Skunks+Labs=BIG stink......Silencer???

B

bigbird34

New member
Hi Folks,here's a fun story for you to read.....

We have had 3 skunks visit our yard this year ....our 4 labs and our 1 foster lab mix found the first one in our backyard in July....needless to say the foster lab,and my big 85lb yellow lab got sprayed,in the face .....either the foster lab or my chocolate female snapped the skunks neck (The choco female is the alpha in my pack ,and does not like intruders) so anyhow we have 1/2 acre fenced off tight for the dogs ....knowing this,I new the skunk was now "stuck" in our yard :confused:....So I,had to open the safe,5 digit combo,open the ammo safe,(find the key,find the 5 cell kill light,and find the stinky little rascal ).... locked and loaded a 20 gauge and found the wounded critter by the fence,and dispatched him to skunk heaven ...and buried him in the woods on a hill .....No one heard the shot of the 20ga going off....see I live in a residental neighborhood,just out of town limits,where I can shoot ,but the neighbors probably won't like the fact that I'm offing skunks by firearms.....

The end of July ,the big yellow dog was sitting at the front window looking outside at the flower garden and started growling (this ole boy wouldn't hurt a flea) so wife looks out the window ,and low and behold there is a skunk digging up her flowers ....now my wife is ******:eek:Soooooo she comes and tells me all about the skunk in the front yard/garden ,as I have already gone to bed....I get up, throw some clothes on and boots,fumble with the 5 digit combo to get the 20ga out of the safe,find the keys for the ammo safe ,find the 5 cell "kill light' and go out the back door for this covert operation....moving slowly and shining the light b/c "there may be more than one " I slowly proceed to the front yard and eyeball the garden "nothing" the little stripped cat is gone .....a chill runs up my spine .....where is he ???? I sneak around the cars ,keeping an eye on the garden ,and looking with my flash light and he is no where to be found .....I hope the little fella is not under the vehicles and I'm to scared to look,getting sprayed in the face ,is not on the top of my list .....I keep looking and peer around the hedge and there he is standing there locked and loaded and aiming right at me ! It's either me or him and I take him out with one shot at 20 feet .....I'm safe ! Then I hear,from the neighbors front porch 'What the hell was that "????? I slowly withdraw from the killing zone,and put the gun back in the house and find a shovel and go bury this guy next to the other skunk on "skunk hill" as it is now called ......In the moring I remembered to pick up the spent shell to remove any firearm evidience ......Hopefull nobody will se the V shaped shotgun blast in the sand :rolleyes:

Well history repeated itself again last night ......wife states theres another skunk digging up her flowers ......:D,,,Sooo back to the safe ,5 digit combo,get the 20 ga ,get the key for the ammo safe,get 5 cell flashlight ,and I proceeded out the back door ,checking for extra skunks and this time I got a bit smarter and had wife keep an eye on this little fellow ,so I would know where he was at all times ,before I left the house she stated he was "still" in the garden ....so back to tip toeing out of the back door and looking for other skunks,(there was none) and moving my way to the front yard to dispatch this skunk ......I get up to the vehicles and scan the front garden "Nothin" ???? Well this little guy is a digger and he had enough time to dig a pretty good size hole in the garden and his tail looked like a flower from where I stood .....but flowers don't move like his tail did,plus I am so sneaky he does not know I am there ......I scan the neighbors house(200 feet away) and no one is outside ,and I position myself so That I am shooting safely and wait patiently for the guy to come out of the "Holland tunnel" he is contructing in the front garden.....then his head pos up,and I shoot,he's down with one shot ....the flower bulbs are safe again!!!....then I hear "Grandma whats that noise?" Crap,the neighbors are on the front porch again,w/o any lights on enjoying the cool evening air ....My wifes at the front door stating the cops will be coming anytime to haul me away......so I give her the shotgun and tell her to put it away .....I find the skunk burying shovel and go to retrive the tunnel digger and the phone starts ringing ,it's the neighbor lady up the street that is afraid of everything under the sun, asking my wife what the noise was ....it sounded like a gun shot.....my wife explains that I'm working on an ole John Deere tractor and it back fired when I tried to start it .....So now I start heading onto skunk hill to bury #3 and I have no problem doing this,and return to the house ,figuring the cops will be coming pretty soon .....

My wife in her paranoid state ....gives me my shotgun and begs me to return it to the safe ,and I do as told and of course I wipe of my finger prints ,so the gun does not rust waiting for the next covert operation l!!!
My wife is now all hyped up,and is just waiting for the local cops to show up,and I explain to her that with one shot,nobody will really no if it was a gun or not ,plus I picked up the spent case ,and the skunk is buried ! AND "HER" finger prints are on the GUN,"NOT MINE", I wiped mine off and left only hers on the gun (you should have seen her face (she watches ,way to many crime shows on TV ) so I go to bed ,she stays up waiting for the local police,which never show up .....and the gun is put away w/o anyone's prints on it because I did wipe down the entire gun......But she stated I need to find a quiter way of dealing with the skunks ....you see, a fella 1/4 mile away from me has trapped and drowned 16 skunks so far this year ,and he has back peddled a few times when the trap opens in the water and the skunk swims to safety ......and then one rabid skunk was killed by the local police,and they just left the carcass there ,where they shot it ,b/c it's not their job to dipose of the carcass ?????
My wife thinks trapping them and drowing them is the correct way to deal with the skunk issue .....so I said "I'd trap them and she could drown em"....now, she does not like that Idea a bit ......I'm not picking up a skunk in a trap ,not today ,or any other day .......so I think it's time for a real top quality pellet rifle with night vision and bi-pod that shoots app 1500 FPS !!!

So folks what's out there ,for a pellet gun that can dispatch a skunk with one shot ???? Your input would be appreciated as my wife will probably thank you also ,plus it's another excuse to buy a new toy !

I hope you enjoy my little story ....as I get older this little hunting trips are becoming kind of fun !

see ya Jim :)
 
Rural? Legal? When the phone rings, I'd merely respond with, "Aw, it wasn't anything important. I just shot a skunk."

For quiet, any .22 rifle with shorts will work. If the neighbor "sorta" hears a shotgun, odds are she won't hear a .22.

A buddy of mine in town solved the skunks/flowerbed problem. He'd just put a large handful of dry dog food in his neighbor's yard. As he figured, "They're over THERE, not over HERE."
 
"".So I,had to open the safe,5 digit combo,open the ammo safe,(find the key,find the 5 cell kill light""

good thing it was not an emergency!!

AND as far as the cops(or anyone else) leaving a rabid skunk--that is a good way to spread rabies.
 
If you have a problem with returning pests, why don't you keep a "skunk gun" outside the safe? Local laws? Burglars?

Have you thought about explaining to the neighbors that you are in fact, killing pests that could be digging up their flower beds next? You said that you are outside city limits. Are your neighbors gun haters? Are they afraid that you will blow a hole in their 'labra-doodle'?

A .22 cal pistol with a suppressor would be the best bet for -quiet- but you are looking at all the NFA trappings there. ($$$ and time)
OASIS.jpg
Like this one with the silencer built into the barrel.

FWIW I usually use a .22 to kill raccoons and opossums. The neighbors (all on 2-5 acre lots) don't notice/care. When I am feeling ornery I use one of my centerfire handguns or my 12 gauge. That usually draws comment...

But now that I think about it... 'coons and opossums don't spray... I think I'd stick with the 20 gauge, it's a better bet for a one shot kill.
 
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trapping them is by far the best way to remove skunks, and I've tried most of them. A havahart trap of the proper size will allow the skunk to enter and get caught, but won't allow it to raise it's tail to spray you.

I generally drown them by covering the trap with a large piece of plastic, and then dropping it in a water tank.

As an option, put a tarp or plastic over the trap, and then drive your car over by the trap (place the trap where you can get your car). Then run a short length of hose from your exhaust pipe, and put the other end under the plastic. Use an old rag around the hose to seal the gap between the exhaust pipe and the hose, and that will force more exhaust fumes under the plastic for the skunk to breath.

Let the car idle for 5 minutes, or until the skunk dies, and then go bury the skunk. Using clear plastic will allow you to see the skunks "status" without having to peek.

Use dry cat food for bait.

A .22 rifle loaded with HV shorts or subsonic ammo would be my next choice. It's more messy because the skunk will likely spray after you shoot it, but it'll work. I quit using a 20 gauge years ago when my mom mentioned finding "skunk chunks" 20 feet from the kill site. ;)

Daryl
 
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a 1500 fps pellet gun will pop from the sound barrier too :P just get a 1000fps air rifle and pop em in the head. Works for squirrels why not for skunks? Also...you can get a trap, set it up, and tie a string from it to a fixed object I.E. tree next to the water...then tie it to your porch...when the skunk gets it pull on the line, it will drag the cage into the water....Wait a little bit then go get the cage....simple
 
Bought my Gamo for feral cats, works for squirrels and skunks too. A decent scope set at 6X and focused for 25 yards should do you for anything but a moonless night.
 
I think I will win the prize....

Git you a cheap single shot .22 and a box of shorts... 50 skunks later... buy another box. They are as quiet as a pellet gun from a rifle barrel...

A cricket rifle would work fine and if you can't figure out how to shoot with a stock for a 6 year old... Cut an extension from a 2X4...
Brent
 
Silence is golden...

Well thanks folks,the wheels have been spinning,I'm trying to save some cash for this falls hunting trips,so I guess the kids ole Savage single shot will have to come out of hibernation ...and the 3x9 nikon scope wil have to be afixed to said weapon,for my ole eyes and good light gathering properties ....I'll just have to get some 22 shorts and sight her in for 25 feet or so ....don't want to wound the little pest and have them stink up the yard more than they already have ....my wife likes this idea also ....time will tell,she keeps checking her garden,and even she was surprised at what a large deep hole #3 was digging in the garden ...I should have just pushed him in and covered him up, but the wife probably would have dug him up again this fall....:eek:

As for an emergency ...this is a skunk/ shotgun story ....any fool that gets past the 5 dogs ,will be staring down the business end of a model 29 ....I find this weapon to be a bit much for night shooting though ! The flash ruins my night vision :rolleyes:thanks Jim
 
What the skunk was after

I looked around the killing zone of skunk #3 b/c I was wondering what he was digging for and why such a large hole in the wifes garden.....it was an underground bee's nest ...he got it out and I must have shot him before he got a bite ....It's probably best he got it out before MDW starts digging in the garden again :D Hmmmm one pest eating another pest :rolleyes:Jim
 
Hooboy, if I shot ANYTHING off in my neighborhood I think I'd be in so much hot water I'd never hear the end of it :( Some of you are sure blessed ;)
 
Or you might try some of this, or something similar, since it seems to be the flower beds that are drawing them in. http://www.critter-repellent.com/skunk/skunk-repellant.php

You don't have dog or cat food outside do you? That will draw them in too. Once you remove the temptation of whatever is that's drawing them into the yard they'll find someplace else to go.

Since you haven't had this problem in the past is there something new in the yard recently? Did your wife plant some new kinds of flowers? Change fertilizers? Mulch? Soil?

It's easier to treat the cause than the symptom.

Some dog food tossed into the neighbor's yard is a good idea too!:)
 
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Skunk E to the 10th power....

Nope no new plants,just a new bees nest that is now dust .....For some reason we have an over abundance of skunks "coonie bunnies" and raccoons this year,the state is dropping little packages of fish smelling rabies dope for the racoons in the central part of the state ......I hate the smell of skunks,pure and simple,and further more I hate the small of skunks on my labs and in my home ,there's something about that odor I just dislike ....I am the cure for the problem,I would just like to do it a bit quieter :rolleyes:I have to get the gunshop today for a guillie suit and some 22 shorts....I hear the little devils love peanut butter also....but so don't my labs .....:(

Once I explain to may neighbors that I am shooting big fat possibly RABID skunks,and we all have either cats or dogs ......they fully understand ,and agree with my solution to the problem ......plus I'm honing my skills,as I see it ,it's a win win ....for the neighborhood.... plus it keep the neighbor hood kids on their toes.....there's a mad man on the other side of the woods....and he' got a gun :D....Jim
 
I trap with the havaheart and drown in a big rubbermaid trash can, skunk goes in and lid goes on, night night. I can also get away with using a .22 or pellet gun, but the trap is easy, set it and forget it. No waiting, tho shooting is more fun if thats what your looking for. The traps can be proactive but I have a couple ferral cats that end up in there, so I don't leave 'em out unless for the a known skunk. Maybe I should drown them too as they crap in the flowerbeds...but I spent $ getting them fixed and they kill every rodent...and an occasional rabbit.
 
I like a suppresed 22. and talk about a cool new toy. Everyone who sees and shoots mine is amazed. If you never see another skunk but you have this by your wifes request you will be the envy of all your buddies.
 
why not go with the gammo adult rifle.it is very quite and if the commercials are correct it dropped a 50 plus pound pig with 1 shot...if it can do that then a
little bitty skunk has no chance.

http://www.gamousa.com/
go to the link above....should be something of interest to you
if quietly dispatching critters is what you want/need.
 
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