Do any makers of 22 RF make a hard lead bullet for their cartridges? I am the local armadillo abatement hero and I think such a round @ 1200 fps for 40-45 gr truncated bullet would be a seller. It would also have other uses.

I've never had any trouble killing them with any 22lr ammunition. Grew up learning to shoot with a 552 Speedmaster on the armadillo herds here.

I've never shot an armadillo, but have shot many hundreds of grey squirrels, porcupines, woodchucks, and opossums with a 22 and what I have found from shooting these critters over the last 50 years is that Standard velocity ammo gives better penetration and accuracy than any high velocity ammo I've tried, and I've tried just about everything.. When stingers first came out, I must have used a case of them... Accuracy sucked, so it was hard to determine how effective the hits actually were cause you rarely hit exactly what you were aiming at.

One thing I will say about grey squirrels is they can really absorb a lot of hits sometimes.. I mean a lot for the tiny critter they are, its amazing.. even center of mass chest hit, if not in the heart, they just keep goin.. If grey squirrels were as big as deer, i wouldn't go in the woods! Only head shots ensure they are "graveyard dead" with one shot.

Ive shot a million of those texas Armadillos, usually with std. HP or solid 22 L.R. they are easy to kill, that shell just helps a bullet expand and won't stop even a 22 short up close.

Are those Alabama armadillos forty-pounders? Or maybe the minerals in the Alabama soil make their shells harder? Like Ray, I've never seen any kind of .22 ammunition fail to dispatch an armadillo post haste. But maybe our Texas armadillos are an inferior breed.

I do recall a friend shooting one with a very hard cast .45 ACP one time long ago. The slow, non-expanding bullet made a near half-inch hole straight through it in one side and out the other, but the bugger acted like nothing had happened and strolled on forty or fifty yards before keeling over. There is something to be said for expansion.

Ole Miss Guy---Cast your own .22 cal and load centerfire. I use the RCBS 58 grain mold and shoot them in .222 or 22-250 around 2000-2200 fps. They'll do a number for you and you can shoot them as cheap as rimfire ammo--probably cheaper.

CCI make a copper projectile .22 round for sale in Kalifornia. Ive seen it here in New Zealand so its available everywhere.

That might be worth a crack.

Thank you everyone.
I have found that Winchester has a 42 grain bullet in LR that has advertised V of 1220 ft/sec which produces 140 ft-lbs, so this will be my best choice. The CCI LR in copper would have been first, but cannot locate any.
I am having to shoot armadillos from the deck into openings through brush and bushes at a distance of 45-45 yards. My Hornets caused a call from the police for me not to do that again.

I thought Alabama was country boy country, Idaho told my California neighbors I could shoot all I wanted as I live in the county, as long as I didn't point it and threaten them, I grudgingly promised not to shoot them if they behave themselves..and fireformed about 200 257 Ackley to agrivate them, they just moved out here and live a mile down the rode and already piss'en and moaning..and they went ballistic when pheasant season opened, and every field and backyard was busting caps to beat hell...

Stonecreek,
Say it ain't so, Texas Armadillos are the meanest toughest fatest, like everything else in Texas!! God Bless Texas!!

I have noticed that .22lr bullets seem to have become softer than say 25 to 30 years ago or is it my imagination ? The toughest 22 rimfire bullets I can remember were the no longer produced Swartklip Products range and ICI . They would penetrate very well .

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I thought Alabama was country boy country, Idaho told my California neighbors I could shoot all I wanted as I live in the county, as long as I didn't point it and threaten them, I grudgingly promised not to shoot them if they behave themselves..and fireformed about 200 257 Ackley to agrivate them, they just moved out here and live a mile down the rode and already piss'en and moaning..and they went ballistic when pheasant season opened, and every field and backyard was busting caps to beat hell...

You mean they moved into the country and wanted to bring their city attitudes with them? Well sir, your neighbors just need your kind of an education!

Too many places are seeing an influx of folks who want something better and then work their asses off to make it like from whence they came.

Good luck Ray! Your work is cut out for you.

Zeke

Winchester makes a 1240 FPS load that will kill a cow or a pig, and Ive even shot feral hogs with it, its a copper hollow point, expands well and penetrates like the devil and is super accurate in my old 22 brno and my 63 Win.

I use match 22 ammo - ELEY or LAPUA to kill any unwanted animal we have here, lots of different antelopes, up to Arabian Oryx and simitar hortned oryx and addax.

No problems at all.

One shot to the head and that is it.

I agree the size of the hole in the brain makes little difference..

As a little aside; several years ago Texas Monthly magazine wrote and a rtce about " A Texan + His Guns," the story went about this one on one in the depression. I recall how he told of shooting a deer + being 13 years old he couldn't drad the deer out of the clearing, then he heard the wardens mule. He knew he couldn't get away so he put his last 22 bullets in his single shot_ waited for the warden. When the warden showed up he told the boy how white he thought him to be but he really didn't need to keep lilling deer. So he says 'Well I'll let you go this time' [mighty ballsy for someone who already has the gun].

CCI SGB (Small Game Bullet) is a flat nosed solid lead bullet. It penetrates well and transfers energy better than a round nose. I mostly use them on blue grouse which can take an amazing amount of damage before stopping them so I think they should do well on your rampaging armadillos.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
As a little aside; several years ago Texas Monthly magazine wrote and a rtce about " A Texan + His Guns," the story went about this one on one in the depression. I recall how he told of shooting a deer + being 13 years old he couldn't drad the deer out of the clearing, then he heard the wardens mule. He knew he couldn't get away so he put his last 22 bullets in his single shot_ waited for the warden. When the warden showed up he told the boy how white he thought him to be but he really didn't need to keep lilling deer. So he says 'Well I'll let you go this time' [mighty ballsy for someone who already has the gun].

I have tried to read past the typos, but cannot for the life of me understand what you are trying to say

I killed 2 last week using Win hollow points. Shot them both behind the head and watched them flop around for a few seconds. Proud of myself. Told my close neighbor, so he shot one that night. The gut shot varmit ran over to my shed to crawl under my riding mower to die. I smelled it, but it took my dog barking at the mower to locate it. Haven't seen any the last few nights.

Sorry Duckear, I now have spell check since I have a tendency to think faster than I type. As the story went the kid shot this buck on federal land. He heard the game warden coming on his mule. He wasn't strong enough to drag it out of the clearing in time so he just chambered another round + sat on the deer waiting for the warden. He had the 22 pointed at the warden the whole time; + even as the warden told him that he was breaking the law; he would let him go this time (mighty white when the other fellow has you in his sights) under the condition that he never came back + poached here again. The kid looked him in the eye + said, "Dad ran off, I'm the oldest boy, I have 3 sisters + 3 brothers + when this is gone I'll be back." Seems he got his 22 shells by walking into town + trading an egg for a shell. Sorry for the earlier poor translation. Great article.

I do hate to hear of the killing of Armadillos indiscriminately. I know that they will tear up a flower bed digging for worms/grubs, etc. but they are still a permanent fixture of our central Texas homes + lifestyle + we really don't give a shit about you Yankees coming down here + pushing your opinions after you hosed up your own place back north. Boy Oh Boy, was that clear enough?!

The 22 is a better killer than many give it credit for..My dad leased a ranch in Mexico across from our ranch in Texas..He paid the lease by fencing the whole 30,000 acres or there abouts?? Had a crew of 20 to 30 Mexicans full time and camped out on the job..My job was to shoot deer to feed the gang..For a 13 or 14 year old that was a trip to heaven...I shot about 5 to 7 ever day or two, then two or three fo the folks in the village who traded us quail they had in traps for deer..Deer were thick and never been hunted and were all but tame,,,Id ride out and shoot one twice in the shoulder and ride off in a big two mile circle, and when I got back to the start I gutted all the deer I had shot and a Mexican would bring a couple of pack horses and cut them up and pack them out to camp..The forestales (game wardens) would pick up one or two and the village would get a couple..If I rode off at two shots they wouldn't run, if I tried to approach them they would run and be hard to find..but the old man with me could track a deer by the impression his shadow left on the rocks..He would give me fits if I chased one, His name was silviano and he was at least 90 and could walk 15 miles a day..He lived in the village...The 22 mod. 63 that now belongs to Norman Conquest was the gun I used all that summer, to buy another just like it and later my 25-35 win..

Never underestimate a 22 L.R. in the right hands.

I had a neighbor that moved in some time after I started living in that place.

He must have decided that my shooting annoyed him as he would start shooting when I did.

I one day I heard him blasting away I walked across the field to see him shooting ghetto style, Mag after mag while holding a 9mm side ways above his head.

I think he thought we were having a noise making contest.

At the time I had a 11 inch M-16 so I filled 3 30 round mags from stripper clips.

I put plugs and muffs on walked 100 feet to my range and fired of those 3 mags on full auto as fast as I could change them.

I think I won I never heard him shoot again when I did and he then moved away.

quote:

Originally posted by muzza:
CCI make a copper projectile .22 round for sale in Kalifornia. Ive seen it here in New Zealand so its available everywhere.

That might be worth a crack.

Maybe ok for close up, not especially accurate.

Yeah, I really appreciate that 'gangsta' style of shooting. It just tells me that they can't hit a fxxxing thing.

Oh, + BTW Ray, that is one sweet little rifle!

I never kill an armadillo indiscriminately, it is with malice and prejudice. They are one of the worst nuisances down here in the Deep South.

I did not realize the little toots bark until my daughter informed of this while she was attending Baylor. They had the odd 'dillo wander into their horse barns.

CCI SGB is the best all around hunting round out to 50 yards. Big flat meplat 40 grain lead bullet punches way above its weight.

Beyond 50 yards I prefer the CCI Velositor as it pushes the bounds of what a .22LR can do. I’ve shot ground squirrels, prairie dogs and woodchucks out to 150 yards with this load to my satisfaction and their dissatisfaction.

Gentlemen, during the WWII conflict my dad and all the men in our area of Texas were over seas fighting the war. Ammo was scares and .22 ammo was all you could get in most places. I started hunting meat to feed three families who moved on my grandfathers ranch/farm in Coleman county Texas. With meat rationing we couldn't even butcher our own cattle because it had to be sold to go to the ARMY's fighters. Because of that I almost wiped out the deer, squirrel and rabbit population out on our ranch and even neighboring ranches with a single shot .22 rifle and a 410 single shot shotgun.

That ruined me for placing shots in the chest later in my life, because my shooting had always been head shots on everything, so it didn't ruin the meat that we needed for the table for several family members.

So as Ray can tell you in the hands of a hungry hunter the little .22 long rifle ammo is a table filler. That little Winchester single shot was a GOD send to our family during the WW-II conflict! So don't sell it short!

………………………………………………………………….. MacD37
an

quote:

Originally posted by TREE 'EM:
CCI SGB is the best all around hunting round out to 50 yards. Big flat meplat 40 grain lead bullet punches way above its weight.

Beyond 50 yards I prefer the CCI Velositor as it pushes the bounds of what a .22LR can do. I’ve shot ground squirrels, prairie dogs and woodchucks out to 150 yards with this load to my satisfaction and their dissatisfaction.

I'll agree with that on both counts.

I like the SGB for grouse in the mountains here, it hits hard but doesn't mangle the bird. The Velositor is my low noise coyote round for around my place. To many urbanites have moved in that don't like it when somebody shoots those "cute little dogs".

Mac, that puts me in mind of a story I read in Texas Monthly magazine several years ago about "Texans + Their Guns". One man's reminiscence was during the depression (he was a boy then) was to take some eggs to town + traded them for 2 .22 rounds. He set up his spot by a clearing in the national forest + waited until a deer came by. He killed the buck with his 1st shot then while trying to drag the deer off he heard horse hooves so he chambered the last round + sat on the dead deer. Here comes the warden. The warden saw that rifle pointed at him + said that he would let him go this time but don't come back to which the kid replied, "Mister I'm 12 years old. My Dad is gone + I have several little sisters + brothers + I'll be honest with you; when this is gone I'll be back."

quote:

So as Ray can tell you in the hands of a hungry hunter the little .22 long rifle ammo is a table filler

My Dad born in 1918 killed a lot of deer in the 30's with a 22 Stevens bolt gun to feed the family.

It was a different world back then, we didn't kill our calves, they were worth 12 cents a pound, and money was all but impossible to come by I guess..Dad had a ranch on the North end of El Paso, Tx. that bordered the Donna Anna bombing range in New Mexico, and it was crawling with deer and the deer moved in on us in Texas, and that's what we ate, I did most of the hunting..Dad had a contract with Ft Bliss who burried all excess stuffs on our ranch in the sand Hill area near town, they had to use it or get a budget cut..They burried it and dad dug it up, depending on what he wanted, 30-06 and 30 carbine, some 45 ACP, 55 gallon drums of gasoline, crates of tea and coffee and one bull dozer that may still be there!!..He ran a black market type operation to keep the ranch going, gave lots of stuff to folks that needed help, He had a couple of Springfields, a garand,and a carbine so we shot deer to eat, filed off the noses of the 06 ammo, and it killed like lightening sometimes and other times we learned to track and track and track..We were dog poor like everyone else, but us kids never knew it we were living the cowboy life, My brother at the time was doing his part in the war effort I Germany.. We hunted at will..We killed some monster Mule deer on that ranch..20 years later I leased that same ranch for cattle and it still had some mighty big deer on it..many of those deer were kiled with a 22 LR. and not one ever escaped wounded..However a couple did that we shot with that milsurp solid ammo however, one with the carbine and the other with the Springfield..They both got across into the bombing range and we didn't go in there very far..Could get caught or bombed, both bad choices.

Fond memories Ray.

Ray
Those are great stories, my father had a few good ones from when he lived in Wyoming back in the 30s and 40s. He would be 93 if he were still here.how times have changed but I have spoken with a few wardens who in the right situation would turn a blind eye.

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I thought Alabama was country boy country, Idaho told my California neighbors I could shoot all I wanted as I live in the county, as long as I didn't point it and threaten them, I grudgingly promised not to shoot them if they behave themselves..and fireformed about 200 257 Ackley to agrivate them, they just moved out here and live a mile down the rode and already piss'en and moaning..and they went ballistic when pheasant season opened, and every field and backyard was busting caps to beat hell...

You mean they moved into the country and wanted to bring their city attitudes with them? Well sir, your neighbors just need your kind of an education!

Too many places are seeing an influx of folks who want something better and then work their asses off to make it like from whence they came.

Good luck Ray! Your work is cut out for you.

Zeke

We have a real problem with those liberals moving into our once great state of Florida. When I moved her in '73 there were lots and lots of places I could shoot every day. Now that the "Libs" are here I have to drive 45 minutes and pay $12 to shoot and be "controlled" by "range officers". Sucks~! Thinkinga about moving to SW Arkansas, a nice "red" state~!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by MS Hitman:
I never kill an armadillo indiscriminately, it is with malice and prejudice. They are one of the worst nuisances down here in the Deep South.

They'll sure do a number on a citrus grove~!

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Winchester makes a 1240 FPS load that will kill a cow or a pig, and Ive even shot feral hogs with it, its a copper hollow point, expands well and penetrates like the devil and is super accurate in my old 22 brno and my 63 Win.

What are you shooting thru your '63~? Std velocity or HV~?

My Hi-Standard was a 1947 H-D Military.

Pleasant surprise yesterday, Big 5 had CCI standard velocity on the shelf decently priced. Lots of Aguila and a smattering of no-lead.
Will the drought break, now?