Skunk Down, Skunk Down! LoL

[bamashooter]

Got a skunk moments ago w/ the 15-22. Estimate about 45 meters out front from my porch. Missed first hit 2nd shot. Then he headed towards me while I'm standing on my 5ft tall porch. Hit a couple of more times and it headed around my garage, Ran out there and it was up against the fence. Tough sucker. Hit it several more times and he was like flipping me off. He headed in the shrubs against the side of the garage. Couldn't see him but saw leaf movement. Fire a few more, movement ceased and bad stink exploded. Fourteen shots total. Probably 10-12 hits. Sometimes a one shot kill asometimes nearly a full magazine. Same with armadillos. Used my Venom red dot with Streamlight TLR-1 HL. Nice combo. Wife not a real happy camper at the moment. One time the wife went to the beach for a week til I had the house cleared. Several vanilla candles now burning.

I'll dig it out of the shrubs (very thick) in the morning.

 

[Bassyaks]

14 shots???? too bad he didn't spray you, maybe take up knitting.

 

[Nevada Ed]

One reason I do not shoot skunks on the property.............

Enjoy !!

 

[Pisgah]

If you think skunks are tough, try shooting a 'possum. Darned things can soak up lead all day. Decades back I hunted 'coons with a buddy who had coondogs. His standard procedure was to shoot them out of the tree, then whack 'em over the head with a short club he carried specifically for that purpose.

 

[bamashooter]

Some folks are clueless as to shooting varmints with a .22. As I said I've had 1 shot kills and I've had "give me another magazine" encounters. Depending on direction of run, I prefer to wound them and let them run off to the pastures. Less work involved but more times than not I'm not that lucky.

 

[bamashooter]

14 shots???? too bad he didn't spray you, maybe take up knitting.

Merry Christmas to you too.

 

[apollo99]

Me and my Chocolate lab never had good luck with skunks, the dog's luck was worse. I got reminded of the encounter every time he would come home wet or damp.

 

[growr]

About 10 years ago there was a bad skunk infestation in Helena Montana due to the Buck Snort fire that drove them from the woods to town....I got to learn just how effective my Marlin 25MN .22 Magnum was.

Every one of them I shot was a one shot one kill....distance was under 50 yards.

My youngest brother just loves using his '92 Winchester chambered in 25-20....same results

I do have a question for the forum on skunks.....What useful purpose do they serve in the eco system? What animals are predators to the skunk?

Thanks all!

Randy

 

[bmg60]

I live on the edge of a large open field, I kill about 15 Skunks a year. A couple of years ago I changed guns. I went to a 223 loaded with 40 grain
hollow points after that all the shots were one shot kills. You have to be
on a good rest and then you shoot for the body or the head. I use the head shot most of the time this way they don,t get a chance to spray.
jim

 

[gwpercle]

My Daddy gave me some real good advice
" Don't shoot skunks ...just let em be! " .
You might want to consider it .
Gary

 

[ruggyh]

I do have a question for the forum on skunks.....What useful purpose do they serve in the eco system? What animals are predators to the skunk?

Thanks all!

Randy

Skunks eat rodents and insects including ticks

Possums consume large volumes of ticks and tend to eat most anything.

They pose little issues under most conditions.

If you shoot them on my place you are not welcomed back.

be safe
Ruggy

PS
I love hunting but these guys are my do not shoot list.

 

[JH1951]

Dogs, and the great horned owl are the only natural predators I am aware of. Probably coyote as well because they will hit on almost anything.
I suspect they contribute more to the eco than one may think. They eat a lot of insects that we consider pests.
They are nocturnal, so I have only eliminated those that are acting oddly during daylight. My dog was not as discriminating, and learned that the skunk isn't really worth the chase.
They used to dig up my yard. I eliminated the grubs in the turf and they went away.
I am not a skunk lover, but I do not have them on my hit list; the consequences of a kill usually by far outweigh the effort needed to not entice them to my yard.

 

[bigggbbruce]

If you think skunks are tough, try shooting a 'possum. Darned things can soak up lead all day.

I walked out back one evening and nearly stepped on one. Pulled my 22lr pistol and fired one point blank shot in the head.

Took the body and tossed it in the bushes.

 

[bigggbbruce]

14 shots???? too bad he didn't spray you, maybe take up knitting.

I was awoken at 3am to the sound of snarling fighting animals right outside my window.

Freaked me out, I jumped up grabbed a flashlight and my Marlin 60 with scope.

As I walked out the door a very large and mean racoon dropped out of the tree 20 feet away and charged past me snarling. Whoa..!!! Heart attack..

I took my flashlight and looked in the tree and there were two more that had been treed by the other mean one. I raised my Marlin and all I could see were there green eyes I put the cross hairs between them and each fell from the tree with one shot.. dead when they hit the ground..

 

[686-380]

I don't enjoy killing. It's a chore that sometimes needs to be done.

If a skunk comes in my yard, I'd prefer to find a solution to have it leave. I'm in city limits, so shooting a firearm isn't legal. I do have a .22 pellet gun but I wouldn't want it to spray me or my dog. A trap may not be a viable option...

 

[Warren Sear]

I don't enjoy killing. It's a chore that sometimes needs to be done.

If a skunk comes in my yard, I'd prefer to find a solution to have it leave. I'm in city limits, so shooting a firearm isn't legal. I do have a .22 pellet gun but I wouldn't want it to spray me or my dog. A trap may not be a viable option...

I agree with your views on killing animals. Not fun or funny, but sometimes needs to be done.

I live inside city limits, too. But here, an air rifle is considered a firearm, so it carries the same penalty if shot within city limits.
If caught, you will certaiinly be sorry.

 

[JH1951]

I don't enjoy killing. It's a chore that sometimes needs to be done.

If a skunk comes in my yard, I'd prefer to find a solution to have it leave. I'm in city limits, so shooting a firearm isn't legal. I do have a .22 pellet gun but I wouldn't want it to spray me or my dog. A trap may not be a viable option...

Spray for insects. The skunks will move on to where they can find food (insects).

 

[savage24]

I prefer to wound them and let them run off to the pastures. Less work involved but more times than not I'm not that lucky.

Damn.
I do not understand this attitude and would not want to associate with anyone who would publicly admit such a thing. As others have said, I don't enjoy killing but if it needs doing I prefer to do it quickly.

 

[bamashooter]

I get no enjoyment from killing little critters. But let armadillos destroy pastures, yards, cause cattle to break legs, etc and you'll become quite the armadillo enemy. Same with skunks spraying the house, finding a way to dig under your house; you'll kill 'em all. No doubt. Same deal when those feral pigs eventually make it to my a/o. Rarely do I go for a head shot due to I want them to wander away and die by whatever means and leave me with no carting them off to distant locations.

 

[bk42261]

1) Shooting at "noises in the bush" is a really bad idea
2) shooting any animal only hoping to wound it enough to "wander off and die" is totally unacceptable (to me)
3) If I don't have a clean "kill shot" I don't take the shot
4) I don't want skunks or raccoons hanging around my house, but they all eat carrion as well as insects that I also don't want hanging around my house.