# Skunks



## lampern

Is there a season for shooting striped or spotted skunks?

Thanks


----------



## antharper

*Not sure*

Not sure , but I caught this one a few days ago , I just released it , don't see many around where I'm at !


----------



## lampern

Thanks

I don't seem em mentioned in the regs book


----------



## Nicodemus

They are probably classified as furbearers.


----------



## riverbank

Pretty animals, but my god they stink. We are loaded with em. Poor ole dogs got it bad around here.


----------



## BassWorm

In Georgia there is. They are a furbearer and its in the regs.


----------



## Permitchaser

So I got to ask. How do you release a skunk.


----------



## Nicodemus

Permitchaser said:


> So I got to ask. How do you release a skunk.





If it`s in a box trap, just slowly ease up to the box with an old blanket or bed sheet. Don``t get in no hurry or make any sudden moves. Take your time and drape the sheet over the entire trap. Then you can carefully pick up the trap, set in the bed of your truck, and ride off with it.When you go to open the trap, just expose the trapdoor and open it. Then get in the clear till it moseys out.

If it`s in a leghold, you will know when you get close, because it will have already declared war and unleashed chemical weapons.


----------



## HunterJoe24

Nicodemus said:


> They are probably classified as furbearers.



They are


----------



## HunterJoe24

Nicodemus said:


> If it`s in a leghold, you will know when you get close, because it will have already declared war and unleashed chemical weapons.



Been there done that, it was no fun


----------



## Hillbilly stalker

Skunks AKA : polecats, are like possums and coons. They are nest raiders and will really work on your turkey nests. Fewer people hunt them, so they kinda get outa check because they are no natural predators for polecats that I know of.


----------



## JonathonJEB

Skunks are furbearers. You can only harvest them from Dec 1 through Feb 28. They are a target for many people due to the value of there essence. http://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/animal/WCSSKUNK.html


----------



## Philbow

Hillbilly stalker said:


> Skunks AKA : polecats, are like possums and coons. They are nest raiders and will really work on your turkey nests. Fewer people hunt them, so they kinda get outa check because they are no natural predators for polecats that I know of.



I've read great horned owls will kill and eat skunks.


----------



## Nicodemus

Philbow said:


> I've read great horned owls will kill and eat skunks.





They do, and young ones are subject to various birds of prey, since none of them have a sense of smell. 

Rabies will hit them too.


----------



## Killer Kyle

Philbow said:


> I've read great horned owls will kill and eat skunks.



I did a pretty thorough presentation on striped skunks for a Wildlife Damage class, and can verify. Possibly a skunks greatest predator is the Great Horned Owl. 
I found a dead skunk in a food plot this past February. I guess skunks were on the move during mating season, and a bird of prey caught it in the open field. It's fur was terribly roughed up, and it had wounds along the back of it's neck. I couldn't tell if an owl did it or another bird, but it was definitely a bird. The wounds on the neck almost seemed superficial as there was very little blood, and I wondered if an owl crushed it with it's talon grip and squeezed it to death. Owls have incredible grip strength with those big feet.


----------



## BornNRaised

Owls never skip "leg day".


----------



## Timbo85

When I was a youngin I had 3 walker and blue tick cross hounds , litter mates , 2 of them were pretty solid coon dogs but the other would run past 3 coons on the ground to get to a skunk , he was the best lookin of the 3 and had the best mouth out of em but he was a natural skunk predator, I got used to the smell and I didn't even bother me , I think about him every time I smell 1 run over on the road


----------



## Capt Quirk

I can honestly say, I have never seen a live skunk in the wild. Seen a lot of road killed, but never live. I was given one a few years ago, because I wanted to try making a cap out of it. As I was skinning it, I kept thinking that the meat was looking pretty good. Never got the nerve to try it though.


----------



## BornNRaised

Ever cooked opossum on a board??


----------



## Timbo85

I have cooked a diller in her shell on special occasions its eatable


----------



## Capt Quirk

I won't eat possum, but armadillo sounded interesting. I ain't going to try cleaning it though...


----------



## Hillbilly stalker

Armadillo is the only animal that can and sometime does, carry leprosy. Mite want to think about that one .


----------



## Timbo85

Yea I wouldn't recommend eatin it raw or rare cook it thoroughly


----------



## Beaudeane

Always wondered bout skunk eating myself. Thought it have to be good with that strong a defense.


----------



## Capt Quirk

Beaudeane said:


> Always wondered bout skunk eating myself. Thought it have to be good with that strong a defense.


I tell you, it was some pretty red meat, nice and lean. I'm not sure, but I think skunks eat pretty clean, unlike possums that eat garbage.


----------



## Lilly001

Capt Quirk said:


> I tell you, it was some pretty red meat, nice and lean. I'm not sure, but I think skunks eat pretty clean, unlike possums that eat garbage.



In my younger years, up north in Pa, I ran a short trap line to supplement my high school earnings.
I often caught skunks in leg holds. I loved that they made most traps they were caught in much more productive.
I did try eating them and I would equate it to coon.
I also had times my mother would lock me out of the house until I stripped down and hosed off.


----------



## tommy jacobs

Barrow county where I live is loaded with them, you see them and smell them on the roads every where but I have never seen a live one ever ???  I trap some and wonder what will I ever do if I catch one in a leg hold trap ?


----------



## Mark R

I have heard the fur market is down but is the skunk hide worth anything ? I have seen some pretty ones . Lots of them in south Ga


----------



## Trapper Glatzer

Ya'll have to be starving to be wondering about if skunk might taste good. Possum and armadillo ( possum on a half shell ) are bad enough. Almost spit my coffee across the room laughing.
Tommy, if you happen to catch one in a foothold trap, shoot him behind the shoulder with a .22 and back away and let him pass peacefully. Then you can get your trap back and either boil it then or put it aside to treat it later, but personally I wouldn't use the trap again until I cleaned it.


----------

