A New Rodent to Hunt

Not new to some of us. Been around for decades along the gulf coast. They are a blast to shoot if you can get into the thick of them. Set off about 150-200 yards about an hour before dark with an accurate 17 hmr and scan the waters along levees and canals. Such fun. Like a poor-man's PD hunt.
 
Not new to some of us. Been around for decades along the gulf coast. They are a blast to shoot if you can get into the thick of them. Set off about 150-200 yards about an hour before dark with an accurate 17 hmr and scan the waters along levees and canals. Such fun. Like a poor-man's PD hunt.
WOW
I know that these Nutria have been around for many years and have been causing damage to Dikes and Water Canals. I just posted the article from the internet stating that those Nutria are spreading to other States. Getting like Hogs or Armadillos.. These Nutria are very devastating to canals and water ways. They dig into the banks and actually can cause a Dike System to collapse.
I remember years ago when a friend told me that at Dusk and nighttime they were drifting in a boat using Red Lights, in Canals, and shooting the Nutria with 22s. I think he said that there was a Bounty on them because of the damage they did.
If we lived near an area that had Nutria, and had a boat, would be helpful to the enviroment to shoot them. Kind of like shooting rats on the river banks of the Lackawanna River in Moosic, PA when I was 7 to14 years old. I remember my dad buying bricks of Federal LR Hollow points (Red Box) for $5.00 a brick. Went through a lot of Bricks with our Savage Pump Model 29B that my dad purchased in 1949 for $49.00.
Also shot a lot of Rats with a .22 H&R Model 999 revolver.
Love to hear some stories hunting Nutria!!
 
I remember the first one I ever saw, running down beside the road near a ditch. About 1972 here in East Tx. My Dad saw it first and said, get out and catch that thing. Had a long handle brush axe in the truck and I "brought" him back with me.

We used to drift the edges of the hydrilla beds on Lake Conroe and shoot them with bow and arrow. Probably spent more time retrieving arrows than anything!!!.
 
Been in LA since 1930's , they were everywhere in early 90s when I lived down there--- size of beavers -- some locals make some pretty good stew out of 'em

 
I guess the Gators are eating good!
Gators get their share, but as thick as the gators are there are still not enough of them to do much control. Ground nutria meat used to be the prime food source for farm raised gators. Farmers would buy them from hunters and trappers. But then gators started getting sick. It was discovered that lead poisoning was the problem - from lead in the nutria meat. So that market was lost and fur trade has never rebound since the 80s. Population control is still a problem.
 
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