Sort of OT: best way to get rid of a Skunk?

G

gr8gun

New member
My brother has an issue with a skunk. He wants to borrow one of my rifles to shoot it.

First question: Is that the best way to get rid of a skunk? I would assume you need a one-shot-kill, or the injured animal will spray.

Second question: Assuming you were going to shoot one -- and my brother says it lives near his house and he'd be 10-25 yards from it -- what would you use?

I have an odd assortment of rifles, I'm not a hunter. I have an AK, a PC4, a Mini-14, and a Mossy 12ga. I suggested the 12ga with a light load and the short barrel.

Any thoughts?
 
12 gauge with #7-1/2 bird shot at 11 feet. Took out an inch of cervical spine and part of his rib cage. The wad stuck in the OSB decking under him. :D
He still sprayed. :p
A good pellet gun with a head shot works as well.
Having used both, I'd use the pellet gun or a .22 rifle.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I have to admit, I think the whole thing is a bad idea. He's sick of not being able to go outside at night without close calls, and he has five cats, some of them stupid enough to challenge anything.

He asked one of his neighbors, and the guy said he shoots them, and digs a hole where ever it happens and burries them right there on the spot. My brother has lived most of his life in cities... I think this little "Green Acres" adventure is not realistic, but I'm not sure what else he can do. If it was any other animal I wouldn't worry about it, but skunk stink is hard to get rid of.
 
If he lives where a stray bullet won't hurt the neighbor's cow's...

You can use your .223

A .22lr would be best

either one should be a head shot

If you can't shoot safely... place plastic bottles all around with a strong solution of bleach in them and vent holes in the top portion of the jug.
If you have enough of them around, it will run him off. It will also keep other animals away.

Ammonia cleaning fluid works well also... BUT DO NOT let the bleach and the ammonia cleaner get together. The chemical reaction is more than you would care to deal with.

Now, I know you are going to experiment... so use one drop each from the end of a rod at least as long as a new pencil.

I would shoot with the 22lr :rolleyes:
 
STOP! There is one, ONE (1) way to do this without spray. Head shots are iffy, they may still spray as a nerve response. Dispatch with 2 shots. The first shot through the spray bladder (hip area) this will prevent them from being able to expand the bladder to spray. Next the head shot. Look around on the web for skunk anatomy to get a clear idea of their layout. Once you are familiar with the skunks blue print you can make the shot from about any angle. I have put many of em down with this method and they WILL NOT SPRAY. Good luck.
~z
 
zeisloft - Have you had any cases in which the skunk 'leaked'? I have shot about half a dozen skunks with my .22 pellet rifle, all head shots, and they never sprayed, but would always start leaking their spray after death. It seems like a spray-bladder shot would intensify this, but I've never done it. :confused:
 
Frankly I don't know what the big deal is. If there is a skunk problem, shoot the turkey in the head with a 22lr and don't worry about it. If it "leaks", who cares again... it will go away in a few days. Just be careful when you handle the animal. I lean toward just burying it where it is shot or move with a shovel and bury there. Maybe you need a 460 Weatherby Magnum for the critter?
 
This works. Use a Havahart type trap, baited with catfood. When critter is trapped, slowly approach and cover entire trap with a tarp and let it be for about an hour. Then, return to trap, SLOWLY lift it up, still covered, and place it in a garbage can filled with water. No noise, no stink, no skunk. Learned this many years ago, and works like a charm.
Y.D.
 
Yep, what Doodle said about trap if ya want the place to remain mostly stinkless. Traps can be found at most feed stores for $50 to $60. Altho cat food ya already have is likely cheaper, canned sardines are excellent bait.

Last skunk I had in the coon trap became test material for new .45 Colt handload. With placement just behind the ear, the other end remained closed. (Cast bullet was kinda hard on the wire trap.)

I subsequently carried the trap back in the woods and gave Mr. Skunk a proper burial. A day or four later, I noticed he'd been dug up and carried off. Some critters have absolutly no respect. :eek:
 
Caution

Many skunks carry rabies.

Cases of Rabies Reported in Skunks
In 2003, the 2,112 reported cases of rabies in skunks represented 29.4% of all animals reported as rabid to the CDC (13.2% decrease from the number of rabid skunks reported in 2002). Most rabid skunks in states enzootic for raccoon rabies are presumed to be infected with the raccoon variant of the rabies virus (on the basis of those that have been tested to determine rabies variant type). Studies have been unable to demonstrate evidence of adaptation, circulation, and maintenance of the raccoon variant of the rabies virus in skunks. In other states it is likely that the rabid skunks reported were infected with the rabies virus variants maintained by skunk reservoirs.

Krebs JW, Mandel EJ, Swerdlow DL, Rupprecht CE. Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2003. JAVMA 2004; 225(12):1837-1849.
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I have killed a few skunks - We simply shot them from as far away as reasonably possible, and as far away from the house as we could. Before we shot them we dug a deep hole. After we shot them we carried them on a shovel to the hole and dropped them in, poured gasoline on top of them to deter coyotes from digging them back up, and buried them, and poured more gasoline on top of the hole. Of course gas wasn't $3 a gallon then either. The smell goes away pretty fast in the outdoors.
 
As for disposal, I toss the dead skunks over my back fence. (National Forest back there, not neighbors).
The buzzards take care of it within a few days. :D
 
The cage trap and drowning is the best way. But if you shoot them. Shoot them through the lungs instead of head. There less likely to spray.
 
Back in the old days there was a system of trapping muskrats that would likely work here as well.

You set up a 55 gallon barrel half filled with water. You put a piece of stiff canvas over the top, and tied the canvas off around the rim. You laid a 1 x 6 board from the ground to the top of the barrel. You placed bait on the canvas. You let the muskrats (skunks) get used to walking up the board and out onto the canvas to get to the bait.

Then, after they were used to it, you cut an X in the center of the canvas, and propped the bait on a stick over the center. The muskrats (skunk) being used to walking out on the canvas would walk out on it and fall through the cut canvas into the barrel and shortly drown.

Simple, effective and should eliminate the spraying?
 
The cage trap and drowning is the best way. But if you shoot them. Shoot them through the lungs instead of head. There less likely to spray.
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I was just thinking that a "boiler room" shot may be better than a head shot.
That said, I just ordered a cage trap today for the ones I can't get a shot at. I know I'll only catch my cat ONCE, if at all. :D
Thanks. :)
 
Twycross, no leaks to report. After a hip and head shot, I have not even smelled skunk in the area. But yes, with just a head shot, in my experience, you get a bit of a leak about 75% of the time.
~z
 
Update...
In the past 8 days, I've eliminated two "black&white striped minks" with my .22 cal. RWS Mod. 48 air rifle. Shot both of them in the "boiler room". The first one (last Friday night) sprayed once and went about 20 feet before expiring. The second one (about 20 minutes ago) went about 5 feet and never sprayed.
Thanks for the advice about lung shots, Mike P. :)
The first skunk I ever shot, I shot in the head with an air rifle. He went down and "did the chicken" for about 15 seconds before he died. And he sprayed 5 times. 11 feet from my kitchen window. :p
I'll stick with the "boiler room" shots. :D
 
Try feeding it! A nice mixture of d-con & pepsi. The thing shouldn't get more than 10-15 feet from the dish before it keels over. (It will also get rid of the dumber of the cats)

Note: the d-con is just for flavoring; pepsi will kill anything!
 
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