I had no ideal that nutria rats ranged so far north . I thought they were pest only along the gulf coast . I've hunted them here in east Texas and Louisiana . It is easy to warm up a barrel of a .22 simi auto because there are an abundance of them and often takes more than one shot to anchor them . .22 Lr. hollow points kills better than solids . A 22 mag is by far a much better killer . They also present a difficult target when they are swimming because you can only see the tops of their heads . You need to be sure of your backstop when shooting across water .
Nutria rats are pest to the rice farmers around here because they dig through rice field levys and crawfish ponds .
Seen a news program on tv a few years ago that showed New Orleans Louisiana policeman riding in the back of pickup trucks shooting nutria rats with silenced 22 Ruger 10/22 rifles in the city limits of New Orleans . Looked like a hell of fun job to have .
