I think they are the dumbest creatures I've ever encountered. If you spook them, sometimes they'll kind of hiss and jump straight up. It's fun to try and time it so you can shoot them while they're in the air. Awful, awful things.
I would never consider shooting a deer out of season, taking more than the limit, or not eating what I killed. Same with turkeys, dove, etc. But I will gleefully shoot every armadillo I see in my neighborhood, leave them gut shot in a ditch, and aim for them with my truck if they cross the road. If that makes me a bad person, so be it. Yuck.
On our old place, I made sure to keep my 22lr with me in the truck specifically for armadillos. My uncle loved to turkey hunt (and was damn good at it) and told me to shoot every one I saw so they wouldn't mess up the nests/eggs. I'm not sure if they actually eat the eggs, but they tear up the land and are fun to shoot. If you hit them in the right spot with a 22, they will jump straight up in the air before they land dead.
So it sounds like the Southern version of the possum, which is in my book a horrible creature with no redeemable qualities except for a remarkable ability to catch lead. Nice. We traditionally visit family in Illinois for Christmas, and word is the sparrows, starlings, and pigeons on my uncles' dairy farm are out of control. I typically have fun picking them off one by one with a super .22, but we've got some real cleanup to do this time. My dad went so far as to buy a case of 12 gauge 1 1/8 oz. #9 loads for the occasion. It's gonna be a blast (ha!).
They are often called possum on the half shell. When I was growing up, they were in Florida and South Georgia, but now the nasty things have migrated into and slightly beyond Middle Georgia. They "supposedly" prefer sandy soil and don't like the cold, so they didn't used to be a problem. I don't know if it's habitat, pressure, population growth, or simple adaptation, but the fuckers are around here now and it sucks. About 12 or 13 years ago is when I started noticing them around here, and I was lamenting that fact with a couple other folks, and one guy said, "It's too cold around here in the Winter. Armadillos don't like that." My dad said, "Yeah, well somebody forgot to tell the Armadillos."
Trying to get my groove back so went out and shot skeet today, I can't hit that fucking Hi-house but it is nice to have a range to yourself in the winter time.
They're well into North Georgia and moving fast. When I moved to this area in 2002 I had never seen one. Now they are the most common dead animal on the road around here.
A contractor I work with sent me a gift that just came via FedEx. In the past, he's given me things like a nice Leatherman, a $50 gift card to Bass Pro, etc. I just opened the big box and it's a Yeti Hopper 30. Hot damn.
That's awesome- what a nice guy. I think I know of the next upgrade we'll make to our canoeing trip kit.
The pond next to the college I went to just stocked with 200lbs of rainbow trout. Now I don't know a lot about trout, but from everything I've read about trout in aquaponics is that they need a lot of oxygen, cold water, and for the water to actually be clean. None of these statements will hold true in a couple months when the weather heats up. It will be interesting to see how long these fish survive in south louisiana.
Honestly if your gonna drop 300 on a soft cooler just spend a few bucks more and get a Rotomolded cooler. I've seen that hopper in person and while it's perfect for the beach or a short road trip, a week in the border waters isn't what it's made for in my opinion. Or buy a Brute Box 50 quart and a Brute softpak for the same price as the tundra 65. It's what I wish I did. My 65 isn't actually a 65 quart cooler, found that out after the fact. A brute box is actually what they say it is. Made in America too verses yeti which is made overseas.
Those guys must have been wondering wth do I have on the end of my line. The video was awesome to watch and I'm glad they released the fish for someone else to have a shot at that experience. That style of fishing has been on my bucket list since I've gotten back into fishing. One winter I'm going to take a trip north and go ice fishing. I've already scratched a couple goals off my list like my 26" speckled trout and 31" redfish from my kayak. I've done the fly fishing for rainbows, but am looking for more unique experiences to round everything out.
Being that they were 20 miles out on Lake Superior, the chances of someone catching that fish again are pretty slim. I'm surprised it fit through the hole. Next time they'll probably bring a bigger ice auger.
This is a common occurrence to get people out fishing. It is a huge thing people look forward to because in Texas if we want to go trout fishing we have to go down south by the Guadalupe River five miles from me. Out here in North Texas during the winter months they stock several thousand rainbows in the local city ponds and even have trout derbies. The fish will not survive into the summer because they will be caught long before then. Ft Worth has already been stocked earlier this month. Personally I can't wait!