have any of you killed these with a high power .22 PCP rifle? Just wondering? Keep reading to see what an adventures I have had with these pest..

LOL I trapped 11 in the few weeks in my yard. They actually dug under the chain link fence and got into the yard. I began to see where they were rooting around in the yard. LOL it looked like a hog was in the yard. I located two den holes and trapped them over a period of weeks as they came out. I can only trap one at the time using my live trap, It might be 3-4 days or longer before another one would come out and get in the trap. There are sometimes multiple armadillos in the same hole. This was my case. So it took about a 1/2 month for all of them to get caught. Just be warned...if you don't subsequently kill them and choose to relocate them, take them several miles away or they may return! My dog actually sent one to the happy hunting grounds. I let the dog out into the chain link fenced backyard about 3 AM one morning to be excused and all hell broke loose. LOL I didn't know what he had gotten. I was thinking house cat, coon, or possum. They all visit at times! I grabbed a flashlight and went running out into yard. By then he had dispatched the intruder.

After getting all of the armadillos, I back filled the holes with bricks, debris, and dirt.

That was an experience! Good riddance!

By the way there was no such thing as an armadillo in Alabama when I was growing up. They migrated from western states ino Alabama. They also brought the coyotes with them. Thanks Ezana4CE 😁 . I began seeing both in the late 70's. They have now proliferated beyond imagination.

LOL, damn squirrels and armadillos! So...the war continues and the squirrels have recruited the armadillos.
 
And I was just thinking that armadillos out there seems odd, but what you described is what they do here. I have no idea how they would have made their way out there except to hitch hike. I’d hate to think some Texans migrated, got homesick and sent for some ‘dillos to be imported into the state. Smh, but I wouldn’t put something like that past people. I know some folks that said people eat them in these parts. Yotes on the other hand likely migrated on their own after a lot of timber and oil/gas activity altering the woodlands in Texas and Louisiana. I don’t know much about Mississippi industry. What’s your take on it?


Armadillos dig something terrible beneath the grass in yards looking for grubs and who knows what else. In my experience they’re easy to shoot once you spot em. I’ve never seen one run fast from dogs or shots. I’ve found a couple of dead ones in the yard. I guess my dog kills them. I don’t see them or evidence of them too often at home. I’ve had a dog in the past that simply lost interest in a ‘dillo once it balled up in her first encounter with one. She jumped on it, pawed at it a few times, tried to bite it, and left it alone. If yours kills them you have a good one.

Good thing you filled those holes in. I had a pesting permission once to kills some and found that the dens were inactive, but a possum had taken up residence in some. The damage they did by digging beneath the foundation of a barn was horrible. To answer your question I’ve never shot one with a .22 pcp. 
 
Upvote 0
And I was just thinking that armadillos out there seems odd, but what you described is what they do here. I have no idea how they would have made their way out there except to hitch hike. I’d hate to think some Texans migrated, got homesick and sent for some ‘dillos to be imported into the state. Smh, but I wouldn’t put something like that past people. I know some folks that said people eat them in these parts. Yotes on the other hand likely migrated on their own after a lot of timber and oil/gas activity altering the woodlands in Texas and Louisiana. I don’t know much about Mississippi industry. What’s your take on it?


Armadillos dig something terrible beneath the grass in yards looking for grubs and who knows what else. In my experience they’re easy to shoot once you spot em. I’ve never seen one run fast from dogs or shots. I’ve found a couple of dead ones in the yard. I guess my dog kills them. I don’t see them or evidence of them too often at home. I’ve had a dog in the past that simply lost interest in a ‘dillo once it balled up in her first encounter with one. She jumped on it, pawed at it a few times, tried to bite it, and left it alone. If yours kills them you have a good one.

Good thing you filled those holes in. I had a pesting permission once to kills some and found that the dens were inactive, but a possum had taken up residence in some. The damage they did by digging beneath the foundation of a barn was horrible. To answer your question I’ve never shot one with a .22 pcp.
Click to expand...

I actually caught a possum in one of the holes when I was live trapping them. It was inside with the armadillos. That was a surprise. The general consensus among the biologists is that both the armadillo and coyote migrated west to east into Alabama. Who knows, they might have been brought in and released or some of both. Goodness there has been no shortage of people releasing stuff. One thing for certain is they are here to stay and devastating other indigenous species.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering if a pellet would effectively penetrate the bony armor? Heck even part of the head is covered. They look like a dinosaur. I expect a body shot would penetrate but they would most likely run a long way before falling dead. Looks like a head shot is a viable option.That is why I was asking to see what experiences other members have had with armadillos. I have shot them with a .22 LR and even shot them with bird shot while quail hunting...but I need something for the yard.

Yes for certain if you don't fill the holes they will move in again. If they come back and make another den hole I am going to back fill it with them inside! War!
 
Upvote 0
I’ve killed a couple when I was a kid with my Wal Mart crosman pumper, sorry don’t remember the model. It of course was a 177. Haven’t shot enough with a pellet to give much insight though. The couple I killed were head shots, I’m positive an accurate pcp would do the trick. Their heads stay perpendicular to the ground when their rooting, giving you a good flat head limiting some of the chance of it skinning over the top of him.

Also they will stand up and sniff when they feel something is off, a whistle gets them to do it sometimes. With the right imagination it could be a pee’d off grizzly bear!

Beau
 
Upvote 0
I’ve killed a couple when I was a kid with my Wal Mart crosman pumper, sorry don’t remember the model. It of course was a 177. Haven’t shot enough with a pellet to give much insight though. The couple I killed were head shots, I’m positive an accurate pcp would do the trick. Their heads stay perpendicular to the ground when their rooting, giving you a good flat head limiting some of the chance of it skinning over the top of him.

Also they will stand up and sniff when they feel something is off, a whistle gets them to do it sometimes. With the right imagination it could be a pee’d off grizzly bear!

Beau
Click to expand...



Thanks. They have been hanging around. If they come in the yard again I will start popping them. They are very active after dark and can come and go undetected. They just leave behind the rooted up yard. Don't get me started on the moles 😂.
 
Upvote 0
Moles are terrible. Again when I was a kid I always had a squirrel dog or two. They were all jack russels but one, she was half Jack Russel, half Jag Terrier. All she did was kill any critter she could, from grasshoppers to snakes to a groundhog that was bigger than she was. Her favorite game was mole hunting. She cleared the moles out of probably a 10 acre spot, that has 4 houses on it (all family). I could have made a killing selling verified mole hunters! My cousin/neighbor set traps and whatever else to get rid of them for years and didn’t put a dent. Took her about a summer to clear them out if I remember right. Sure wish I had that dog back.
 
Upvote 0
Someone needs to come up with a way to get them to pop their heads out. Something like the guys that grunt the worms out of the ground. You could play pcp whack-a-mole!
Click to expand...

True dat. I would never have even dreamed about grunting worms. Maybe some type of sonic sound. Now what to do about the damn fire ants 😂. I just chase them around I believe!


 
  • Like
Reactions: N2 Shooter
Upvote 0
Dillos just hardly sit still every time I saw them. I heard they like Lone Star Beer



lone-star-beer-armadillo.1641517475.jpg

 
Upvote 0
Being a 68 year-old native Texan, I have a long history with armadillos. In my younger days when I hunted obsessively, although I found dillos unchallenging stationary targets, since they run in a straight line, they are the best running targets in Texas for big-bore hand-gunning!

In my old age I've grown immensely more selective in what I'll kill. Aside from game, nowadays I kill only troublesome pests.

A couple years ago that included a very large armadillo that was wrecking my yard as effectively and routinely as would a small hog. Unfortunately for him, he made an badly-timed appearance in said yard while I was shooting my powerful .22 AR6 Hunting Master PCP revolver. Upon stalking within range, his head was behind brush; so I didn't have to decide whether to attempt my preferred brain shot (since they have a tiny head; tinier brain). Decided to see if a 28 grain .22 pellet at 700 FPS/20 foot pounds would penetrate well enough for a humane chest shot. It did; he succumbed within 20 seconds and as many yards! I reckon the pellet penetrated at least 8" of DENSE armadillo to reach the vitals needed to put him down so quickly.

AR6 armadillo.1641521997.JPG


I've since learned what dillos dig in my yard are June Bug grubs. And since I do a LOT of airgunning at night by spotlight off my porch, I no longer molest armadillos. For me, pot-holes in the yard are not nearly as aggravating as constant buzzing of June Bugs while trying to break the fifth shot of the best airgun group ever fired... every time! 
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ranchibi and Miami Airgunner
Upvote 0
Harbor Freight sells what they call a wireless security alert system for $15.00. It is a two part deal. You put the sensor outside where said Armadillo has been digging then put the receiver inside. Said Diller trips the sensor, the receiver wakes your wife up, she wakes you up, you get your .22 go outside with a flashlight and "Send Him to Diller Hell" (good name for a Texas song). I've done it, it works, and yes a .22 will kill em.

HF Wireless Security Sys.1641525130.JPG

 
Upvote 0
 "Send Him to Diller Hell" (good name for a Texas song)."

Can't believe you just plagiarized the song I wrote! (after an all night varmint hunt with big-bore revolvers in the Seventies with another outlaw/derelict named Jose')

TRUTH be told, my late brother DID write a song titled Amarillo The Armadillo though. No BS. That's Kim on the left... 66 years ago!

K R kids.1641533809.jpg


He weren't much of a song-writer, but was a hell of a good shot.

RIP, Big Brother.






 
Upvote 0
 "Send Him to Diller Hell" (good name for a Texas song)."

Can't believe you just plagiarized the song I wrote! (after an all night varmint hunt with big-bore revolvers in the Seventies with another outlaw/derelict named Jose')

TRUTH be told, my late brother DID write a song titled Amarillo The Armadillo though. No BS. That's Kim on the left... 66 years ago!

He weren't much of a song-writer, but was a hell of a good shot.

RIP, Big Brother.



How precious of a memory! I love the pic. Thanks for sharing. The song title kinda reminds me of what Josey Wales said "to hell with them fellas...buzzards gotta eat, same with the worms"!

Click to expand...


 
Upvote 0
Harbor Freight sells what they call a wireless security alert system for $15.00. It is a two part deal. You put the sensor outside where said Armadillo has been digging then put the receiver inside. Said Diller trips the sensor, the receiver wakes your wife up, she wakes you up, you get your .22 go outside with a flashlight and "Send Him to Diller Hell" (good name for a Texas song). I've done it, it works, and yes a .22 will kill em.

HF Wireless Security Sys.1641525130.JPG
Click to expand...

LOL...I got so many feral cats, possums and such roaming around that I would stay up all night long reconnoitering the yard because the sensor would trigger multiple times. I have used those in the past but on the down side they pick up anything that goes through...but they work. Lately I have been letting the dog out a few times a night and he reconnoiters the yard. He remembers that trophies (critters) are out there. I am vigilant "for them critters".

If they do dig under the fence, I can isolate the sensor at that exact spot of hole under the fence and reduce false alarms from other critters. I will give it a try if they come back.

I don't mind the possums quite as much except when I have fruit on my various fruit trees and vines. They then go to the happy hunting grounds...sometimes. LOL squirrels, and other critters love fruit too! I kill starlings, and house sparrows by the sack full when figs are ripe. They are addicted to them. I have so much food for the critters that they visit the free buffet often 😂! It's like the Tom & Jerry cartoon. I am Tom and the critters are Jerry 😂!
 
Upvote 0
Thanks to the AGN members for helping. I am now confident that my HP PCP's will take the "dillos" down. You guys out west have had many years experience with the "dillos".

Dillos just hardly sit still every time I saw them. I heard they like Lone Star Beer



lone-star-beer-armadillo.1641517475.jpg
//www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20210%20140%22%3E%3C/svg%3E
Click to expand...

That picture cracked me up!
 
Upvote 0
Being a 68 year-old native Texan, I have a long history with armadillos. In my younger days when I hunted obsessively, although I found dillos unchallenging stationary targets, since they run in a straight line, they are the best running targets in Texas for big-bore hand-gunning!

In my old age I've grown immensely more selective in what I'll kill. Aside from game, nowadays I kill only troublesome pests.

A couple years ago that included a very large armadillo that was wrecking my yard as effectively and routinely as would a small hog. Unfortunately for him, he made an badly-timed appearance in said yard while I was shooting my powerful .22 AR6 Hunting Master PCP revolver. Upon stalking within range, his head was behind brush; so I didn't have to decide whether to attempt my preferred brain shot (since they have a tiny head; tinier brain). Decided to see if a 28 grain .22 pellet at 700 FPS/20 foot pounds would penetrate well enough for a humane chest shot. It did; he succumbed within 20 seconds and as many yards! I reckon the pellet penetrated at least 8" of DENSE armadillo to reach the vitals needed to put him down so quickly.

AR6 armadillo.1641521997.JPG


I've since learned what dillos dig in my yard are June Bug grubs. And since I do a LOT of airgunning at night by spotlight off my porch, I no longer molest armadillos. For me, pot-holes in the yard are not nearly as aggravating as constant buzzing of June Bugs while trying to break the fifth shot of the best airgun group ever fired... every time! 





I raise June bugs. Just kidding. They do flock to the over ripe figs. They may be several feeding on a single over ripe fig. So I have plenty of the June bugs. Hey you can snipe the June bugs for additional practice! When I was a young'un we used to capture them and tie a very long piece of sewing thread to one of their legs and fly them like a kite.
Click to expand...


 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu