How hard is it to kill a skunk!?!? *UPDATE: HE'S DEAD*
- Thread starter sxyglock17
- Start date
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Well, re-sighted in my rifle today. It wasn't even on paper at 25m! I took the scope off, swapped the front and rear mounts around for good measure, re-assembled it, was 5" high and 3" right. I checked the elev and wind limits on the scope, and it was almost at the top and 3/4 to the right. When the elev and wind were put to the middle of their range, it was an inch high. Re-zeroed it for 100m, and it shoots 1/2" low at 25m 
.
I'll re-check zero from my shooting position, with those cool "shoot n see" targets, then we should be good to go.
-Jamie M.
.I'll re-check zero from my shooting position, with those cool "shoot n see" targets, then we should be good to go.
-Jamie M.
MauserMike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Your scope must have slipped in the rings or something similar. Usually the rings the cheaper scopes come with are pretty crappy. Look into some Leupold rings, Burris, etc. You won't be sorry - $30 is worth the piece of mind.
The Accutriggers on those Savages are a pretty nice feature on a rifle in this price range. I think the Savage I shot was a .177HMR and it is a nice little bolt rifle with a bull barrel, sightless with a nice scope. Come to think of it .177HMR would be a nice skunk smoker too, especially if you need to get out to 100 yds.
I look forward to the upcoming SPLAT video. In the meantime, one of these should do the job too
The Accutriggers on those Savages are a pretty nice feature on a rifle in this price range. I think the Savage I shot was a .177HMR and it is a nice little bolt rifle with a bull barrel, sightless with a nice scope. Come to think of it .177HMR would be a nice skunk smoker too, especially if you need to get out to 100 yds.
I look forward to the upcoming SPLAT video. In the meantime, one of these should do the job too
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I killed him! YAY! But damn, i've never smelt something so bad in my life! SHEESH!
I had the crosshairs dialed on the square cat door in the barn. Was ready for him to climb up like before, but he didn't, he just walked right by! So sneaky! So I took too quick of a shot and missed with my first one, but when he ran I got him right in the front shoulder area with the 2nd shot, just about cut him in two.
Video will be up tonight. The kill shot is just off camera, but I zoom in on the carnage afterwards.
I had the crosshairs dialed on the square cat door in the barn. Was ready for him to climb up like before, but he didn't, he just walked right by! So sneaky! So I took too quick of a shot and missed with my first one, but when he ran I got him right in the front shoulder area with the 2nd shot, just about cut him in two
.Video will be up tonight. The kill shot is just off camera, but I zoom in on the carnage afterwards
.Ok, the video is up:
LICK FOR VIDEO! 14mb, .WMV
Now, was back there again tonight, here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to the property owner:
"Night started pretty quiet at 11:00pm. My shot on the barn target let me set my scope for a perfect shot there, and shooting straight down, the shot is waaaaaay off, but basically, if you aim for the skunks right ear, you’d hit em right at the base of the neck/between shoulder blades.
At 12:45am a skunk showed up. Came from the sand ring gate, was being very cautious, walked over to the coupe door, then behind the edge of the harrow, but never into the light enough for me to get a good shot. He never went any closer to the cat door, just turned around and went behind the barn.
At 1:15am he was back. Came from the same direction. When he got to the coupe door, he started biting and clawing at the bottom right corner. He had it pulled open pretty good, I could hear the latch clanging, but he eventually gave up. He headed for the cat door and right as he went to jump in I shot him in the back, between the shoulder blades, right through his spinal cord, instantly dead (you can see the cool blood splatter and bullet hole on the side of the barn just below the cat door).
I grabbed the shovels and moved him to where the other dead skunk was the night before (so he wouldn’t interfere with any other skunks or critters that would like to show up).
I was barely back up on the roof of the barn, around 1:30am, I heard something large going through the row of trees/bush just behind the sand ring. I could hear big twigs/branches snapping, branches rustling, etc. The horses went crazy running around in circles, cats took off like a bat outa hell, frogs stopped croaking, then dead silence, it was weird. I could hear it walking through the tall grass along the edge of the sand ring fence. My breathing got a little heavier, which was making it hard for me to hear it moving. As it got closer I could faintly see its outline, and then it stopped just on the coupe side of the last light pole for the sand ring. It appeared to jump up with its front legs onto the TOP sand ring rail and take a look around, sniffed a few times in the air (I could hear it sniff, but couldn’t hear it breathe, sounded like a dog sniff, but longer inhale). This thing was huge!! I took my scope and zoomed in for a better look, couldn’t see a thing, too dark over there. I woke up the camcorder by hitting the record button (it was already turned on but in sleep mode), hit night vision mode and immediately it snapped its head and looked right at me! Big eyes, far apart, glowing green because of the IR illuminators (was looking at the camera LCD). I couldn’t get a clear picture through the night vision because the lens was covered in dew. I tried turning up the night vision, but the brighter I made it, the blurrier it got. I tried to wipe off the end of the lens so I could get a clear picture but as soon as I moved, it took off. Very fast pace, sounded like a Daisy (very huge Belgian horse the property owner has) fast canter. It was heavy, you could feel the thud of its foot steps. It ran down the outside of the sand ring fence and right through the stand of trees/bush at full speed! It snapped a few big branches on its way through, then stomped off into the distance.
I couldn’t believe it saw me! After I waited a few mins to make sure it was gone (ok, an hour), I walked down to that edge of the sand ring and had a look back at the barn. I even had my rifle hanging over the edge so the silver barrel would stand out. I couldn’t see a thing except for the glare of the flood lights! This thing must have night vision too! (I originally thought it had seen the red flashing record LED on the front of the camera, but as it turns out, it wasn't on cause it wasn't recording).
Needless to say, for whatever that was, I’ll need a bigger gun."
Crazyness. Unfortunatly I found out that if you wake up the camera (I was running it on battery because the extension cord didn't reach to the peak of the roof which is my new spot) by hitting the record button, you have to hit it twice to actually start recording (missed both the skunk shot, it was a beauty, and the El Chupacabra). Not that you woulda seen much anyway. (mental note for next time, leave lens cap on until ready to shoot video).
So, any guesses? Uxbridge area. I'd have to guess Bear. They did find one near here a year or two ago. Was too big for coyote. Don't think it was that cougar that was spotted near here a few weeks ago, this thing sounded too heavy.
-Jamie M.
LICK FOR VIDEO! 14mb, .WMV
Now, was back there again tonight, here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to the property owner:
"Night started pretty quiet at 11:00pm. My shot on the barn target let me set my scope for a perfect shot there, and shooting straight down, the shot is waaaaaay off, but basically, if you aim for the skunks right ear, you’d hit em right at the base of the neck/between shoulder blades.
At 12:45am a skunk showed up. Came from the sand ring gate, was being very cautious, walked over to the coupe door, then behind the edge of the harrow, but never into the light enough for me to get a good shot. He never went any closer to the cat door, just turned around and went behind the barn.
At 1:15am he was back. Came from the same direction. When he got to the coupe door, he started biting and clawing at the bottom right corner. He had it pulled open pretty good, I could hear the latch clanging, but he eventually gave up. He headed for the cat door and right as he went to jump in I shot him in the back, between the shoulder blades, right through his spinal cord, instantly dead (you can see the cool blood splatter and bullet hole on the side of the barn just below the cat door).
I grabbed the shovels and moved him to where the other dead skunk was the night before (so he wouldn’t interfere with any other skunks or critters that would like to show up).
I was barely back up on the roof of the barn, around 1:30am, I heard something large going through the row of trees/bush just behind the sand ring. I could hear big twigs/branches snapping, branches rustling, etc. The horses went crazy running around in circles, cats took off like a bat outa hell, frogs stopped croaking, then dead silence, it was weird. I could hear it walking through the tall grass along the edge of the sand ring fence. My breathing got a little heavier, which was making it hard for me to hear it moving. As it got closer I could faintly see its outline, and then it stopped just on the coupe side of the last light pole for the sand ring. It appeared to jump up with its front legs onto the TOP sand ring rail and take a look around, sniffed a few times in the air (I could hear it sniff, but couldn’t hear it breathe, sounded like a dog sniff, but longer inhale). This thing was huge!! I took my scope and zoomed in for a better look, couldn’t see a thing, too dark over there. I woke up the camcorder by hitting the record button (it was already turned on but in sleep mode), hit night vision mode and immediately it snapped its head and looked right at me! Big eyes, far apart, glowing green because of the IR illuminators (was looking at the camera LCD). I couldn’t get a clear picture through the night vision because the lens was covered in dew. I tried turning up the night vision, but the brighter I made it, the blurrier it got. I tried to wipe off the end of the lens so I could get a clear picture but as soon as I moved, it took off. Very fast pace, sounded like a Daisy (very huge Belgian horse the property owner has) fast canter. It was heavy, you could feel the thud of its foot steps. It ran down the outside of the sand ring fence and right through the stand of trees/bush at full speed! It snapped a few big branches on its way through, then stomped off into the distance.
I couldn’t believe it saw me! After I waited a few mins to make sure it was gone (ok, an hour), I walked down to that edge of the sand ring and had a look back at the barn. I even had my rifle hanging over the edge so the silver barrel would stand out. I couldn’t see a thing except for the glare of the flood lights! This thing must have night vision too! (I originally thought it had seen the red flashing record LED on the front of the camera, but as it turns out, it wasn't on cause it wasn't recording).
Needless to say, for whatever that was, I’ll need a bigger gun."
Crazyness. Unfortunatly I found out that if you wake up the camera (I was running it on battery because the extension cord didn't reach to the peak of the roof which is my new spot) by hitting the record button, you have to hit it twice to actually start recording (missed both the skunk shot, it was a beauty, and the El Chupacabra). Not that you woulda seen much anyway. (mental note for next time, leave lens cap on until ready to shoot video).
So, any guesses? Uxbridge area. I'd have to guess Bear. They did find one near here a year or two ago. Was too big for coyote. Don't think it was that cougar that was spotted near here a few weeks ago, this thing sounded too heavy.
-Jamie M.
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not bad video needed normal speed though. For the next skunk you go after try and get the head shot because they wont spray. Chances are he got a squirt off as he died and thats why it smelt so bad. As soon as I get my hunting license I have to kill one up by the cottage as well so ill let you know how that works out.
Check for prints/hair in the area the twigs broke. Chances are it left some trace specially if it was a bear.
Steve
Check for prints/hair in the area the twigs broke. Chances are it left some trace specially if it was a bear.
Steve
It is 100% normal speed, it just looks weird because of the slow shutter speed and frame rate. When I put the shutter speed faster so it doesn't blurr like that, it doesn't let me zoom in. In the video I'm zoomed in about 6x or so.
Will get the property owner to check for hair and stuff left behind.
-Jamie M.
Hehe. I still have a lot to learn as far as ballistics and shot placement go. Your target won't always be at exactly 100m, broadside shot, standing still, exactly level to yourself, with no wind. You might not be able to drop to the ground and deploy your 6" bipod, better find something to steady urself. Gotta remember to not rush the shot, but take it when it's available, remember to breathe, have confidence in where the bullet will go, don't just shoot for the middle of it's body.Jamie, you should take up hunting for real!
I'm a super pickey eater, and could never eat anything I've killed, hence why I've never hunted before, or got my hunting license, etc. Preditor control, I'm all for it. But unless I knew someone who could benefit from the meat from my hunt, I wouldn't do it.
I do hear turkeys are cunning animals, might want to try that. Heard you can't shoot them with sniper rifles though, only shutguns. That takes a bit of the fun out
.I think that might be slightly over the caliber limit of .263 or whatever
.The MNR and Town of Uxbridge still havn't got back to me, if the caliber restriction only applies to hunting, or to all discharges/preditor control too.
Thanks for all the comments guys, it really helped me take mr. stinky and his brother down.
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Oh yeah, a few people sent me a PM asking what ammo I've been using.
I'm lovin the stuff so far! Sure does make a mess. Not good for skunks if you don't want the smell around, unless you can get em in the head
-Jamie M.
I'm lovin the stuff so far! Sure does make a mess. Not good for skunks if you don't want the smell around, unless you can get em in the head
-Jamie M.
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- Location
- Southern Ontario
So what does one do in the Town of Richmond Hill? I don't believe the discharge of firearms is permitted period.
We have a real problem with racoons. They are destroying our property. Eating through the garage door! Thought we had them all trapped and disposed of but when we covered the garage door hole we then found holes in the roof overhang. SOB's are a pain to get rid of.
I'd love to sit in a chair in the back yard at night and pick them off... but it's just too crowded. Best we can do is trap them and transport them to a local farm or forested area.
We have a real problem with racoons. They are destroying our property. Eating through the garage door! Thought we had them all trapped and disposed of but when we covered the garage door hole we then found holes in the roof overhang. SOB's are a pain to get rid of.
I'd love to sit in a chair in the back yard at night and pick them off... but it's just too crowded. Best we can do is trap them and transport them to a local farm or forested area.
blacksmithden
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Oh my God, thanks guys. I just stumbled across this thread and I haven't had a good laugh like this in a loooooong time
