What caliber for armadillos

[sm]

Art wrote:

Ya gotta be careful. Armadillos are the most vicious animals known to man. What other animal would lie on its back in the middle of the road, waiting to trap a car?

They will also play "chicken" and knock front ends out of alignment...I know.

Smoke is right, Red Ryder and BBs just bounce...'06 works!

22 lr works just fine. Something about old 22lr single shot rifles and critter control...
Yeah, I still like 22lr single shots...

 

[twoblink]

The answer to most of your problems..

 

[Diggler]

Twoblink, I like the solution!

On an unrelated note, maybe that gun in the picture could help with the armadillo problem too.

 

[Johnny Guest]

Uhmmmm, let's see . . .

I've killed armored dillos (fooled ya, didn't I? ) with lotsa different guns.

FMJ 9mm from an artillery Luger doesn't work well thru the shell, unless you hit spine or the like.

Same with .30 US Carbine.

.38 Spl is marginal. .357 160 LSWC at 1100 or better is pretty good. Hardball .45 ACP is fine. Actually, any pistol caliber starting with a "4" is pretty good. Never tried .40 S&W or 10 mm though.

A friend had a bunch of Speer 130 gr HPs loaded in .30'06, to around 3,000 fps. He popped one from window of my SUV at close range once. Stuff was falling for ten seconds at least. He began calling that load his "Armadillo Evaporator."

Seriously, though - - any of the above will do fine with head shots. My favorite ended up being standard velocity .22 LR from most any accurate handgun or rifle. Don't spend extra for "subsonic" ammo - - Just buy Remington Pistol Match. The 40 gr solid bullet does a good job at any range from which you can make a reliable hit on the head.

If you ever have the chance, listen to "The Armadillo Jackal," performed by Robert Earl Keen.

Best,
Johnny