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Woodchucks

You guys shooting chucks - are you using calls for them? If I'm outside, my toddler wants to join me, so I can only shoot them when I'm off work and she's at day care, so I've got to be efficient at this.

Also - any tips for skunks? A few times a year I get a spray by my front door some time during the night. No other issues, but it's highly unpleasant, and my wife's honey-do list includes "I need you to kill something for me". And, I'd like to make a skunk-skin cap.
 
No I don’t call the chucks but they do make a distinctive whistling-chortle type sound. I’ve snuck up on them just while they are making that sound and typically they are at or right in the opening of their hole when they’re making it. I believe it is a kind of an alarm call but they are not sure what alarmed them. They’ll do it for quite some time too. I can tell you It is quite a rush to sneak up on them making that sound, slowly peering down into the hole and pumping a couple rounds into them with the .22 as they’re looking up at you. I’ve only been able to do that when the den holes are along a wood line or a brushy area and I circle and sneak from the woods using cover. I’ve not been successful much in fields using that technique as they can see you long before you can see them in my experience. Some den holes in fields are located near or just on the uphill side of drainage or diversion ditches and you can sneak along the ditch to the hole.
As far as skunks, if you shoot them they’ll spray. The best luck I’ve had in keeping them from spraying is using a Williams style box trap baited with old chicken or something kind of stinky. When I’m targeting coons I just use marshmallows. But skunks and possums and coons and everything else will show to the stinky baits so be mindful of that. Some cats in traps are downright nasty!!!
When you get a skunk it’s time to turn into Mr. Calm. Slow, quiet movements do not be loud or quick. I take an old blanket or towel and place it over the trap. What it can’t see or hear It can’t spray. With the trap wrapped, you can take it to wherever. If you want to dispatch it for a skunk skin cap, the best method is euthanasia via acetone to the chest cavity. If you’re interested pm me and I can describe the technique.
With a freshly dispatched skunk that hasn’t sprayed, you now, besides it’s hide also have glands that are full of pure quill skunk essence. It’s surprisingly worth some money to lure makers. I believe it sells for $25 per one ounce bottle. But that’s a messy and stinky job no matter how good you are. If you skin the skunk be sure to extract the essence from the glands first or be super careful around them. I don’t know how to desribe it but pure skunk essence smells like rotting onion and garlic and it is actually like a greasy liquid and it sticks to everything it lands on keeping that smell going and going. The pelts are beautiful though. I knew a lady that had a pet skunk…. It lived in her house with her it was huge. The glands were removed and It got along ok with her cats and dogs but she said the skunk pretty much was in charge. Even though it’s spray glands were gone her cute house always had that faint skunky smell. I actually don’t mind it too bad it reminds me of fall fur trapping season. Kind of like red fox urine. My wife and kids think I’m a weirdo.
 
I was going to add that as far as skunks, I’m sure @SNIPERBBB has some excellent insight and techniques as well being a NWCO.
 
I also wanted to add to my previous post on skunks that the Williams style box or cage traps are best for animal relocation, especially with skunks. Once you get to your destination with the skunk in the cage trap still wrapped in the blanket or towel. You carefully set the trap down, with the blanket or towel still on, the Williams style trap allows you to slowly turn the trap over upside down and the door of the trap will automatically drop open. I slightly pull the blanket or towel back toward me and stand there quietly while the skunk walks out. They can be ver slow and lumbering so be a little patient and try to release them near a brushy or
Woody area so they can immediately find cover as the exit your trap… that keeps them calm as well.
 
Skunks can be pretty easy sometimes. 95% of my skunk trapping is catching them in the den holes. The ones that just venture into your yard occasionally can be a bit more frustrating unless they're doing it every night. You can fence them down like the dillos into double door traps. Especially if they are grubbing.

As for relocation...check you state laws on this as skunks are rabies vectors and most states its illegal to relocate skunks off the property they were caught on. If you do need to coax a skunk out of a trap, a squirt bottle with water works well. Just be sure your not squirting it from the front of the trap.

If you're really worried about getting sprayed, and there are some skunks that get caught in cages that will spray you no matter your skunk whispering skills as either they've been caught before or something already has them riled up, you can get the little PVC pipe type traps or the plasticatch style skunk traps will keep you from getting sprayed, directly anyways though they make dispatching harder to do with a gun or syringe pole. The other thing that is is nice about these traps is they do cut down on the incidental cat and raccoons, though ive have had sevral smaller coons in the plasticatch traps not its not 100%.

Bait wise, cheese doritos or similiar cheesy flavored chips, eggs, marshmallows, fruit loops, bone from the KFC you just ate...
 
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Oh as to the tube type style traps, buy the biggest size the 8". The smaller traps do tend to have to refusal issues, which is why I generally dont use them and just use my normal cages because I hate refusals because they cost me time.
 
woodsdog2 said:
I also wanted to add to my previous post on skunks that the Williams style box or cage traps are best for animal relocation, especially with skunks. Once you get to your destination with the skunk in the cage trap still wrapped in the blanket or towel. You carefully set the trap down, with the blanket or towel still on, the Williams style trap allows you to slowly turn the trap over upside down and the door of the trap will automatically drop open. I slightly pull the blanket or towel back toward me and stand there quietly while the skunk walks out. They can be ver slow and lumbering so be a little patient and try to release them near a brushy or
Woody area so they can immediately find cover as the exit your trap… that keeps them calm as well.
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Someone told me recently that a smaller box trap is better than a large box trap for skunks because the smaller trap won't allow the skunk to get it's tail raised which prevent them from being able to spray. Is there any truth to that?
 
Iron_llama said:
You guys shooting chucks - are you using calls for them? If I'm outside, my toddler wants to join me, so I can only shoot them when I'm off work and she's at day care, so I've got to be efficient at this.

Also - any tips for skunks? A few times a year I get a spray by my front door some time during the night. No other issues, but it's highly unpleasant, and my wife's honey-do list includes "I need you to kill something for me". And, I'd like to make a skunk-skin cap.
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90% of the ones I shoot are just opportunity kills. I see them for my house and if they are less than ~60 or 70 yards I'll shoot them with a .22 long rifle. Farther ones will get the 5.56 with factory loads.
They do whistle when alarmed. I've never heard that they can be "called" but if you give them a sharp, loud whistle they will usually sit up for a more open shot.

Bowhunting for them is great practice. Depending on the terrain and cover, you can put on an effective sneak to get within your effective range. Man, it is an intense sneak for me. My heart will be pounding as I get close to shooting distance. It's very good practice for learning patience and shot control. I use a judo point because I want to minimize losing arrows. The judo arrow does bounce off of them but rest assured, it is fatal. I actually prefer that they make it down into their hole to die. Saves me from dealing with the carcass. I call it "self burying". Come back a day or 2 later and you'll see flies coming in/out of the hole confirming death.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Someone told me recently that a smaller box trap is better than a large box trap for skunks because the smaller trap won't allow the skunk to get it's tail raised which prevent them from being able to spray. Is there any truth to that?
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Big difference between CAN and WILL. CAN they spray in the smaller traps? 100%. WILL they? Well the tail might interfere with their aim a bit so they might be more reluctant to. Covering the trap when you set it really makes handing skunks easier as they do stay a bit calmer that way.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Someone told me recently that a smaller box trap is better than a large box trap for skunks because the smaller trap won't allow the skunk to get it's tail raised which prevent them from being able to spray. Is there any truth to that?
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I feel like they can spray whenever they want. When they do spray their tail is usually up and thier bodies are squinched up somewhat from front to back but I’ve had them in footholds on my predator line and almost got them released, tail down and back legs up and here comes the gold bullet!!! That gets all over your trap I just remake the set as the catch sight and circle
Is all skunky now everything comes to check it out.
 
Yes unless you’re a NWCO you may not relocate to another property without permission as you are not supposed to crest a problem for someone else but that makes sense about the restrictions due to rabies.
 
When I was doing more trapping I actually had my rabies vaccine but the titer check showed no antigens to it so it never took. Here I was handling all sorts of critters and was confident as I thought I was vaccinated for rabies!!! Same thing with my buddy his didn’t take either we went to the same county health department for the vaccines.
 
woodsdog2 said:
When I was doing more trapping I actually had my rabies vaccine but the titer check showed no antigens to it so it never took. Here I was handling all sorts of critters and was confident as I thought I was vaccinated for rabies!!! Same thing with my buddy his didn’t take either we went to the same county health department for the vaccines.
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They did give the pre-exposure shot right? Not sure I quite trust some of the health dept....
 
SNIPERBBB said:
They did give the pre-exposure shot right? Not sure I quite trust some of the health dept....
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Not sure. We had to go two times and then go a third depending on the titre. One good thing was my health insurance covered them but I had to get a pre approval
 
Are skunks a pest? They are rare around here. We have 2 kinds. Striped and spotted. I've only seen 2 ever and they were both the spotted kind
 
Weldabeast said:
Are skunks a pest? They are rare around here. We have 2 kinds. Striped and spotted. I've only seen 2 ever and they were both the spotted kind
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They’re not in NY, they are considered a regulated furbearer. There is a provision in the law that allows you to deal with an animal if it is damaging your property or killing livestock etc. Skunks can put a hurtin’ on chickens.
 
Weldabeast said:
Are skunks a pest? They are rare around here. We have 2 kinds. Striped and spotted. I've only seen 2 ever and they were both the spotted kind
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They certainly can be pests - we had one that decided its preferred shelter was living under the floor of our screenporch. When a small raccoon decided he wanted to compete for that space one evening, we heard quite a ruckus and then smelled the dreaded odor for weeks after the skunk sprayed the coon.

I ended up having to trap all the critters and then dug a 3’ deep trench all the way around the perimeter to bury a durable dig barrier to keep all the burrowing critters out - permanently. That was 10 years ago and we haven’t had a problem since.
 
Weldabeast said:
Are skunks a pest? They are rare around here. We have 2 kinds. Striped and spotted. I've only seen 2 ever and they were both the spotted kind
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Spotted skunks are protected in several states. We only have stripes here. Not only do they have rabies but the are very susceptible to distemper which all but destroyed the skunk population here.

Mostly the issues people have with skunks is the odor issue and occasionally destroying your yard, especially in the spring and fall when the ground is soft for easy digging. Occasionally the like to crawl under a building and die in a corner. They usually don't open their own access points, preferring to just make use of a groundhog's efforts.
 
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