skinnin a skunk?

Higgy15jh · 10-19-2006, 08:36 PM

Me and mybuddyhave had a couple skunks runnin around our treestands and werethinking if we shot them, a skunk hide would look pretty neat. if we did shoot one would it stink to much to mess with or what? thanks for input

jsb57 · 10-20-2006, 09:41 AM

hopefully there is someone here to tell you how but i know it is possible i have seen some skinned out when selling hides before i do know if you break their back they usually wont spray

TreeDreamer · 10-20-2006, 10:22 PM

I do quite a bit of trapping and have had many dealings with skunks, when shot they almost always spray. When back is broken, the one I tried it on, sprayed. My advice to you......shoot.........and run like hell!!!! All joking aside you can shoot them, But just dont go near for a day. as far as skinning, try putting them inside a 5 gallon bucket of water. and wear rubber gloves, just skin them under water works great. Hope this helps.

wyomingtrapper · 10-20-2006, 10:27 PM

Hard to say. Some will expire without spraying, some will not. Generally the rule with a firearm is: Shoot them in the head or spine and they will spray. Shoot them in the lungs and its about 50:50. The trick is to skin them without puncturing or cutting the glands. It isn't too difficult if your careful.

Night_Hunter_Gunner · 10-22-2006, 11:40 AM

The skunk wont stink if you dont hit the sack. If you do it right it looks really cool, but you really dont want to hit the sack or you'll regret it!

BowHunter46 · 10-22-2006, 08:49 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: wyomingtrapper

Shoot them in the head or spine and they will spray.

ive also heard that a skunk will not show any signs that they have rabies. so u could shoot a rabid skunk and not even know it.since rabies is a brain disease, you would be comming in full contact with it. im not totaly sure of this but thats what ive heard from more experienced trappers.

just adding another reason not to aim for the head....

it flies it dies · 10-24-2006, 07:15 PM

I've been trapping since I was big enough to walk and skunks is one of the things that I ALWAYS catch whether I want to or not... I personally just shoot them and try to get rid of them while staying as FAR away as possible, because with my experience I know that whether the skunk sprays when you shoot it or not it will still stink and you can garauntee that you will too if you touch the thing. All that aside... skinning them can be done... the fur trader that I used to work with once told me that what he does is makes a "lass-sue" gets it around the critter and hangs it from a tree somewhere where the wind will hit it to let it "air out". He leaves them for 2-3 days and then wheres older clothes and rubber gloves to skin them... and when your done... throw them out! Hope this helps...