Porcupine Armour

I took the shotgun for a long walk this morning at dawn, checking out a new area for coyote sign - found a couple scat piles which is good. I'll be back...

On the way out I came across a porcupine - about a 10 lber - slowly making its way up a slope.

Never shot a porky before,

butt,

considering the PGC opened a season on them and wants their numbers reduced to lessen the damage to the trees in Penn's woods, I figured I would do my civic duty and shoot it.

I changed ammo from #4 buckshot (too cheap to waste a buckshot shell) with long brass #6 shells.

Two shots from about 25 feet away and the little tank was still moving. I know I had the bead right on him (but was in disbelief that it was still moving in an upright position - but it was hurting pretty bad). I could see a bunch of quills scattered about - like they deflected the bb's, but not even a hint of blood.

A third shot up close & really personal to the head put the little varmint out of its misery.

Never imagined they were that tough.

later.

Mercer County has porcupines..

Porkys will de-bark trees in the winter - damage will be high up off the ground. They eat the bark completely around the tree trunk - which severely damages or kills the tree.

I know that they also cause damage to cabins because they will eat the treated plywood and lumber to satisfy it's desire for salt.


also from wiki:

Porcupines in search of salt sometimes enter human habitats, eating plywood cured with sodium nitrate,[9] certain paints, tool handles, doors, tables, houses, footwear, clothes and other items that have been coated in salty sweat. Porcupines are attracted to roads in areas where rock salt is used to melt ice and snow and are known to gnaw on vehicle tires or wiring coated in road salt. Salt licks placed nearby can prevent porcupines from injuring themselves.

Natural sources of salt consumed by porcupines include varieties of salt-rich plants (such as yellow water lily and aquatic liverwort), fresh animal bones, outer tree bark, mud in salt-rich soils, and objects imbued with urine.[10]

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They are quite common up here in the Poconos.

Bings - the PGC stocked Fishers about 10 years ago - the natural predator of the porcupies - maybe the fishers are carrying away the deer...

Porkys will de-bark trees in the winter - damage will be high up off the ground. They eat the bark completely around the tree trunk - which severely damages or kills the tree.

This is what I have been seeing. Now I know we have them here in Mercer County. I've never seen them and nobody I know has either. Thank you. 

They actually can prevent the starvation of deer yarded up in a bad winter. They chew the high twigs off and when they fall the deer have food that was out of reach prior to the porkeys actions. I would never shoot one------unless of course I owned a hunting dog that hated them. I once pulled 248 quills out of a Black Lab. She made three attempts to eat a porkey before she decided maybe she should leave it alone. It only took the beagle with her one try to learn it's lesson.

ORIGINAL: RhnstnCowboy

I threw a can of Nestea at a porcupine once.

And what did ya get? Think of something, you can do it.

ORIGINAL: RhnstnCowboy

I was too drunk to hit the porcupine, but I did puke in a bag of iced animal crackers and fall in a ditch, so I've got that going for me, which is nice...

So basically, you threw a can of Nestea at a porcupine and got skunked? 

Porkeys are also attracted to hydraulic lines.I knew A logger that hated them.They would chew hoses on skidders and dozers.Costing them A half day or whole day of down time on machine.

ORIGINAL: topdog99

funny all the yinz come up with as a excuse to kill...


the devil in the spine the lowly porcupine...

killz trees
starves deers
eats cabins
eats hydrolic lines
beats up dogz

what else does he do?

Most of them are communists, too.

porky pins can be used as boobers/floats.  I dont know how they would do with a couple of ounces of 4 shot in them though.  Poor I suspect.