where do you shoot a skunk so it won't stink??

mudbug

mudbug

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I know this maybe shouldn't be in the hunting forum but..
My golden retriever got a little shot of skunk juice last night, so I headed out with the flash light and the 22. I heard it walking in the deep grass behind the shop but I never ventured into the deep stuff. One stinky thing is enough for our household. Which brings me to my question. Is there a perfect spot to shoot a skunk so it won't spray or piss out it's perfume?
I've used the 223 shot them in the head, ass, guts and somtimes have gotten away with no stink. I've used the 12 guage, 22, one even got the 270. Somtimes the clean up isn't too bad other times it's a drive by with the quad and a fishing net after a couple days if my stupid (now stinky) dog hasn't drug it on the lawn and rolled around on it, (Yes it happened).
I know if I have one around I probobly have more so if anyone has some advise for me to make the skunk cull easier and as pleasant as it can be, I would like to hear your advice.
 
I have had to shoot many at the farm. Usually they get caught in a live trap and we take them out to the end of the pasture. The key is to shoot them with the wind blowing AWAY from you so the stink gets carried away. We use a couple of .410 round to the head and it doesn't get a chance to spray. When they are come out of the trap they quickly turn to face you. That is when you shoot. Don't wait for them to turn their back end towards you.

The fun part is we turn the live trap on its end and slide open the door trapping the skunk between the trap and the ground. With a long rope attached to the trap one of us shoots and one of us gives the rope a good tug. Kind of like a trap shoot. I yell PULL !!! and the trap is jerked away leaving a skunk staring at you then BLAMM!!! BLAMM!!


I like the 12 ga duck load idea too
 
becareful!!!! It may not die fast and have time to crawl somewhere to die that you can not get at it. I have trapped them before. They do not spray while in the trap. You can then simply gas them in a the trap in a big garbage bag on an exhaust pipe and then dispose of the critter.
 
Best place to shoot them is far, far from your house..... smrt alick eh??

I've tried hitting them at the base of the skull (severing the brain stem) with a 55 grn NBT from a 243, hits fast and sort of freezes them for a minute until thier nervous system goes static and they spaz a bit, but usually don't spray. It's a hard shot to guarantee and you may or may not be successful everytime you try it.

In the event that you fail and stink things up, Joe's hand cleaner will take the smell off of your skin and hair. It will dry your hair out a bit, but which is worse.
I found this out when I killed a skunk with a 3/4" wrench by the BBQ pit at a motel.........and ended up reeking.
 
jtoews80 said:
In the event that you fail and stink things up, Joe's hand cleaner will take the smell off of your skin and hair. It will dry your hair out a bit, but which is worse.
I found this out when I killed a skunk with a 3/4" wrench by the BBQ pit at a motel.........and ended up reeking.
Click to expand...

Well, that's your problem... 3/4" isn't enough wrench for a skunk! I use 1" at least and 25mm for European skunks...

Jeff
 
Trap them and drown. No spraying involved. For those that think this is a cruel end for a striped skunk then that's your opinion and I can respect that... you can shoot them in your back yard then!
 
REALTHING7 said:
In your neighbours yard
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LOL!! I was just about to say the same thing.

I have shot more skunks that I can count and have used just about every gun imaginable that happened to be handy. It is a crap shoot - sometimes they stink ... and sometimes they stink.

You milage probably won't vary.
 
Well I just set up my trap line....(a live trap with a can of cat food). I'll see in the morning if I got a striped critter or not. I set it up a hundred yards away from the house near a brush pile with a marshy wet patch behind it.
I couldn't see a way to get the trap open without getting way to close when the skunk is leaving the trap, so maybe we'll be going for a bit of a swim if I can't open it in a safe unscented manner. Sorry PETA.:jerkit:
I want to keep the stinky dog baths down to a minimum. As a retriever he loves water but not when it comes to the bathtub.
 
On the farm we usually didn't worry about them spraying and just kept our distance and did them in with a .22. The only way i recall to avoid them spraying was either a large cal. bullet or varmint bullet to the head/neck/spine, something with alot of speed or wallop.
 
We used to trap and off, a lot of skunks around our hives near Moose Jaw.

Never really got a solid handle on where to shoot them so they wouldn't spray. Shooting them when they are asleep, on the other hand....The stripes taper together at the head end, IIRC.

Bud up here has built a live trap with a window in it (to check for his doofus cat) and a section of hose to hook to his tractor exhaust. He says it works a treat. I figure a squirt of diesel starting fluid (Ether) would do the job too, without needing a tractor.

Cheers
Trev
 
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