Thread: Humane dispatch of possums

Pick it up off the ground, give it a cuddle,then a quick pat on the arse before sending it on its way

Buy a tomahawk and go viking on the furry little fuckers. Will make you feel better.

back of a tomahawk smashed right down between the ears will kill 99.9%with a single blow.reason its not 100 was i experienced a couple whom it took 4-5 shots with a heavy axe to kill-which incidentally i hated!in my days of trapping as kids -brother and ihad a piece of rimu 4x2 shaped with an axe into a club-burl on one end studded with leadhead nails -it was mighty bloody effective especially in LJs hands -I grabbed the tail stretched em out and he swung. as i kill all these bastards on sight Ive used the .22 the blowjob from hell,me old .303 a couple of times -recycled to compost and fine red mist,and in early 60s saw an uncle drop a big snarling buck at 12"range with a SXS12g twin blast yup two very impressed young lads one large hole in ma &pas washhouse roof and one large buck possum considerably slimmed down as chest neck and head were sprayed into the atmosphere over moana town ship.
the late lamented jacko was later interred by LJ,I cousin and a mate in a tomato box very reverently.
uncle looked like something outta braveheart as white shirt and ginger beard were flecked with bits of blood and flesh.
My ongoing challenge is to line a big horny snarling buck jacko up with a steel 34gm 3"load in me trusty escort 12g-dont bother bettin-Im only paying 20c in the dollar for a win!

Originally Posted by 7mm Rem Mag

Pick it up off the ground, give it a cuddle,then a quick pat on the arse before sending it on its way

Take brave pills first.

Your tableleg should be fine mate. Back of the lower head/neck. Not nice or pretty, but effective, and probably the safest.
Old mates tomahawk would go alright too I'm picking.

Originally Posted by kotuku

in early 60s saw an uncle drop a big snarling buck at 12"range with a SXS12g twin blast yup two very impressed young lads one large hole in ma &pas washhouse roof and one large buck possum considerably slimmed down as chest neck and head were sprayed into the atmosphere over moana town ship.
My ongoing challenge is to line a big horny snarling buck jacko up with a steel 34gm 3"load in me trusty escort 12g-dont bother bettin-Im only paying 20c in the dollar for a win!

shot one in the same manner with a rossi 92 357-125gr hollowpoints. Much the same result

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

Angus, I'm assuming you're using an air rifle for all the previously mentioned/discussed reasons.

It occurs to me that the choice of pellet for hunting might be a factor. I don't know enough about what's available to comment, but it might pay to take a close look at what you're zapping your tree rats with.

22 springer when i'm on my own and a ruger 10/22 when under supervision of my licensed mate. I'm crap with the 10/22, can't stand the trigger but too broke to replace it with something nicer. Not too bad on the air rifle though.
I'm using standard domed pellets and cci mini mags respectively.

Nine times out of ten the major contributor to a crap 10/22 trigger is the fact the trigger assembly is full of years of crud from the dirty ammo. They are very easy to clean either after full disassembly or just a wash through with a suitable cleaning solution. I would encourage whoever owns the 10/22 to disassemble it and clean it properly and watch a YouTube video to guide the reassembly. While you are there it is worth reading up or again watching YouTube to learn how to clean and polish the sear components. This can make big Improvements to the gritty creep that these rifles suffer from when dirty and unloved.

I did all this with mine last week and it makes a big difference.

i don know if my dog has sen a possum yet, but rabbits are gonners
35kg of english bull terrier X dogo argentina makes short work of bunnies
(also made short work of my mountain bike )

What ya wanna do is grab him by the tail,swing him around and pick up some momentum. Then swing him as hard as you possibly can into the nearest fence post, tree, or rock. Just make sure its a big rock so you dont accidentally smack him on the ground. works 90% percent of the time. How ever if the possum is still reasonably mobile just pop a cap in his head. its not worth risking getting clawed

Originally Posted by Angus_A

I have been allowing for that yep. Trigger control is my enemy at the mo, when i mess up a shot it's generally me pulling it left or right. I have an old table leg i filled with lead shot in one end which does the job, just don't enjoy it. Might give your pipe idea a go, need some welding practice anyways.

Ok so the technique is thus: grab the downed possum firmly by the last full hand of tail, do not lift the possum off the ground but drag it back-wards its back legs just off the ground, whilst uttering the words 'in nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti' The possum will try to pull forward and away from you upon hearing those words. Now bring you steel pipe 'priest' down smartly on the back of his ear with the swing aimed at the ground below his noggin. Killed countless in traps like this and plenty running free just on dusk and never been bitten

MH-is a loose latin translation "take this you furry f...k.er!"aye the trusty length of glavanised pipe has many uses!