Night vision suggestions?

[Fairweather Pure]

A friend of mine has lent me a pellet gun to kill a couple of troublesome skunks that keep spraying in my neighborhood. It's been a looong time since I've shot a pellet gun. I was really surprised at how powerful this thing is. It shoots at 1200 feet per second and even has a little kick to it, which I've never gotten from a pellet gun before. These things have come a very long way indeed!

Anyway, these skunks come out at night and I'm looking for advice on decent night vision. The gun I am borrowing has a nice scope on it, I just need something to scan the area occassionally and hopefully pick the buggers out.

Any help would be appreciated!

[Truant]

I suggest you get your head out of your ass, you'll be able to see the skunks more easily.

[Fairweather Pure]

Where the hell did that come from?

Anyone else? Hoping for something around 200ish$

[Boogahz]

Try 269-966-3363

That's the number for Animal Control in Battle Creek.

[Aslanna]

They are just looking for something to eat.. Why shoot the defenseless wildlife? So mean.

[Winnow]

I pellet gun will most likely only wound an animal that size.

A group of us when I was young shot lizards with pellet guns and one day nailed a jackrabbit, breaking it's leg. It hobbled around suffering. We took it to the vet but it died (vet probably just told us that and killed it instead of wasting time trying to fix a broken leg on a jackrabbit for kids)

If you're going to kill the skunks, make it a clean death. A sharp knife to the base of the neck, forcefully entered into their organ area, maybe twist the knife around a bit to mix things around, speeding up the eventual resulting death. (worked in the old Roman days)

[Funkmasterr]

I pellet gun will most likely only wound an animal that size.

A group of us when I was young shot lizards with pellet guns and one day nailed a jackrabbit, breaking it's leg. It hobbled around suffering. We took it to the vet but it died (vet probably just told us that and killed it instead of wasting time trying to fix a broken leg on a jackrabbit for kids)

If you're going to kill the skunks, make it a clean death. A sharp knife to the base of the neck, forcefully entered into their organ area, maybe twist the knife around a bit to mix things around, speeding up the eventual resulting death. (worked in the old Roman days)

I know there are some german made pellet guns that have as much power and do almost the damage of a .22 , and it sounds like fair might have something like that. If that was the case, he would most certainly kill it with 1 or two shots depending on where they hit.

[Xatrei]

No idea about the night vision gear, but I'll agree with Funk on this. I've seen .20, .22 and even larger pellet rifles that will quite effectively kill small animals. If the rifle he's describing can fire a reasonably heavy pellet at the velocity he says, it should do the job. That being said, I'd call animal control rather than going on night-time anti-skunk commando raids.

This predicament reminds me of when I was at basic training at Ft. Knox in the early 1990's. The night before moving out to our training unit, I was on fire guard at 2 or 3 in the morning. I was walking around the back of our barracks building (the old WW2 era ones you can see in the movie Stripes. As I turned the corner, I saw the Drill Sergeant that was on CQ duty that night pop up from behind a bush drawing a big tricked out looking hunting bow. He took the shot and took off running in the direction he fired. A few minutes later, I saw him hauling a skunk carcass back towards the office. That dude was nuts, and he just liked to kill stuff. He was always throwing rocks at birds and squirrels, and he almost killed half a dozen recruits when had a bunch of us in the back of a truck the day before and ran off the road trying to run over a raccoon or something that he saw and decided must die.

[Spang]

Your eyes will naturally adjust to the night within 30 minutes to an hour for free.

[Sirensa]

WTF is wrong with you ppl. Skunks are cute

[Boogahz]

Maybe he should just trap whatever is pissing the skunks off. AFAIK, they only spray when threatened. The skunks around here aren't an issue unless approached. That is generally how dogs end up getting sprayed in the face.

[noel]

...rather than going on night-time anti-skunk commando raids.

Comedy Gold. I LOLed.

Anyway, Fairweather's idea is almost as ridiculous as he is. Animal control is a much more reasonable idea, but then he doesn't get to play GI Joe with his high-powered-sniper-pellet gun and his night vision goggles. Being outside with that kind of gear is probably a fantastic way to get himself shot.

[Noysyrump]

Obviosly you people have never done the 'Night time anti-skunk comando raids'. There is something that makes you feel so alive, as you sit in your ghuilli suit, awaiting your prey to flash it's bushy tail. Of course half the dumbasses on this board aren't men. So they would never know. Hats off to you Fair. And goodluck in your hunt.


Try a local surplus store. They usually have anything you might need.

[Noysyrump]

Shit almost forgot sportsmans guide.
They have all the best toys.

Edit: BINGO. However, I doubt any skunk is worth six grand.

[miir]

A pellet gun isn't going to do anything to a skunk except piss it off.

[Noysyrump]

http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=444174


Specifically states that it's for killin varmints!

[Fairweather Pure]

GOT ONE!


Same friend that let me borrow the gun had a night vision monicle he was going to lend me next time I saw him, but I never had to use it. I caught it at dusk on pure luck.

One shot, one kill. I am very glad it was one shot since the thing takes about 12 seconds to load. I wouldn't have been able to get off anotehr shot if it ran.

Yeah, this is one hell of a pellet gun indeed. It's closer to a .22. The shot went clean through. I'm really glad I practiced for awhile before having to take the shot!

Btw, animal control around here will not touch a skunk with a 10 foot pole because you can't live trap a skunk wihtout the risk of a spray! I wouldn't resort to killing it if I didn't have to. I consulted many different options before it came to this, both via the Internet and also through people I know. The spraying is just too much. I sure as hell wasn't going to trap it. I have too many other critters around here I wouldn't want to kill on accident, and I think that is a bad way to go. I consulted my neighbors and let them know what was up and recieved thier blessings before I started. Besides, my house is not in a normal neighborhood. I'm surrounded on 3 sides by think woods. I can only see two houses across the road and that's it.

Not that I have to justify anything to anyone, it's a fucking skunk.

[Aslanna]

Gratz on killing a big bad skunk. You're a man now. Not just a man.. A macho man!

[Demags]

In Michigan, unless you have a small game license your breaking the law. If you hunt after sunset for skunks your breaking the law. If you shoot a firearm (yes a pellet rifle is a firearm) within 450 feet of an occupied dwelling, your breaking the law. I just glanced over the penalties, but it looks like its a 50-500 dollar fine and up to 90 days in jail for each of those offenses. Skunks are considered small game and not varmint here.

Generally skunks don't usually spray unless confronted by some animal. On mythbusters they couldn't get caged skunks to spray them whatsoever, they had to resort to artificial skunk smell for the experiment.

Oh yeah, hunting with a spotlight or night vision is breaking the law too.

[Fairweather Pure]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYn5hxeFt10

[noel]

Way to go. Quite an accomplishment. Maybe if you work on getting a life, you can get that knocked out in the next 20 years.

[Canoe]

In Michigan, unless you have a small game license your breaking the law. If you hunt after sunset for skunks your breaking the law. If you shoot a firearm (yes a pellet rifle is a firearm) within 450 feet of an occupied dwelling, your breaking the law. I just glanced over the penalties, but it looks like its a 50-500 dollar fine and up to 90 days in jail for each of those offenses. Skunks are considered small game and not varmint here.

Generally skunks don't usually spray unless confronted by some animal. On mythbusters they couldn't get caged skunks to spray them whatsoever, they had to resort to artificial skunk smell for the experiment.

Oh yeah, hunting with a spotlight or night vision is breaking the law too.

Man if all of that is true, laws really vary from state to state.

In NY for furbearers (skunks) it is perfectly legal to hunt at night, with a spotlight, and you can be 6 inches from any house as long as you have permission. The only exception to this is during deer season you can't do it.

The only point of your post that "might" be accurate for NYS, is the night vision goggles, I' never looked into those regulations as I never wanted to use them

[Truant]

Btw, animal control around here will not touch a skunk with a 10 foot pole because you can't live trap a skunk wihtout the risk of a spray!

The second half of your statement is wrong. Unless you are using some kind of trap that actually harms the skunk. Their spray is a defense mechanism. If you use a live trap there is no problem whatsoever.

Also, I SERIOUSLY doubt your animal control said "no" when you called them about a skunk. It's their job. They sure as hell did it here in TX when we had one move in under our old house.

If you don't instantly kill it with the first shot, it's going to spray, and it's probably going to spray everything it's got because it knows it's life is in danger.

So uhh, yeah...good luck with that.