Pellet guns for skunk
#5423471
02/18/16 02:01 PM
02/18/16 02:01 PM
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 109 Northern california
California cager
OP
trapper
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OP
trapper
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 109
Northern california
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What id your preferred pellet gun when dispatching skunks? Caliber? Model?And what might get u the least amount of spray?
I'm sorry... I thought this was America
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Re: Pellet guns for skunk
[Re: California cager]
#5423504
02/18/16 02:18 PM
02/18/16 02:18 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 22,124 St. Louis Co, Mo
BigBob
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 22,124
St. Louis Co, Mo
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IMHO:There are none adequate for the job, other than those extreme high power, large bore Deer hunting class types. best bet is an Acetone dispatch pole. I have a RWS Mod 45 in .177, rated at 1k fps, and wouldn't consider using it for that.
Last edited by BigBob; 02/18/16 07:45 PM.
Every kid needs a Dog and a Curmudgeon.
Remember Bowe Bergdahl, the traitor.
Beware! Jill Pudlewski, Ron Oates and Keven Begesse are liars and thiefs!
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Re: Pellet guns for skunk
[Re: California cager]
#5423641
02/18/16 03:54 PM
02/18/16 03:54 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 32 OH
Eric Arnold
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 32
OH
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There are a lot of adult air rifles with more than enough power to put down a skunk. Here is a YouTube video of mine showing a skunk in a cage being dispatched with a .22 caliber air rifle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wx76H0DgEo&list=PLDGLNVzElHuasgtcqiwGjhPXDoMyRXzN0Personally, I'd recommend a .22 or .25 caliber producing a minimum of 20fpe at the muzzle and do a heart/lung shot to avoid the spray.
Eric Arnold Publishing Editor W.C.T. Magazine Editor The Fur Taker Magazine
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Re: Pellet guns for skunk
[Re: California cager]
#5424513
02/19/16 12:09 AM
02/19/16 12:09 AM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 32 OH
Eric Arnold
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 32
OH
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As those that attended my air rifle class during WCT know, there are no simple answers when it comes to air rifles. The choice of power plant, caliber, pellet, optics and rifle/pistol style are selected to make a shooting system that meets a specific set of criteria. Let's face it, shooting a house sparrow in a box store will be different than shooting a raccoon in a cage trap. Shooting a ground squirrels at 100 yards across wind blown fields will be different than shooting hogs in a capture pen. You need to match the right shooting system to the job at hand.
At times, a smaller pellet generating less FPE (foot pounds of energy) is the best option while at other times it is the exact reverse. You need to understand the animal, know the amount of energy required for a clean dispatch, understand the kill zone(s), be able to identify what are acceptable shots, determine your effective range for the kill zone with that particular shooting system, understand how the pellet is going to perform, and more. The reality is that 20 FPE is 20 FPE regardless of what caliber is producing it. So if a squirrel requires 4 - 5 FPE for a quick dispatch brain shot, as long as the shooter knows where the brain cavity (not just part of the skull, but the actual brain cavity) is for that species and the shooting system produces a minimum of 5 FPE at the point of impact, it really doesn't matter what caliber you use. Having said that, I commonly recommend using a .25 generating a minimum of 30 FPE whenever possible for the simple reason that the .25 is a larger pellet than a .177, .20, or .22, so it is a little more forgiving when the shot is not 100% dead on.
A .177 is just over 11/64" in diameter, a .22 is just under 14/64 (7/32)" in diameter and a .25 is 16/64 (1/4)" in diameter. It may look like a very small difference between 11/64 and 16/64 but looks can be deceiving as it is rather significant. Remember, that's a difference of 5/64 in diameter so the circumference of a .177 is actually 0.56 inches while it is 0.69 inches for a .22 and 0.78 inches for a .25. That's almost a 1/4" difference in circumference between a .177 and a .25!
Let's say you need to hit a 1/2" diameter target dead center for a quick dispatch (so room for error is 1/4" up or down) and instead your pellet impacts 5/16" low (so 1/16th out of the kill zone). If you're shooting a .177, most likely this is a wounding shot that will require a follow-up shot so the animal may not only survive, but also escape. If you're shooting a .22, most likely the shot will be fatal (you'll have a small amount of the pellet in the kill zone), but as it may not be immediately fatal there is a good possibility that the animal will run off and can't be recovered even though it will expire. If you're shooting a .25, again the shot will be fatal but more importantly, it will quickly dispatch the animal (as a good portion of the pellet will be in the kill zone) and give a good possibility of recover. Bear in mind that the above is in a perfect world and there are lots of areas where you cannot safely use a .25. In those situations, you may have to choose a lower caliber as the pellet will be lighter and thus have a flatter trajectory to the target than a heavier pellet.
As an example, let's say you cannot have more than 6 FPE at the point of impact on a target 20 yards away to ensure you don't damage material behind your target due to a miss or pass through and the pellet has to travel through a 12" opening between two boards on its way to the target. In this situation, you may have to choose a .177 shooting an 8.64 grain pellet at 558 FPS (feet per second) versus a .22 shooting a 14.3 grain pellet at 434 FPS or a .25 shooting a 19.91 grain pellet at 367 FPS. Although all three of these scenarios give just under 6 FPE, as you can see the .177 is almost 200 FPS faster than the .25 which means a much flatter trajectory allowing you to shoot between the obstacles. So even though the .177 pellet will have less killing surface than the other two, it is still the better caliber for this situation.
Lastly, you need to consider the type of pellet you plan to shoot. Diabolo or round/domed pellets are the best for longer distances as they tend to be the most accurate. On the down side, they also tend to penetrate through the animal so special attention needs given to safety issues. Remember that hollow point pellets don't act the same way that hollow point bullets do, but they still tend to create larger wound channels and not penetrate as far as diabolo pellets. This is where you really need to know your targets anatomy and what is required for dispatch. Although it is generally accepted that 10 FPE is required to penetrate a raccoon's skull, not all pellet types are capable of doing so at 10 FPE. For example, it may take 10 FPE for a 16 grain, diabolo heavy pellet to penetrate the skull but it may take 20 FPE or more for a 16 grain hollow point. Again, remember that FPE requirements are at the point of impact and not at the muzzle. So just because the manufacture claims your air rifle generates 26 FPE at the muzzle, it doesn't mean you can quickly dispatch a raccoon with it a 60 yards even if you hit the kill zone. In reality, based on pellet type, power plant and some other items, your 26 FPE air rifle may have an effective range of 10 yards or less for raccoon.
With pellets, performance comes down to the material the pellet is made from (some manufactures make harder pellets than others) as well as the pellet's construction. There are 41 different types of hollow point pellets sold on one Internet site (18 in .177, 16 in .22, and 7 in .25) and each one is going to function differently based on construction, distance from the muzzle to the point of impact, pellet weight, pellet speed, and what it hits. As a general rule of thumb, diabolo and cylindrical style pellets do good at penetrating bone while hollow point pellets tend to be better with heat/lung shots. Again, this is a general rule as it will vary from animal to animal.
Eric Arnold Publishing Editor W.C.T. Magazine Editor The Fur Taker Magazine
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Re: Pellet guns for skunk
[Re: California cager]
#5425904
02/19/16 10:54 PM
02/19/16 10:54 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 9,949 Central Pa. 62
bic
"Mr. Sensitivity"
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"Mr. Sensitivity"
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 9,949
Central Pa. 62
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Where can u get chloroform? At the "Mugger & Rapist" supply store.
Life always offers a second chance. It's called Tomorrow
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Re: Pellet guns for skunk
[Re: Paul Winkelmann]
#5426654
02/20/16 03:33 PM
02/20/16 03:33 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,515 Woodhull, Illinois 77
Jim Bethell
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,515
Woodhull, Illinois 77
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I get my chloroform from a local chemical distributor and have for many years but you need to check if its legal in your state. X2 plus the shipping sometimes cost more that the chloroform. And you still need to know how to use it.
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Re: Pellet guns for skunk
[Re: California cager]
#5436534
02/27/16 08:24 PM
02/27/16 08:24 PM
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Haggard
Unregistered
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Haggard
Unregistered
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I bought one of those 22 crossman nitro air guns. I have found they kill skunks with zero problems. Furthest shot was only twenty yards though. I agree that the flat nose pellets are the most lethal in that range.
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Re: Pellet guns for skunk
[Re: Boco]
#5460369
03/15/16 01:48 AM
03/15/16 01:48 AM
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Haggard
Unregistered
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Haggard
Unregistered
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Did you ever have a skunk wake up after knocking him out with chloroform? I havent personally, but Bill Cosby may have.
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