First NVD kill. Trash Panzer down!

[Blowpipe Sam]

I know, I know.  Pictures or it didn’t happen. Well I just happen to be learning this new-fangled NVD technology andI ain’t quite to the video stage yet.

I have insomnia so I’ve been trying to address the Armadillo problem in our yard when I’m up.  I take a couple of walks around our property after 0200. That’s when the Dillas seem to be most active. There’s a good storm blowing in this,morning.    I went out about 0300 and saw one rabbit at about 65 yards but it saw me before I could stalk closer.  By 0415 the wind was really starting to blow.  I decided on one more circuit.  Lightning was popping about ten miles to the north when I headed out. I carried my .25 caliber Beeman Raider equipped with a Oneleaf NV100 NVD. The gusts were beating up the tree tops and I really didn’t expect to see anything. I paused at the corner of one of Ed’s tractor sheds and braced the rifle against the corner post.  I made a slow sweep of the pasture and saw nothing.  I swung the gun slowly back and there was a browsing Armadillo just thirty yards away.
I watched the Dilla’ for several minutes while it hunted for crawfish along the edge of a ditch.  I was so excited about getting a good clear sight picture of a target that I forgot to push the record button.  The critter presented several good shots but I decided on a quartering shot, back to front, entering just behind the rib cage and passing diagonally through the vitals. The Beeman isn’t  regulated but it was slap in the middle of its “sweet zone”.  I heard the 20.06gr H&N FTT pop like a champagne cork when it hit.
The Armadillo did about a three foot summersault followed by several more.  Then it picked itself up and scuttled for a brush pile about twenty yards away.  It had a definite list to starboard and it was losing blood.  I let it go.  We were right on the front edge of this storm or I would have turned Belle out and we would have found it. We’ll look for it after the storm passes.

[avator]

Good job taking out that digger. Only ones I've seen around here in recent years are the roadkill on the roads.

[Back_Roads]

 

[dk1677]

Good going Capt!

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Hi Captain.

Good Job shooting that one.


Best Wishes - Tom

[splitbeing]

Exciting hunt.  Hope you find the dilla (and some sleep).

[Bicycleman]

Cap, that is a good account of your hunt.  And don't worry if you don't find it right away.  It will be very easy to locate in a few days.  

[martrage]

 Well folks , just like Captain said , "no pics or it didn't happen". Yesterday after shipping my defunct RovAir compressor out for repairs, I grabbed
 the BSA R10 & headed over to the dairy , hoping to connect on some starlings. They flew off at my approach so I drove up to an equipment shed for
  a set w/ some coffee & snacks to see what unfolded there. That place is a magnet to starlings & HOSPs for nesting. Just as I found the right angle
 to set up for out the window shooting ( it's a spot w/ storage box trucks & equipment , perfect hide ), a female appeared on the rain gutter. A straight
 on shot at 18 yrds. Snick -SLAP! A few feathers floated past. After a few swigs of coffee a male landed on the same spot , da ja vue! (all over again  )
 BUT they fell into the gutter , so no snacks for the kitty  :'( . A farm worker drove up with a rig to grind feed so I headed over to farm #2 to see if there
 was any action there. Spring is around the corner , redwing blackbirds, grackles are showing up , & singing up a storm along w/ other song birds. I set up
 watching an overgrown rock pile that HOSPs like to frequent & bother the wrens & song sparrows there. In a few minutes several arrived . A male gave me
 a side profile at the top of the vines. Again ,that wonderful slap as the Norma 17.6 gr pellet smacked it off the branch. Three more met their demise before
 they decided to get out of Dodge. All fell into the jumble of the vines ,so no recovery possible . The Wren came out of hiding and rewarded me with some songs
 until the wind picked up & I packed it in . NO pics though so it may as well be a fiction short story , right ?
 

[Blowpipe Sam]

Mornin y’all. The storm has passed and the skies are clear.  Belle and I checked out the brush pile the mechanized Marsupial was heading for when last seen.  Belle says there’s is definitely somebody at home.  Getting a DRT  hit on a Dilla ain’t easy.  Their leathery armor will not stop a .22 LR or even a .25 cal PCP at close range if you hit them obliquely.  But if the angle is too acute pellets will deflect.  I got a solid boiler room hit on this one.  It did the “Dilla dance” when I hit it and I found a good blood trail.  I’m calling this one graveyard dead.  I actually prefer that the trash panzers run off and do their dying at home. They are burrowing critters so they bury themselves!

[ranchibi]

Fantastic shot in stormy conditions! I hope you get some sleep...a friend of mine I fish with has insomnia.

[splitbeing]

Kill confirmed!

[Mike71]

Yeah even with a .22lr you need to double tap'm and they start the break dance routine.. never got one with a pellet gun, hope to this year.
Never had one run off from a 12ga slug, tho he did try and fly..

[Blowpipe Sam]

Update.
Conditions are ideal for another ambush.  We had some rain this evening and I saw fresh disturbance in the pasture today.  I expect they will show up after 0200.  There’s too much moon light right now.  I have my newly refurbished shooting tripod and a lawn chair pre positioned.  The NVD is on the gun and charged.  I’ll take a look around once the moon is down.

My right arm is still in a sling but I’m left handed and I’ve been practicing with the tripod.

[avator]

Yeah even with a .22lr you need to double tap'm and they start the break dance routine.. never got one with a pellet gun, hope to this year.
Never had one run off from a 12ga slug, tho he did try and fly..

Please be careful posting about PB guns here. If it develops into a PB discussion the thread will be locked and good airgun info may be lost.

[splitbeing]

I see you out there in the chair, one armed and waiting.  Nothing stops Captain Carter.

[Blowpipe Sam]

No Dillas’ today but I did figure out how to operate the NVD’s video mode in the dark.  I made some video of a possum which I will try to down load.