But the poster can only use 155s

OK, forgot about that ridiculous regulation he has to deal with.

Catch skunks in live trap and then walk up to the trap holding up a blanket. Cover the trap and carry it away. Have done it many times without getting sprayed. Plenty of pellet gun options that will dispatch a skunk too.

I had the Duke trap AND my cage trap out last night and both were empty today and the bait hadn't been touched. Maybe the yard rototilling is over with and the last giant coon I got was the end of it. Thank you all for your suggestions and help. I emailed Duke about the kill bars and he pretty much said, "yep, go ahead. it'll probably kill them quicker" so I think I'll do that.

BTW, I had used suggestions on Trapperman to adjust the trigger on the Duke trap. It originally had too much swing to it, now it works well. Close to being too touchy but still OK. Thanks to whoever posted the info.

Not too worried about carrying it somewhere, just dispatching it. I do have a very nice customized RWS 34 .22 pellet gun but unfortunately it's nearly as loud as an actual .22. I dispatch cage trapped coons in the garage with the door shut but won't do that with a skunk. My wife would be livid with that aroma floating up to our bedroom.

Maybe it's all over though, I'll set out traps for a couple more nights and see what happens.

Yes, very irritating. Can't go larger even in a box set like mine where it's WAY back inside.

Beav there are zero issues using pans on larger animals. 220’s with a pan equal a coon snapped behind the ears 99% of the time and 90% of the time they’re still laying in the box.

Not when the trap Is 5 inches square and Is 12" back In a 6X6 box. That coon Isn't walking It's crawling. And It's head Is a long way out In front of It's feet.
Now If that animal Is walking I can see It but not the way the poster Is doing It.

Problem is the OP is using 155's and with a pan you lose another inch of that small square already. So unless he has baby coons there is no way that would work well. Now if you had a pan like Sam wood was kinda playing around with it might work.

My question to buddy5 is with the trap as far back as it can go and pushs forward when tripped could it be hitting to far back and sliding to the neck as the coon fights

Skunks are hard to kill with a 120 sized bodygrip-even a magnum.There is something about the way their carotids are situated that when they get a single strike to the neck they are not dispatched quickly.
160 is a better trap and you want to move the trigger to get a double strike.
Since you cant use a trap that size there is one 120 sized trap that will put their lights out quick.It is the sauvageau C-120 magnum.They are hard to find as they are not made anymore.The next best trap legal for you would be the sauvageau 2001-5.

Caught a medium size possum in the trap the other night, the jaws hit right behind it's head like they were supposed to and he stayed quite alive all night and I found him like that in the morning. Turned him lose and he went off with very little problem.

I haven't done the kill bars yet but that showed me that since I'm not allowed to use a proper size trap, I really need to do them. Might even sharpen the edges since I don't care about fur. I will look up that sauvageau trap though.

When I inspected the trap, I saw that the bar the dog rides on is curved to allow dog movement. I'm thinking that curve is part of my problem on this small trap. I'll fill that in with the shape of the kill bar, allowing a 3/32" crack in the middle for the dog, then the bottom edge will be flat to meet up with the flat edge on the other kill bar.

You let It go??? grinners are more destructive to wild life then just about any other critter. And carry lots of diseases.


Don't sharpen the edges no reason to cause the animal more problems and It still won't get the job done. And I don't think kill bars are going to make a difference.

Is that 155 sized trap a single spring trap If so that Is your problem. If you have more the one 155 take a spring off of that trap and put It on the other one. Then I believe your problems will be over.

Well so much for that Idea I just looked at The Duke add and I see their 155 sized trap Is a double spring. I guess It's back to square one.

Deleted post.

Don't be saying those things On this forum that's not how trappers deal with things. WE respect the animals we trap.

2X

x3
Are you an ejit?

I'm binging to wonder about buddy5. I think a moderator should kill this thread.

Sorry guys, no harm meant. My thought process was to ensure an instant death thereby respecting the animal rather than knowingly letting it suffer for some length of time. Which I might add, happens when you drown it and that was suggested by others earlier. Letting it suffer while it drowns seems rather disgusting to me hence the reason for trying to work through a more humane and instant process.

Due to the legal restraints placed on us in Ohio, I was trying to figure out how to best operate within the parameters I have to work in. I have the process down for coons or possums in a cage trap but if skunks are involved, the dispatching process is considerably more difficult. As I mentioned, others appear to be OK with the animal suffering while it drowns but I wouldn't be able to do that.