pellets to head did not kill skunk

J

joeranger

New member
My brother called me to take care of a skunk trapped in his yard. He wounded it with an air rifle but the smell was horrible.
He is in a close neighborhood and could not bring the rifle out in the daytime.

I have a gamo CO2 pistol. I loaded up a fresh cylinder and fired a pellet to its head from a foot away. Then about 7 more. It was like a scene out of goodfellas. It kept breathing.

The pellets were hunting ones with the plastic tip. I felt bad that I didn't put it down faster.
I guess I need to invest in a new air pistol, but I can't believe a point blank shot didn't even work.
 
"...could not bring the rifle out in the daytime..." Likely illegal at night too. You really should have told your brother to open the gate.
A CO2 pistol doesn't have anywhere near enough energy to kill Pepe. Stop torturing him and use a big hammer.
 
A CO2 pistol doesn't have anywhere near enough energy to kill Pepe. Stop torturing him and use a big hammer.
Click to expand...

Half a century ago I started running a trapline when I was 12. State Regs said I couldn't be alone in the woods with a firearm till I was 14. So I bought a Benjamin .22 caliber pump-up pellet pistol. Soon found out that a big stick was more effective against almost everything tougher than a rabbit, even from point blank range to the head. Especially once they had their adrenaline flowing from being trapped.

There are many modern air guns quite capable of taking small game, but all of the Gamo CO2 pistols I see are rated at no more than 400 fps. Not quite up to hunting small game IMHO.
 
I used to use a .22 revolver with .22 short hollow points to check my traps. One morning I shot a coon in the forehead and and let it lay until I worked my way back. It went right down without twitching. That should have been a sign. When I came back, the coon was sitting there like the RCA dog and really mad. I gave him one in the ear and that did it. When I skinned him out, I found that the .22 HP had just flattened out on his skull. As coons get older they put on heavy muscle around their head. It was a good thing I did not throw him in my pack the first time.
 
The best way I have ever used to kill a skunk is a long barreled .22 and CBs. Don't shoot them in the head, shoot them right behind the shoulder through the lungs. Then leave, go watch an episode of Duck Dynasty or eat a bowl of ice cream. Come back and they will be dead and not have sprayed. The CBS make less noise in a long barreled .22 than some air rifles.
 
Cat to medium dog sized nuisances (including skunks and raccoons) get a .22 CB Short between the eyes or to the base of the skull (depending on which way they're facing), from a 24" bolt action rifle. I don't need that much barrel, but that's what my pest rifle has; and it results in an incredibly quiet shot -- generally only having quiet 'thunk' from the striker hitting the cartridge rim; and even quieter than opening the door to eliminate the pest.

Even though I do currently live in a residential neighborhood on only 1/4 acre, the lay of my yard allows me to take careful shots against backstops that will stop a 'high velocity' .22 LR, let alone a .22 CB Short.


I've never had much luck with any kind of .17 caliber pellets, even at 800+ fps.
Even head shots on Eurasian Collared Doves are rarely fatal ("non-game" invasive species, a little bigger than Mourning Doves).

If there's an injured animal that needs to be put down without discharging a firearm, I grab an axe or shovel.
 
Zombie skunks are out there so beware.
December 2015 we had a bunch of dog proof coon traps set on a place where the owner had free range chickens in summer time. He wanted the populations of EVERYTHING varmint(ish) reduced as much as possible so we had about 50 traps out. Caught lots of coon and no small number of possums and skunks.
We approached an obvious scented up trap containing a skunk one day so I eased over and carefully shot the critter in the head. Standard procedure was to kill the skunk and leave to return next day and remove dead critter after the smell has subsided. Next day, I walk into set and reach down to release the leg when suddenly the skunk sucks in a big breath and tries to get up. Holy Cow, I was SURE I'd killed it 24 hours earlier. I ripped my way out of the spot, got my rifle off the UTV, and shot the zombie skunk twice in the ribs before leaving it for another 24 hours.
I hate messing with skunks.
 
I love skunks since they smell like money to me. I've only ever shot one since they are nearly guaranteed to spray. I trap them and use an AVMA approved method of euthanasia. Never been sprayed doing it like that.
 
(See link)
For those times when a Gamo just can't get er done.

https://barrett.net/firearms/model82a1
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I have fired the Barrett. I can only describe the sensation as holding a tube while a stick of dynamite goes off inside. The blast goes both directions so you don't really feel any force but you know what just happened.

I think the responses are all helpful. "Bring enough gun..."

One other question. We wrapped the skunk in multiple sealed plastic bags but the smell still overwhelmed the garbage overnight. How does that happen? Maybe the bags ripped? Zombie skunk clawed its way out?
 
Acid kills most of the smell. White vinegar is cheap. There is also a recipe for scent killer using peroxide and baking soda. Haven't tried it though.
 
So a skunk was causing a problem in the nabor hood. That's time to get a box of moth balls and put them where the skunk goes. The skunk will leave.

Witch reminds me.

Have you ever smelled skunk balls?

How did you get your nose between there legs. :D
 
I've wondered if the .22 cal gas piston air rifles were enough for critters this size or a little larger like a raccoon or porcupine. They certainly have more gusto than a CO2 pistol, but enough for these critters at 25 yds?
 
I'm with Longshot(except the ball sniffing!) The best way to deal with skunks in a neighborhood is to close all entry points to your yard if possible and stop up all holes under sheds and homes. They will use multiple dens during the day, scattered throughout their territory, so make your place as unattractive and hard to get into as possible. May take awhile to dissuade them, but they will move on eventually. Then your lazy neighbors can deal with them.:D
 
I had a "roadkill" skunk up the road and I wanted his hide. Guess what? he wasn't dead. I tagged him with a pump 22 caliber pellet gun directly to the forehead, it punched through the skull and it died.

Um, no, I didn't take the hide. The thing stank, it had apparently discharged at some point. I took the tail.


Bone is pretty hard in places. I don't like the 177 pellets for squat. they can't even kill a squirrel reliably. I sure as heck wouldn't try shooting a skunk. The advice for the CB shorts, from CCI, is good. They are nearly silent in a rifle from a short distance. The bullets are heavy enough to puch through light bone.

I once tagged a squirrel in my back yard with my 177. didn't finish him. I decided to do it with my kid's bb gun, so the neighbors wouldn't hear the second shot. After a half dozen BBs to the head, I realised that they were just bouncing off. I finished it off with an alternative method.
 
This one time, there was a bird on the ground and it was hurt bad. Broken wings. I shot it multiple times with my Walter P-99 .177 pellet pistol all 8 shots in the clip. It was still moving, so I loaded up and emptied it into it's head which killed it smartly it did.

From then on the Walter was only used for target shooting. By Daisy BB pump rifle was stronger than that CO2 pistol.
 
My Benjamin Trail XL 1100 .22 air rifle has taken pigeons off the top of a concrete gain silo at 75 yards. They get smart after they lose a couple buddies.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 
Do not use mothballs. It is illegal to use a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling and it isn't effective. If you try them and the skunk leaves, it's a coincidence.

As I have recently been reminded, the mods here don't tolerate anyone advocating breaking the law.

I've been doing nuisance wildlife control work for 17 years and I just got an official visit from our local pesticide regulation officer. The mothball thing was the first question he asked and it's a hefty fine for each ball.
 
My little Sheridan Silver Streak with a .20 hunting pellet, with eight pumps penetrates a one inch pine board completely and is still going.
You have to have enough pellet speed, or weight or both.
Some of the pellets I've looked at for the Kids' pellet guns thirty years ago were soft and structurally weak.
Looking on the Internet there is a variety of pellet shapes and weights.
A straight side, heavy ,hard pointed pellet with a comparatively lot .of lea in the front, like the extinct Sheridan hunting pellet should take a skunk out. I've shot many squirrels and rabbits with that pellet gun.
Many new pellet rifles talk of up to 1400 fps but with very light pellets with a heavy hunting pellet they are probably still over 1000-1100 fps. That would get a skunk even through skull bone it would seem.
If you could use a .22CB round in a longer barrel .22 the noise would be little more than some pellet guns, or even as short barrel. Can't imagine it could be heard at all if one had a silencer. Bit pricey and skunk would die of old age before one got the stamp.
Problem seems to be not enough pellet and velocity.
 
You should have seen the crossman pellets of the 1970s. They were literally pathetic. The skirts weren't even round, and they were as wavy as handmade pottery.
 
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