# Skunks worth skinning?



## koondawg

Are skunk pelts worth anything? If I were to skin one how would I get rid of the smell in the fur?


----------



## LAtrapper

alright, a skunk is worth it. more than a opossum at least. and if you know how to utilize all the parts they can bring in close to 15$ per animal plus a coyote.

first skin it, throw it in a bayou overnight and let the smell go.

next remove the scent glands and sell them to a lure maker.

Then bury the skunk with it's feet sticking out and it makes a cracker-jack canine lure.


----------



## 280IM

You are right skuck is well worth it. Skin them for a monts if you are going to skin it worth more to a taxadermist if good fur


----------



## koondawg

I know how to get the escence out because I've done it before. But how much is a skunks fur worth?


----------



## carp_killer

where you from


----------



## koondawg

north central missouri


----------



## carp_killer

here in mn i averaged 16 the whole season


----------



## M*F

trapper_2 said:


> here in mn i averaged 16 the whole season


  I'd say you did really well. What did you top out at?

I hit 10 for an average (ND caught). Plus 10 an ounce for the essence.


----------



## 280IM

We have a taxadermist school here at the Lake I take most everthing there and trade for work but I got 10 for the essence. I only caught 11 this year but didn't get to trap as much as I wanted. I have a pelt I caught 4 years that is almost white It is really nice,in its prime


----------



## younghunter

Uncle was telling me of a man when he was telling me 20 years ago they would pick them up off the road and there was a guy that did the same but he'd skin them and once he got like 50 or more he'd go down to the creek chop a hole threw the ice and scoop mud out and smear it all over his body not missing a spot and start skinning the mud would dry and he'd put more on and when he was down he'd go chomp a big hole in the middle and jump in and wash off all the mud....this way if he got spraed it would be on the mud not him...pretty smart but all pretty crazy..


----------



## Trapper62

If you are worried about the smell wash the skunk prior to skinning in a solution of water, baking soda, peroxide and a little dawn dish soap.

You need to use this immediately as I am sure everyone at one time or another played with baking soda and peroxide and know how it reacts.

This will bind with the skunk essence and pretty much neutralize it.


----------



## carp_killer

M*F said:


> trapper_2 said:
> 
> 
> 
> here in mn i averaged 16 the whole season
> 
> 
> 
> I'd say you did really well. What did you top out at?
> 
> I hit 10 for an average (ND caught). Plus 10 an ounce for the essence.
Click to expand...

topped and 19


----------



## moosebonsai

younghunter said:


> Uncle was telling me of a man when he was telling me 20 years ago they would pick them up off the road and there was a guy that did the same but he'd skin them and once he got like 50 or more he'd go down to the creek chop a hole threw the ice and scoop mud out and smear it all over his body not missing a spot and start skinning the mud would dry and he'd put more on and when he was down he'd go chomp a big hole in the middle and jump in and wash off all the mud....this way if he got spraed it would be on the mud not him...pretty smart but all pretty crazy..


This looks like a story for the Discovery Channel's MythBusters show. :wink:

The MythBusters alreay confermed that the solution of water, baking soda, peroxide and a little dawn dish soap work well at getting the smell off someone sprayed. They had a rough time getting a skunk to spray them. It took three Skunks before one would do the deed.


----------



## Mongojoe

Just to toss this in..... There are "dispatch poles" on the market that carry a syringe, and when loaded with the chemical used, you simply "stick" the skunk with it, which supposedly causes him to expire without throwing his essence. But I have never used, and have had no experience with, these... And I have also been told that if you shoot them in the back, the chest, under the arm, in the guts, under the chin, or here, or there, or over younder, or wherever, they will not stink...but I have shot them everywhere except their anus, and they have still thrown their essence... A couple of times I have shot them in the chest, from a distance, and then waited till the next day to deal with them, giving them time to expire, and they have not "shot the stink". But like I said, ONLY a couple of times. Usually they squirted when I did this too...... However, if targeting ONLY skunks, here is a method that has occasionally worked for me, to prevent their squirting..... This must be located where skunks regularly frequent. And DO NOT make this set where a pet or non-target animal is likely to find it.... Dig a hole like digging a trap bed, but dig it about 3 to 4 times as deep as you normally would... Now, instead of bedding your trap, lay a good sized, smelly piece of bait in the hole...Set a #2 or larger coil spring trap on the bait. Cover litely with dirt, no need to bed the trap, and cover this lightly with grass. The hole should still be below the level of the ground a few inches....... If everything goes right, the skunk will stick his head in the hole smelling the bait, and the trap will fire, acting like a small body gripper, breaking his neck, and preventing his throwing his essence....... NOW..... Like I originally said, this has worked *OCCASIONALLY* for me...but don't count on it as an "every time deal"...because it isn't... But I have had better luck useing this method than any other to prevent their throwing their essence......... And be REAL careful when skinning around the anus.


----------

