methods of dispatching mink?

interize

Well lads, iv just got a mink cage and about to start trapping the only problem is i dont have a .22lr just wanna know any good methods of dispatching with out, have a 17 air rifle but dont think it would be up to the job and using a shot gun would make a bit of a mess.

Spunk84

Shouldn't be catching wild animals without having the tools to dispatch them. Stick on a pair of thick gloves and break it's neck

Longranger

This is gonna get ugly:rollseyes:

daithi55

Spunk84 wrote: »

Shouldn't be catching wild animals without having the tools to dispatch them. Stick on a pair of thick gloves and break it's neck

he hasnt caught anything yet with it hence why hes asking what he should use to dispatch the animal before he decides to set it

id say ya would do no damage to the cage using a shotgun at a safe distance
id say the .17 air rifle will kill it no problem once its one of the powerful air powered ones
the break barrel ones wouldnt have enough power in them but saying that firing it straight into the head from 3 or 4 inches might be enough

pugw

Spunk84 wrote: »

Shouldn't be catching wild animals without having the tools to dispatch them. Stick on a pair of thick gloves and break it's neck

I wouldnt recommend that if you havent done it before they are viscous little ba*tards! The air rifle will be plenty good at short range put the barrel through the mesh and hit him in the head! A lad I know wrecked a cage with a shotgun!

Eddie B

Cant see why your .17 air rifle won't work!
I bought a .22 air rifle for this purpose! It's perfect for the job! Dispatches mink stone dead, and won't damage the cage at all. You just have to be patient, and make sure you place the shot right on the forehead!



It's the best method in my opinion, dispatch the mink without moving your cage, rebait, reset, job done!;)

mallards

If you haven't a gun, maybe release into a strong bag , pin him into the corner of it and clunk him very hard over the scull to kill him instantly. Watch your fingers! :-D

johngalway

interize wrote: »

Well lads, iv just got a mink cage and about to start trapping the only problem is i dont have a .22lr just wanna know any good methods of dispatching with out, have a 17 air rifle but dont think it would be up to the job and using a shot gun would make a bit of a mess.

There's your answer.

patdahat

your .17 down between the ears job done.

blackstairsboy

I would strongly recommend that you ignore any advice telling you to drown the mink. As much as I detest them I would not wish a slow death on any animal. Some people seem to think that if it is vermin then ethics do not matter. Lads more familiar with air rifles than me seem to think that yours is well up to the job so there's your answer. Personally I do not own an air rifle so I would tip the mink into an old sack and then use the shotgun. May be overkill but you can't get any deader than dead and you can be sure the mink won't complain. Don't forget to keep your tails this time next year you could be a millionaire!;)

PippaSpaniel

I would not recommend anyone sticking a hand gloved into a trap with a live mink inside the animal is stressed enough as it is and they have very strong neck muscles i say it would be only asking for trouble!! Air rifle .22 or gas it. I would be leaning towards the air rifle .22 and do it on the spot less hassle and less stress on the animal. Remove dead mink and bait and set it again.!!

interize

Thanks lads, some really good advise, i was gonna use the air rifle but its a bsa tactical xl with a moderator so it wont fit trough the cage which makes it really hard to get a well placed shot, dont agree with the idea of drowning so ill try getting it into a bag and use the shotgun, gonna set the trap tomorrow, ill let you know how i got on thats if i still have my fingers too type a message ha

rsole1

daithi55 wrote: »

he hasnt caught anything yet with it hence why hes asking what he should use to dispatch the animal before he decides to set it



that sounds cruel



id say ya would do no damage to the cage using a shotgun at a safe distance
id say the .17 air rifle will kill it no problem once its one of the powerful air powered ones
the break barrel ones wouldnt have enough power in them but saying that firing it straight into the head from 3 or 4 inches might be enough

I have a break barrel air rifle Weihrauch HW 97K and it kills magpies and crows at 40 - 45 yards, so of course it would kill a mink in a cage!

daithi55

rsole1 wrote: »

I have a break barrel air rifle Weihrauch HW 97K and it kills magpies and crows at 40 - 45 yards, so of course it would kill a mink in a cage!

from what ive seen over the years theres both good and bad air rifles whats not to say his isnt upto standard
or someone else reading this thread starts using a crap one on a mink

rsole1

daithi55 wrote: »

from what ive seen over the years theres both good and bad air rifles whats not to say his isnt upto standard
or someone else reading this thread starts using a crap one on a mink

You were specifically saying break barrel air rifles are not as powerful as gas ones. Theoben Eliminator, Webley Patriot to name but two FAC rated break barrell spring air rifles. Even the UK non FAC air rifles would be a touch under 12ft lbs more than enough to kill crows etc at 40 yards. Obviously to check the exact power put it on a chrono.

Eddie B

daithi55 wrote: »

from what ive seen over the years theres both good and bad air rifles whats not to say his isnt upto standard
or someone else reading this thread starts using a crap one on a mink

Any air rifle (not air soft) should be up to the job!! The one i have ain't nothing special, but it's more than good enough for the job! Sometimes the pellet goes straight through the head and out through the bottom jaw!;)

meathstevie

Personally I would argue very strongly against the drowning method for the reasons stated above. You would definitly find yourself on the wrong side of animal cruelty legislation if you were found out doing that and that's not even entering in a right or wrong debate.

The cruelty principle as it has been explained to me by someone who deals with this sort of matters professionaly is very simple; are you causing needless suffering either through deliberate actions or through neglect ? If the answer is yes then it's cruelty. She also specifically mentioned not checking on traps often enough.

Paulie Gualtieri

id use a fish head in the trap , and a 7 clay cartridge from 10 yards to dispatch them , as it wont do any damage to the cage.

but thats just my opinion , no doubt there'll be someone to disagree .

rsole1

Paulie Gualtieri wrote: »

id use a fish head in the trap , and a 7 clay cartridge from 10 yards to dispatch them , as it wont do any damage to the cage.

but thats just my opinion , no doubt there'll be someone to disagree .

Why not open the trap up and then shoot them as they head off - make a bit of sport out of it.

Paulie Gualtieri

rsole1 wrote: »

Why not open the trap up and then shoot them as they head off - make a bit of sport out of it.

true enough , I might do that , but theres people down the road from me who kept chickens and a mink got in a gave them the vampire bite to the neck and killed the lot , so I dont think they would give the mink the slighest chance to get away and would just want to see it suffer , eg. drowning it ...

I dont really agree with it but ive never had my chickens wiped out by a mink.

lee70

Weylin wrote: »

put cage into large plastic bag,connect pipe from car/jeep exhaust into bag,they will be stone dead in about 15 minutes,no fuss,a peaceful exit for all concerned

This method sounds familiar. Was it used by some mad lad back in the late 30's/early 40's. I'd say stick with the .17 and you won't go wrong.

extremetaz

daithi55 wrote: »

the break barrel ones wouldnt have enough power in them

Untrue - most of them are well over 15ft.lbs. That's near twice what you need to do the job.

interize wrote: »

Thanks lads, some really good advise, i was gonna use the air rifle but its a bsa tactical xl with a moderator so it wont fit trough the cage

No need to put the rifle through the cage at all. Just take your time and place the shot right. Anywhere along the eye line will do the job quick and painless.

extremetaz

rsole1 wrote: »

I have a break barrel air rifle Weihrauch HW 97K and it kills magpies and crows at 40 - 45 yards, so of course it would kill a mink in a cage!

rsole1 wrote: »

You were specifically saying break barrel air rifles are not as powerful as gas ones. Theoben Eliminator, Webley Patriot to name but two FAC rated break barrell spring air rifles. Even the UK non FAC air rifles would be a touch under 12ft lbs more than enough to kill crows etc at 40 yards. Obviously to check the exact power put it on a chrono.

Spot on.

Any of the "non-FAC" units would be up to the task, and they're right at the bottom end (excluding 10m olympic, which are about 5ft.lb ).

We've three Weihrauch's at home, a HW100T in .177, a HW100KT in .22 and a HW90 in .177, they put out 24ft.lb, 20ft.lb and 30ft.lb respectively (and that last one *IS* a break barrel fitten with a theoben gas ram)

Any of them are more than capable of taking vermin at anything out to 50m, and you could go beyond that even if you had a dead calm day and you were on form yourself.

Never underestimate air rifles.

LB6

Humane dispatch is the way to go, drowning and gassing of animals (even mink), in my opinion, are not.:mad:

Longranger

As was already stated, tip the cage into a bag, bunch it up and put a couple of #4's into it in quick succession. Two seconds, job done and no suffering. Been doing it for years.

CJhaughey

Easiest way, get an old coal sack, put the trap with mink inside into the sack.
Take the mouth of the sack and put it over the exhaust of a petrol car and secure it.
Start and run car for 5 -10 minutes.
Check the mink, if its still alive give it another dose.
This is a good humane method, the animal just goes to sleep.
No danger of damage to trap or danger of the angry mink coming back at you.
I use this on rats in a live trap regularly and it works well.

fiestaman

CJhaughey wrote: »

Easiest way, get an old coal sack, put the trap with mink inside into the sack.
Take the mouth of the sack and put it over the exhaust of a petrol car and secure it.
Start and run car for 5 -10 minutes.
Check the mink, if its still alive give it another dose.
This is a good humane method, the animal just goes to sleep.
No danger of damage to trap or danger of the angry mink coming back at you.
I use this on rats in a live trap regularly and it works well.

I wouldnt say 5-10mins is HUMANE. Would ya not just shoot it same as us all?

fiestaman

Does anyone use Fenn traps anymore??

CJhaughey

fiestaman wrote: »

I wouldnt say 5-10mins is HUMANE. Would ya not just shoot it same as us all?

No because I don't want to go replacing traps all the time.
Why isn't 5-10 mins humane, Honestly?
Animal is in the trap.
Trap is put in Bag.
Car is started.
Animal is dead.
Its not like you are poking it with a stick for 5-10 minutes, the animal doesn't even see a human to be scared of.
Drowning is not a nice way to kill an animal that can swim as well as a mink, Shooting poses an unnecessary risk.
This way is just simpler and easier for me.
YMMV.

deeksofdoom

CJhaughey wrote: »

No because I don't want to go replacing traps all the time.
Why isn't 5-10 mins humane, Honestly?
Animal is in the trap.
Trap is put in Bag.
Car is started.
Animal is dead.
Its not like you are poking it with a stick for 5-10 minutes, the animal doesn't even see a human to be scared of.
Drowning is not a nice way to kill an animal that can swim as well as a mink, Shooting poses an unnecessary risk.
This way is just simpler and easier for me.
YMMV.

How about;

Put animal in bag.
Car is started.
Drive over bag.
Animal is dead.

CJhaughey

deeksofdoom wrote: »

How about;

Put animal in bag.
Car is started.
Drive over bag.
Animal is dead.

Flat trap?:D
I don't even take the animal out of the trap. Less chance for an accident to happen.

rsole1

deeksofdoom wrote: »

How about;

Put animal in bag.
Car is started.
Drive over bag.
Animal is dead.

I have four Jack Russells they'd do the job, but would that be considered cruel? What about killing rats ? Seems that people don't care about how rats are killed, so why all the fuss over mink?

fiestaman

CJhaughey wrote: »

No because I don't want to go replacing traps all the time.
Why isn't 5-10 mins humane, Honestly?
Animal is in the trap.
Trap is put in Bag.
Car is started.
Animal is dead.
Its not like you are poking it with a stick for 5-10 minutes, the animal doesn't even see a human to be scared of.
Drowning is not a nice way to kill an animal that can swim as well as a mink, Shooting poses an unnecessary risk.
This way is just simpler and easier for me.
YMMV.

Well i presumed suffocating would be cruel maybe im wrong but thats just my thought. vermin or not everything deserves respect. bullet or pellet is quickest way in my oponion.

As for rats i dont agree with terriers tearing anything apart but thats my thought, im not against anybodys method, each to there own

deeksofdoom

CJhaughey wrote: »

Flat trap?:D
I don't even take the animal out of the trap. Less chance for an accident to happen.

No you take the mink out of the trap first:rolleyes:

Eddie B

rsole1 wrote: »

I have four Jack Russells they'd do the job, but would that be considered cruel? What about killing rats ? Seems that people don't care about how rats are killed, so why all the fuss over mink?

Think it's against the law, whether it be rat or mink! A form of baiting i think!

von dreyse

CJhaughey wrote: »

Easiest way, get an old coal sack, put the trap with mink inside into the sack.
Take the mouth of the sack and put it over the exhaust of a petrol car and secure it.
Start and run car for 5 -10 minutes.
Check the mink, if its still alive give it another dose.
This is a good humane method, the animal just goes to sleep.
No danger of damage to trap or danger of the angry mink coming back at you.
I use this on rats in a live trap regularly and it works well.

I see you specified a petrol car, would the fumes from a diesel car not be as humane? or is there much difference?

CJhaughey

von dreyse wrote: »

I see you specified a petrol car, would the fumes from a diesel car not be as humane? or is there much difference?

Lot less carbon monoxide from Diesels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning

terminator2

deeksofdoom wrote: »

How about;

Put animal in bag.
Car is started.
Drive over bag.
Animal is dead.

LMAO.......good one deeks , if that doesnt get them going i dont know what will:D:D

blindside88

Hey lads might seem like a stupid question..... I was told (by a lad who talks a lot of s**t) that if you spill the minks blood in the trap other mink will smell it and not enter, he said this was why he advised drowning over shooting. It sounded strange, is this just an urban myth?

Birdnuts

blindside88 wrote: »

Hey lads might seem like a stupid question..... I was told (by a lad who talks a lot of s**t) that if you spill the minks blood in the trap other mink will smell it and not enter, he said this was why he advised drowning over shooting. It sounded strange, is this just an urban myth?

Sounds like an Urban myth going on my own experience and what other more expert trappers say on here and elsewhere - no harm keeping the trap clean though;)

blindside88

Thanks. I assumed it was by reading earlier posts alright