porcupine hunting

tiercel45

New member
does anybody know what the best way to go bout this would be, would like to thin out the population but i can never seem to actually see em while im out hunting so any help would be cool
 
If you can't see them, then why do they need thinned out? We see them quite often but don't always shoot. Sometimes we just take some quills and go.
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There would have to be a serious overpopulation of em before I would start shooting them,they dont do much damage and they are fun to see.My Grandfather always told me to leave em alone cuz if your stuck up in the hills and need a meal they are the one food source around that cant out run ya!
 
NONYA,
Your grandfather knew what he was talking about! I never kill them because of that very reason. In 1974 I was left out in the Wrangell-St.Elias Range in Alaska by a bush pilot who was supposed to return in about a week. That week turned into a month (he got lost in the Arctic). Its a very long but interesting story. I had enough grub for about 10 days. There were no Caribou in there at that particular time. I lived off blueberries, mooseberries and several Porcupines. Killed them with an axe. There was another fella with me and we would sit around a fire at night and talk about things like pie and ice cream. On that trip, I was over 3 months fishing and hunting in the wilds of the Yukon Territory and Alaska. Its truly an amazing story of the experiences I went through.

BTW, they way to call porcupines is rub yourself real good with fir or pine pitch and stand in one spot for a long time. They will think you are a tree /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
 
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We thin them out around here whenever we get a chance!
If we see one we shoot one!
They really do a lot of damage to the trees in this area!

Other than seeing them while deer hunting or otherwise in the woods, we wait until mid winter and go out on snow and look for a trail and follow them back to their den!
Most times, their den will be either under a boulder or in a hollow tree!

They are real easy to kill! A 22 is all you need, but during deer season we use overkill, be it 30-30, 6mm, 243, 308, 7mm Mag!

BUT, the other guys are correct though! Porcupines are excellent "emergency" food!
 
Always have and always will shoot them on site. Guess until you go into an oak stand and see every other one dead or dieing from having the bark striped off you wouldn't under stand. Look for the fresh striped limbs, and they will be very close. Sometimes you can find the den tree, a big hollowed out trunk with a pileof dropings at the bottom.

Shameless
 
That sounds like a great story Greg,Id like to hear the whole thing some time.They dont kill many trees around here they just eat some of the bark off the trunk,what did they taste like?
 
At our camp in PA, they chew on our cabin siding and any tool handles left out. We'll shoot them if they are causing damage but thats about it.
 
Take a look in the pine trees this time of the year. The porkies just love to eat them now. Just look for the light colored areas on the trees where the bark has been stripped. They usually aren't too far away from trees with this kind of damage. MI VHNTR
 
NONYA,
The ones we ate were a bit tough but that was because we weren't too concerned about making them tender. Just roasted them over the fire. They have a mild "piney" taste but are actually not bad. You have to be somewhat careful skinning them, started from the belly just like a lion will do.

One of the other guys here would like to hear about that trip too. It would take some time. I will do it in parts. I have a journal of that trip stored, I'll dig it out.

BTW, I'm glad there wasn't someone killing them up there. Berries are good but they don't supply the protein needed in a survival type situation. Of course there would not have anyone there, we were 60 air miles from the nearest human. And that is a long ways and there was no possible way to walk out, a river and HUGE muskeg swamp blocked the way.
 
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I shoot just about everyone of them I see. If you have ever tried to put quills out of a yearling's nose and eyes you would know why. They are deadly on our cottonwood trees here. If they would eat the juniper trees that infest our place I would let more live.
 
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I was over 3 months fishing and hunting in the wilds of the Yukon Territory and Alaska. Its truly an amazing story of the experiences I went through.





I am jealous. Wish I could get away for 3 months. Although I would go into withdrawls without getting to see my kids.
 
Gregg, i had to eat them a few times myself /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. The young ones make the best eating but if you have no choice try parboiling first and Teriaky sauce helps /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Only way to skin is from the belly /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Tiercel, spring and fall are the best times for spotting them, when the leaves are down look for the trees without bark on the limbs, the porkers will be close. From a distance they won't look like much more than an old squirrels nest- just a lump of something up in a tree. They do take quite a bit of lead though, and the one I stuck an arrow through last fall was in no hurry to die either. Probably spent 25 minutes trying to get my arrow back, but that's a whole 'nother story (and yes I did get it back). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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There would have to be a serious overpopulation of em before I would start shooting them,they dont do much damage and they are fun to see.My Grandfather always told me to leave em alone cuz if your stuck up in the hills and need a meal they are the one food source around that cant out run ya!



Was always taught the same. Guess they don't hibernate. Never had to eat one though.
 
I may be mistaken, but I believe they are protected in Colorado for people that are lost to eat. They are the only critter you can run down on foot.
 
Don't shoot porcupines. They only have one offspring per year. So there population could dwindle quickly if you shoot them. They don't do that much damage. They are one of the coolest animals in north america.

Thanks
Kyle
 
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