I got another skunk with a heart shot and no spray. It did get 30 feet from the bait before dropping, but still expired quickly. Seems as humane as possible. We rarely ever see pheasants anymore around here with so many skunks walking all the fence lines eating eggs and hatchlings. I’m going to order a .30 liner for my Crown and try poly mags on the skunks. With the .30 poly mags I would think a heart shot skunk will be instantly stopped. Anyone know what foot pound energy a poly mag generates in a Crown? I always wanted a .30 cal and this skunk problem is the perfect excuse to get the liner. Or should I just order a Wildcat in .30? Ha ha, I wish!
Another skunk, no spray
- Thread starter davelarson
- Start date
I heart / lung punch them with polys sometimes as low as 15-16 ft lbs in .25 and have had them drop. I’ve also shot one at 50 ft lbs and it ran 20 yards. as with any critter, or even big game... a vitals shot will result in them walking a bit sometimes. Skunks spray when distressed, the fact that it didn’t spray tells you your shot was a good one... at least IMO 
Upvote 0
When I shoot skunks I always set up on a large piece of plastic and have a trash can lined with a heavy gauge contractors plastic bag nearby. I have heard that shooting them through the heart may produce a non spray kill but I am not going to take the chance of the skunk traveling and dying under my deck or a neighbors shed. A head shot stops them on the plastic and while it is no picnic wrapping them up and sealing the bag, when I am done the smell is gone. It sounds like a heart shot would be great away from the house but I will stick to head shots near the house. A friend shot a ground hog with his bow once and it went under his deck and died. Several days later he the smell got really bad. So he had to begin the process of removing deck boards to find him and then remove the ground hog. With the new hidden fasteners used to secure deck boards it is no longer an option to remove one board in the center of the deck. You have to start with the last board installed and remove one at a time until you get to the one that really needs removed. For me stopping any pest immediately is paramount since I have two decks nearby and a neighbor with a shed that they can crawl under.
Upvote 0
I have killed several skunks with a 22-250 PB, all head shots and no smell. Died instantly and did not piss. Never tried shooting one with a air rifle.
Upvote 0
I have shot 8 skunks this year with .25, .30, .35 and .45 air rifles. Doesn't seem to matter where I hit them after the body relaxes out it comes.
Upvote 0