Shooting armadillos at night

[DrHenley]

Last armadillo patrol I used a 10/22 with a low powered scope (1.5-4x) and Federal Champion (bulk box stuff) hollow points. Time before I used Federal Game Shoks. The Game Shoks put them down faster. That of course is a daytime rig, but I have another scope for low light with a huge objective lens (54mm for squirrel hunting at dawn and dusk)

We started hunting them aggressively last year, and we have killed so many that they are starting to get smart and will take off like a scalded dog before you get within 30 yards of them. And they don't stop until they get into a hole. We used to be able to get right up on them and club them to death.

, it's not that they are dumb, it's that they have dull senses, both hearing and sight are weak. And unless startled, they move so slow that it takes them longer to cross the road than other animals, thus allowing a longer time for a vehicle to hit them.

Even though I detest them, I try to make clean kills. A 22 High Velocity Hollow Point anywhere in the body will kill them eventually, but if you hit them near the head, they will go down immediately. Solids, whether hardball 45 or 22 solids, will not put them down immediately unless you hit the spine.

A DRT kill shot will make it go tits up and quivering.